Why Our Current Model for Healthcare Insurance Doesn’t Work
This week, I personally experienced why many people are so dissatisfied with their healthcare insurance. Yep, I said it AND I said it in the middle of a pandemic. Here's the deal though, the problem isn't our healthcare providers, it's healthcare insurance.
Let me explain. Last month I had the first mammogram I had had in four years. I had avoided it long enough and my doctor wasn't having it anymore. So like a good girl, I made my appointment and arrived for the always fun (NOT) experience of a mammogram on November 16th. Several days later I got a letter in the mail asking me to schedule another appointment for further imaging because, in a nutshell, I had something going on that they wanted to take a closer look at. Of course, in the ensuing weeks before I was able to get in for a follow up, my mind raced with all of the possible outcomes, even though I know better than borrowing trouble.
I finally had my follow up yesterday. And that follow up cost me just over $200. Thank goodness I had a credit card with me or I wouldn't have been able to be seen because payday wasn't until TODAY. If I hadn't had the credit card with me, I would have had to wait for several more weeks to be seen, worrying the entire time.
I was then seen and the tech was fantastic and they were very thorough, bringing me back in for more imaging twice during my visit for more views to be reviewed by the radiologist. Thankfully, they decided not to biopsy the offending tissue, opting instead to keep a watch on it and have me back for another follow up in six months. It's really the best outcome I could have hoped for, so that's not what I'm complaining about. What I'm complaining about is having to pay for a follow-up diagnostic procedure when I should have only been responsible for a co-pay. Anyone in that position who had already been worrying for weeks would have paid any price that they named just to put off any more uncertainty. But doesn't this fall under the category of preventative care? Shouldn't they want us to have this type of diagnostic instead of having people skip it due to a lack of funds? I would think a few scans would be cheaper to pay for than the bills of someone with full blown breast cancer, right?
And in the state the world is today, what happens if I lose my job or I'm furloughed for some reason? I would now have a pre-existing condition and a nearly impossible time finding a plan that I could afford. Very, very sneaky.
I would think that healthcare insurance companies would want to support their members receiving every kind of preventative care they could, but who am I? After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I'd love to hear your thoughts!