Getting Sick in America is Risky Business
Give me a fecking break!
If there’s a hard way or an easy way to do something, the world of American health care has chosen the most confusing way to offer services to their customers. Personally, I think it’s deliberate. Getting sick in America is risky business.
Not only is it the #1 cause of bankruptcy, but it’s also impossible to know in advance what it will end up costing you.
Nowhere else would a potential customer spend such hefty sums of money without knowing in advance what the final cost will be. Can you even imagine buying a car only to see the bill when you decide to drive it for the first time?
Getting sick in America requires a degree in how to navigate the system as well as a whole new set of vocabulary words. And, I’m talking about Medicare, the supposed best system Americans are offered.
Don’t get me started on regular insurance. It’s getting to the place that it’s often nothing more than a catastrophic plan with huge deductibles.
But Medicare should be easier to understand. I’m a bright, retired, professional woman and I usually feel like throwing my computer across the room when I’m trying to figure out what’s what and what’s not.
I mean just take a look at the long list of confusing and conflicting terms.
Medicare A,B, C, D. Supplemental insurance. Out-of-pocket cost-sharing, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance, dental and vision coverage, ambulatory vs in hospital services, Medicare Advantage, original Medicare, cost of prescription tiers, doughnut holes, Medicare assignments, claims, and all of the many, many exceptions to the rules make it impossible for a customer to know in advance the final price of almost any medical procedure available in the modern world.
See what I mean?
And, yes, this essay is a rant. I’m old and that’s what we do. We rant about how bad things are whenever we feel like it. I have no idea how my 93 year old mother-in-law manages the world of medicine these days. She can’t even send emails.
A great big “go screw yourselves” to the corporate world of medicine.
They’ve designed and perfected a labyrinth of confusing terminology with the intention to trick some poor old fool who just needs a hip replacement.
Some days, I think I’d rather die than deal with you.
Teresa Roberts is a retired educator, author, world traveler, and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.
