Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Gouging accepted by some insurance companies and telling people what they already know?

My tonight’s subtitle: “What, and OOPS?”
Now I am stepping out here on a bit of shaky ground and so without an attorney to advise me I will watch closely how I say what I need to say verbatim, ok?
A few days ago Hubby received documentation of the billing from the in home nurse who came to our home last December that was charged and paid for by them and so he had no reason to say anything, but… the option; “This is NOT a Bill. This statement details information on payment(s) --- Has made on your behalf. If you have questions or disagree with information contained in this statement, you may request that it be reviewed. Contact…”
When he saw the bill for $475, he and I were shocked the nurse was here for maybe an hour or two. And all she did was ask him some medical history questions and checked his vitals, temperature, blood pressure and pulse rate.
Now she happened to mentioned what company she was with and I said oh that is nice they are the ones who came to install my IV for steroids last June and showed me how to do the additional days for myself, all three, again.
But since I am not insured we were billed and we paid in full the bill that I had been quoted the price prior to the very necessary home visit and it was $125 for all that I received.
Now I do know that without insurance and no copays as I used to have even when insured and so they tell me I am paying what most on Medicare would be, now that seems so odd to me?
And why would they then, with Hubby being on an insurance program through Medicare be charged so differently? Curious and so he called his insurance company to dispute the amount of the charge as being excessive and told them that we had dealt, for me with the same company before. The women who was supposed to be a supervisor with some power to wield and that is why Hubby waited a day to hear back from his insurance company that neither of us can complain about since he is always treated very well and fair.
But she, this supervisor said that she could not do a thing about it, since they were under contract with them!
WHAT?
Does anyone but me see this as a gouging incident that is just a drop in the bucket of all the rest?
I am one of the ones that while insured questioned aspirin or pills being distributed, gauze etcetera in hospitals at over the top prices and I was known to go over any bills with a fine tooth comb, figuratively, people, and I was covered.
You, see they double charged for this and that’s, and thought we were totally unaware, but when caught they were forced to take several hundred dollars off of their bills!
Whew!
We as a world are in hard times financially and the last thing anyone needs is for their healthcare providers’ contractors to gouge them consequently all of us in the end!
Frustration is best served cold?
Nah, hot under the collar and we all should be!
Travesties are committed daily on all of us, and must we turn the other cheek and allow it to continue?
I sure hope not.
It is Hubby’s personal insurance and so I can not intervene with them, but I can show my distaste for the way it was handled; with a brick wall mentality!
PS they called this a free yearly service for their insurance company of a cost per patient, for even the non-bed-ridden ones, but of course they have more consistent weekly care I do believe for them as they well should.
Perhaps, they pay a flat rate for it all?
I don’t really know, but makes you wonder and question and we should never ever stop doing that, should we?
And so I won’t.

The other half of my tonight’s blog offering has to do with the wonderful positive postings I see all over the pages of Facebook that I subscribe to, my old town where I grew up, my current one and many others… but for some reason, now this could be just me, but I get insulted by some that still insist that I am a dummy!
This one in particular posted today on my old hometown by a former classmate that I am pretty darn sure that she believes that she is spreading the word, of, “DON’T LET ANYONE STEAL YOUR DREAMS!”
Now stop me if I am incorrect but if they are your dreams no one can touch them, by law or otherwise, or if just in your heart they are yours still, and we as a human race with a wonderful history of being FREE THINKERS! Therefore I would think for all of us that would be a moot point, hmm?
I sure hope so… allow me now to be the first to wish you all a very happy good night and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share your overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?

PS my dresses arrived with my cardigan Saturday, and today we received the Adventures of Tintin and the Descendents and our third one we were informed should be here soon too, My Week with Marilyn!

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