"Health Insurance" (damned if you do, damned if you don't)

Remember, next Monday night, July 8th., at 8:30 pm EST, is my video blog post. The topic this month relates to our FIRST RESPONDERS. A post that everyone should view. Thank you.

INTRODUCTION:

Tonight's post was an idea I had after having a conversation about health insurance with someone. First I would like to thank Nancy Barrow, who hosts the morning show from 6 am to 10 am Mon.-Fri., and hosts a talk show on Sundays mornings at 6 am from radio HOT 93.7 FM in Hartford,Ct. I had a great time on her show discussing my book "A Woman's Fear." She is wonderful and an easy person to talk with as well as a great host. If the link to that broadcast is out before this is posted, I will add the link here. It is well worth the 25 minute listen. If not, as soon as they post it on their website, I will share on my social media platforms.

Before we begin, let me start by saying, having health insurance is better than not having health insurance. However, it is a double-edged sword. You're damned if you do, and your damned if you don't. How many of you believe that because you have health insurance you are covered? Let me see a show of hands please. Hmm... it appears that everyone feels that way. Navigating through health insurance coverage is a NIGHTMARE, and wait until to get to medicare. I helped my parents and it was FRIGHTFUL at best. You will be shocked as to what you think you get from medicare only to find out the money you have to spend to get the coverage that medicare does NOT supply. Did your agent tell you everything? Of course not. There is so much fine print, no one would sit there for hours and listen. Now you go to the hospital or the emergency room. 30 - 60 days later you get a bill. A friend of mine got a bill from the hospital for almost 25,000 dollars, only to find out the insurance company only covered 95.00 dollars, and they had what was told to them as the best plan. Talk about a wake-up call. HOSPITALS DON'T CARE. They want to get paid.

I can tell you first hand as a paramedic for 30+ years, MANY OF THE ELDERLY I HAVE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL WAS A RESULT OF THEM NOT TAKING THERE MEDICATIONS. Not because they chose not to, because they simply could not afford to buy them. I have also seen patients die for the exact same reason. A SHAME. We live in a society where people could, and will die, because they cannot afford to pay for there medications or treatment. Even when they have insurance. People who retire are on FIXED incomes. There is no working overtime if the car breaks to get it fixed. They have to save for a rainy day from an income they receive where they are already barely surviving. Please, do not give me the excuse they should have saved when they were younger. Not all people had the luxury to make the kind of money that allowed them to do that. In the end, what do we have? A BROKEN SYSTEM.

WHAT HAVE WE HEARD?

I can remember the last four Presidents claim to be able to fix the health care system. Frankly, that's HOGWASH! Yes, their intentions are good and in the right place. However, the fix is not that simple. This is not a new fact. The big pharmaceutical companies claim it all goes to research. However, it goes other places. Read this article about the top 20 highest-paid biopharma CEO's, https://www.fiercepharma.com/special-report/top-20-highest-paid-biopharma-ceos. They average around 25 million dollars a year. I'd be smiling in their pictures as well. I do not know if that includes any stock options or bonuses. I will be the first to say people will make more than others based on education, experience, etc. But really now? I knew a company CEO that had to take a pay cut of 7 million dollars a year because profits were down. If that person took a 7 million dollar pay cut, what the hell was their base salary? The truth is, pay a CEO a good salary. They educated themselves, the worked their way up and earned it. BUT! Why do they also need to get over a million dollars a year as a bonus. The higher the profits, the greater their bonus. No wonder these CEO's in the recent Congressional hearings are fighting the efforts to reduce medication costs. But there is more to it, read on.

President Trump and Congress are going after these large pharmaceutical drug manufactures because in some cases, the same drug could be purchased online from overseas pharmacies that are made by the same manufacturer, or a generic brand for a fracture of the cost. In Cancun, you can walk into a pharmacy and buy antibiotics and other drugs that require a prescription in the USA. Those that live in the USA as legal citizens yet live in Mexico can do the same. I am NOT advocating that people should be self-prescribing their medications. What I am saying is, the cost difference is ridiculous and NOT necessary. The argument that we need to get our money back for research before a drug goes generic has some merit. However, for how long? We have not even gotten into the incentive programs offered to physicians if they prescribe that particular drug. Will any of this ever change? Who knows. These large companies have the money to fight and lobby against these changes. This where "WE THE PEOPLE," need to make a stink to our representatives.

THE EFFECTS:

All of this and more affects the cost of health care, which in turn results in higher health care costs. I ask you. Should any one person need to die because they cannot afford medications? The first problem is, as people, we have no idea what the plan we chose will cover. We are told, this plan covers hospitalization. We assume if we go to the hospital, we are covered. NOT! Wait until you get the bill. There are different levels of coverage. Many times we may not be able to afford the top shelf plan, but you need to know what your plan DOES NOT cover. Who gives a damn what it covers? What is more important is what it does not cover. Here is a good article by the HUFFPOST.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-8-things-your-health-insurance-doesnt-cover_n_579a0fb6e4b0d3568f862c24

Wait until you see what insurance does not cover that you thought it did. Once you try to cover all this bases, you find that you are now insurance poor. Many people, through various means have figured out how to beat the system. I have seen that as well during my medical career. A system that at times, is easy to beat because it does not have the manpower to police itself. It relies a great deal on computers. However, a computer can not do a house visit and check to see if the information supplied to it is true. Again, the result is higher health care costs.

SUMMARY:

In all fairness to agents, they often times don't know themselves what is or what is not covered. Almost every new procedure, piece of equipment, or medication, even if approved, may not be covered by your insurance because it hasn't been out long enough. Doesn't it make sense that once something is government approved, the insurance companies must cover it? The problem is, the hospitals are using the new and improved technology for your benefit, and then you find out when you get the bill, it's not covered. This article is not going to fix any of these problems. Actually, in my lifetime, none of them may be fixed, or just some. Let us take a simple routine test like a cardiac catheterization. A routine procedure that is done many times a day in most hospital which an insurance company cover if it is an emergency situation. What happened to preventative medicine? Usually, when something is an emergency, damage has already been done, and in most cases, will lead to more continued costs down the road. A reasonable mind might think that at a certain age, this procedure that can prevent a heart attack should be elective and covered by insurance. This could save millions of dollars in down the road costs by eliminating an emergency before it happens, thus reducing the after costs. For example, let's take an MRI machine. How many MRI's have been done on one machine? Has the coast comes down? That machine has been paid for many times over. I think you get my point. Very little if next to no control. Dollars are spent and wasted that could go to lowering costs for patients, and the costs of their medications. You be the judge.

Next week is my video blog post week for the month of July. The topic will be about first responders. No police officer, firefighter, doctor, nurse, paramedic, or EMT, will want to miss it. In fact, you should not miss it. These people risk their lives to protect or save you.

Please feel free to leave a comment, or browse the site. Book3, the final book in the Life Through A Mirror murder mystery trilogy, Life Through A Mirror-When Murder Calls, is now available. The murder mystery series is now complete and available in Print, E-book, and Audiobook. In September, my love story, When Two Worlds Collide will be released . Oh, and don't forget, A Woman's Fear-Female Abuse. A must read for every woman. All my books are available on all major online bookstores. This year we have branched out and opened a video production company, Altech Videos. Feel free to click on the name and check us out. My YouTube channel subscribers is growing quickly. I never put a large effort into my YouTube Channel. I have now learned the power of that huge platform. Feel free to check it out and subscribe to it if you would like. Here is the link. Caesar Rondina Author YouTube Channel. Here are the links to all my social media platforms. Keep in mind, most of what I do as a writer revolves around my connection to my readers, so, LET'S CONNECT.