Last night we watched the movie Sicko by Michael Moore . It is a very good documentary that really brings home the point that our healthcare system in the United States needs a major makeover.
I remember being a child and shocked by some of the people who were hospitalized around the same time I was and seeing how many were being sent home when they obviously were not well enough to go home. It was not the doctor's decision, it was the Insurance company deciding that the person was ready to go home.
It makes me sad to know that many elderly people now cannot afford medications they really need. They go to the drug store and have to make a choice on what they can afford to buy this month.
In the past, my Doctor's had to threaten an insurance company with exposure to a tv show just so they would revoke a letter that they had sent to me threatening to stop a medication I needed if I didn't pay them tons of money back, because they had made an error in approving the medication. After a few of my doctors stood up for me and mentioned the tv show, they covered me again. That's pitiful, Isn't it? People have to go to these extremes for medically necessary things. Medicine and healthcare is a need, it is not a want. There is a big difference between needs and wants.
It is heartbreaking to think of how many people suffered or died in the end because of Insurance companies and their dollar mark decisions.
5 comments:
Fellow Alabamian here.
I came across your review on Michael Moore's film through a Google Alert.
Great review (by you) about a really important film.
I would like to invite to visit us over at DemocracyInteractive.com, where we chat (in real-time) a lot about issues like healthcare and the direction of our country.
Thanks again for the great review and Happy New Year.
Good review. It's a sad situation when insurance companies can over ride directions of a physician. When I had minor surgery a couple of years ago, the doctor apologized for having to release me when he did in order to ensure that my insurance would pay. It seems that most people require a two-day stay for best results. I might add, though, that I wanted to come home. I felt that I was ready - and in my case I was correct.
Couldn't agree with you more. Two movies I've seen recently I'd recommend to you - "The Bucket List" & "Charlie Wilson's War." Very different, bith well done and wonderfully acted. Be well,
J.
Is very sad the way health is hand in US. But this is a time to renew hopes in an improvement, as the elections are near and maybe this time you get a president that care for the people, and make a change.
You know what I've been through with my insurance, Michelle. I had to wait an extra week just now to get my refill on the med I need to take care of my stomach problems JUST because a refill wasn't good enough...insurance wanted another statement from the doctor saying I MUST BE ON THIS or be hospitalized. Waiting that long set my illness back two weeks as doing w/out the drug makes it seem that I've never taken it...so here I am starting again and hoping things will go more smoothly next month. I know what you've been through just in getting the right chair for your needs. So frustrating. But at the same time, I have to be so thankful I have insurance at all, as bad as it is. Isn't that a kick in the tailbone?
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