Sunday, November 9, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
No health care so Insurance CEO can collect 360 million annually?
My insurance company did not pay bills as required for an accident, physical, and colonosocopy.
Accident. My insurance company (Federal Blue Cross Insurance) is required to pay in full for treatment for an accident if it occurred with in 72 hours. On 9th February 2006 I was treated for an accident reported within a 72-hour period and the claim was not paid in full because the nurse practitioner submitted the claim to my insurance company as an office visit instead of an accident. I forwarded a letter of complaint to the nurse practitioner, who then corrected the coding error and the insurance paid the claim, with exception of the tetanus shot. My insurance company said the tetanus shot claim would be reviewed.
Physical. My insurance company is required to pay in full for a complete physical. The Insurance Company did not pay for physical done on my wife and I on 15 May 2007 because the Doctor, instead of reporting it as a physical, coded it as an office visit. Since the insurance company is required to pay this bill when coded correctly and the doctor coded it incorrectly, I regarded this as doctor incompetence. I refused to pay this bill. I am sure the doctor turned the bill into a credit agency, which devalued my credit record.
Colonosocopy. My insurance company is required to pay in full for a routine scheduled colonosocopy test. The doctor submitted a colonosocopy test conducted on my wife on 26 Nov 2006 as a diagnostic test. Because the test was submitted as diagnostic instead of routine my insurance company did not pay the claim in full. I wrote a letter to the doctor explaining it was routinely scheduled five years prior. The doctor corrected the claim as being routinely scheduled and the insurance company paid. Even though the doctor corrected the coding correctly and was paid my insurance company required the hospital to change the reason for test even though it was the same test. The hospital instead of correcting their coding and resubmitting the bill to the insurance company, the hospital wrote the bill off.
Explanation. I called my sister who is a doctor and asked her why doctors were miscoding insurance information so as to benefit the insurance companies. I asked if doctors and hospitals were getting a kick back from the insurance companies? She said that in the past doctors would not get paid when the form was filled out as routine testing. Blue Cross, which has a monopoly, started suing doctors when coding did not match and that is why doctors are miscoding the information in favor of the insurance companies. The reason doctors and hospitals are miscoding the information in favor of the insurance companies is that Blue Cross intimidates them. Blue Cross operates in this manner so that the can show a profit and the CEO of Blue Cross is able to collect 360 million a year. Ladies and gentlemen this is a disgrace! Patients are being routinely being robbed of the benefits they paid for so a CEO is able to collect 360 million for year? My insurance company charges thousands per year for me to have such benefits and I regard myself lucky compared to the people who do not have access to or can afford such health care insurance. Because the Blue Cross CEO is robbing the stock value from stockholders, medical benefits and driving up the price of insurance so others cannot afford heath care insurance is disgraceful, shameful, and pathetic and should be regarded as thievery.
Obama health care? Obama proposes using my health care plan for everyone. Does this mean that the CEO of Blue Cross could collect multiples of this 360 million if his plan is adopted?
McCain’s heath care. My health care insurance is considered as one of the best. Now considered the sleaze and slime of Blue Cross and then consider what it would be like if Blue Cross were unregulated as McCain proposes. Would not this patient thievery continue and not be minuscule compared to what it would be if McCain’s health care plan were adopted/
Best solution. The problem is that as long as any one like an insurance company makes money by turning down medical benefits, the patient loses and the insurance executives undeserved huge salaries. The best solution is make it 100% Medicare. I can hear the insurance swindlers hollering now, “Socialism”.
Socialism. Is socialism so bad? It is not communism. Our school education system is now socialized. Would it not be a good idea to make it capitalistic? Think of the tax savings to property owners and the students would appreciate education a lot more. The problem is at least 50% of the students now getting education would no longer be getting it and we would become a nation of the illiterate. This does not appear to be a good solution. Likewise, capitalism is not a good solution for health care. According to USA Today, over 40 million people in the USA do not have health insurance of which 18, 000 people die in the USA because they lack preventive services, timely diagnostics or appropriate care. The amount of human suffering associated with this problem is incalculable. Some republican candidates say socialism is not American and is not what our fore fathers intended. I guess it is all right for the Government to bail out our banks (described as socialism for the rich)? I find that interesting! I thought that America was founded on the principles of a Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, not just the CEO's or the rich.
Better way? It is my hope that someone in the near future has the fortitude and insight to establish a better health care system in the USA, one that is comparable to Canada and France.
Accident. My insurance company (Federal Blue Cross Insurance) is required to pay in full for treatment for an accident if it occurred with in 72 hours. On 9th February 2006 I was treated for an accident reported within a 72-hour period and the claim was not paid in full because the nurse practitioner submitted the claim to my insurance company as an office visit instead of an accident. I forwarded a letter of complaint to the nurse practitioner, who then corrected the coding error and the insurance paid the claim, with exception of the tetanus shot. My insurance company said the tetanus shot claim would be reviewed.
Physical. My insurance company is required to pay in full for a complete physical. The Insurance Company did not pay for physical done on my wife and I on 15 May 2007 because the Doctor, instead of reporting it as a physical, coded it as an office visit. Since the insurance company is required to pay this bill when coded correctly and the doctor coded it incorrectly, I regarded this as doctor incompetence. I refused to pay this bill. I am sure the doctor turned the bill into a credit agency, which devalued my credit record.
Colonosocopy. My insurance company is required to pay in full for a routine scheduled colonosocopy test. The doctor submitted a colonosocopy test conducted on my wife on 26 Nov 2006 as a diagnostic test. Because the test was submitted as diagnostic instead of routine my insurance company did not pay the claim in full. I wrote a letter to the doctor explaining it was routinely scheduled five years prior. The doctor corrected the claim as being routinely scheduled and the insurance company paid. Even though the doctor corrected the coding correctly and was paid my insurance company required the hospital to change the reason for test even though it was the same test. The hospital instead of correcting their coding and resubmitting the bill to the insurance company, the hospital wrote the bill off.
