The American health insurance industry is more focused on exploiting the American people than helping the American people.
If you’ve ever shopped around for health insurance, you probably know that monthly payments can sometimes cost more than it would be to just see the doctor when necessary.
My co-worker, senior psychology major McKenna Carter, said, “My fiance Mike had to pay $2,000 out of pocket for an X-ray because he hadn’t hit his $8,000 deductible yet.” Her fiance’s insurance only covered $70.
An X-ray shouldn’t cost that much, especially when you could go to Bledsoe Chiropractic to get an exam, x-ray, and an adjustment for $225.
I am fortunate to be on state insurance where I don’t have to worry about costs like that, but many Americans do.
An issue that makes absolutely no sense is the hoops you must jump through to get the care you need.
This care can sometimes be time-sensitive, but getting treatment can be delayed due to the risk of insurance not covering it.
For example, if you have Medicaid or Medicare and need an MRI, you must go through at least six weeks of physical therapy.
When you think of physical therapy, you think of the place that helps someone get better after an injury.
Well, how are physical therapists supposed to know how to help that person if they don’t know what is wrong to begin with?
This feels like a ploy to get more money out of people by putting off the real problem.
This issue hits very close to home as I’ve watched it happen to my mom multiple times since I moved to Arkansas in 2016.
My mom has dealt with spine issues since 2010 and has undergone five surgeries since. Every single time her spine got worse, they made her go to physical therapy for six weeks, which delayed her from figuring out what was actually wrong.
With spine issues, it is critical that if something is going on, you need to figure it out quickly.
If you don’t, you risk paralysis.
Americans have to bend over backward with insurance by going through random prescriptions before they can get on the one their doctor wanted to prescribe to begin with.
I have had eczema for as long as I can remember, and I have been through so many medications over the years I have lost count.
When I came to college, I was so sick of how my skin felt that I went to a dermatologist again, and they wanted to start me on a medication called Dupixent.
My insurance wouldn’t cover it if I didn’t go down a list of random treatments to try, just to say they don’t work.
It took four months of dealing with that before they even covered me for the shot. Out of pocket, that medication is $3,594.43 for a one-month supply.
Don’t even get me started on what happens if your insurance changes.
Many people have to go through this type of process again before they can get the medication they need when they change their insurance or doctor.
Insurance will make you do things that aren’t necessary to either try to get more money out of you, waste your time or even risk hurting your health even worse than it already is.