Explanation. I called my sister who is a doctor and asked her why doctors were miscoding insurance information so as to benefit the insurance companies. I asked if doctors and hospitals were getting a kick back from the insurance companies? She said that in the past doctors would not get paid when the form was filled out as routine testing. Blue Cross, which has a monopoly, started suing doctors when coding did not match and that is why doctors are miscoding the information in favor of the insurance companies. The reason doctors and hospitals are miscoding the information in favor of the insurance companies is that Blue Cross intimidates them. Blue Cross operates in this manner so that the can show a profit and the CEO of Blue Cross is able to collect 360 million a year. Ladies and gentlemen this is a disgrace! Patients are being routinely being robbed of the benefits they paid for so a CEO is able to collect 360 million for year? My insurance company charges thousands per year for me to have such benefits and I regard myself lucky compared to the people who do not have access to or can afford such health care insurance. Because the Blue Cross CEO is robbing the stock value from stockholders, medical benefits and driving up the price of insurance so others cannot afford heath care insurance is disgraceful, shameful, and pathetic and should be regarded as thievery.
Obama health care? Obama proposes using my health care plan for everyone. Does this mean that the CEO of Blue Cross could collect multiples of this 360 million if his plan is adopted?
McCain’s heath care. My health care insurance is considered as one of the best. Now considered the sleaze and slime of Blue Cross and then consider what it would be like if Blue Cross were unregulated as McCain proposes. Would not this patient thievery continue and not be minuscule compared to what it would be if McCain’s health care plan were adopted/
Best solution. The problem is that as long as any one like an insurance company makes money by turning down medical benefits, the patient loses and the insurance executives undeserved huge salaries. The best solution is make it 100% Medicare. I can hear the insurance swindlers hollering now, “Socialism”.
Socialism. Is socialism so bad? It is not communism. Our school education system is now socialized. Would it not be a good idea to make it capitalistic? Think of the tax savings to property owners and the students would appreciate education a lot more. The problem is at least 50% of the students now getting education would no longer be getting it and we would become a nation of the illiterate. This does not appear to be a good solution. Likewise, capitalism is not a good solution for health care. According to USA Today, over 40 million people in the USA do not have health insurance of which 18, 000 people die in the USA because they lack preventive services, timely diagnostics or appropriate care. The amount of human suffering associated with this problem is incalculable. Some republican candidates say socialism is not American and is not what our fore fathers intended. I guess it is all right for the Government to bail out our banks (described as socialism for the rich)? I find that interesting! I thought that America was founded on the principles of a Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, not just the CEO's or the rich.
Better way? It is my hope that someone in the near future has the fortitude and insight to establish a better health care system in the USA, one that is comparable to Canada and France.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
TRICOR rip off?
The company making TRICOR lost their patent. TRICOR was orginaly 160 milligram of FENOFIRRATE. However after the patent to TRICOR was lost, the company changed packaging and dosage to 145 milligrams so that they could continue naming it TRICOR and continuing charging the customer the high price of this previously patented drug.
What sleaze balls!
You can save money by simply asking your doctor to prescribe 160 milligram FENOFIBRATE instead of the 145 milligram of TRICOR. By doing this, you should save bucks by buying the competitive and proved generic. Perhaps you might want to verify this with your local pharmacist before talking to your doctor. Do not be surprised if your doctor acts stupid regarding this matter. There are no perks for him when you make a change like this that saves you money.
What sleaze balls!
You can save money by simply asking your doctor to prescribe 160 milligram FENOFIBRATE instead of the 145 milligram of TRICOR. By doing this, you should save bucks by buying the competitive and proved generic. Perhaps you might want to verify this with your local pharmacist before talking to your doctor. Do not be surprised if your doctor acts stupid regarding this matter. There are no perks for him when you make a change like this that saves you money.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Not stopping could save your lfe.
We were on a trip to see a time share in Virgina. During the night in the motel room while my wife was going to a bathroom, I heard a bang bump and yell. She had fallen over my size 12 tennis shoe hat I had left out in the floor. She was barely walking and having difficulty breathing. Since our insurance policy pays for an accident if reported with in 72 hours I took her to the hospital emergency room. Examination revealed she had no broke bones, but a 5 mm cyst on her lungs and a 1.5 inc h cyst on her kidney. While she was being examined outside they were having a northeaster with 80 mph winds. Following the examination, the northeaster was over. While driving back to the motel a car got right on our rear bumper and started flashing his lights and blowing his horn. I thought about it. Did I have a flat tire or was i dragging something? I could not think of anything. Now if nothing was wrong, why was this driver behind behaving like this? I slowed down from 40 then to 30 and finally 20 but I did not stop. My intent was to have him pass me. He finally stopped flashing his lights and passed me. The driver appeared to be of slight dark color with a bandanna over head like a pirate. I stopped later at a filling station and saw there was absolutely nothing wrong with my car. I also concluded that this character was planning to hijack my car. Again and again I reaffirm my suspicions when I watch true stories on the FBI files where the car is hijacked and the owner is shot so the carjacking cannot be reported. Later this car is used to rob a bank or used for some other crime.
Perhaps in the near future while you are traveling if anyone is on your rear bumper flashing his lights and blowing his horn do not stop. It could save your life.
Perhaps in the near future while you are traveling if anyone is on your rear bumper flashing his lights and blowing his horn do not stop. It could save your life.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Loosing the war on drugs? There is a better way.
We are loosing the drug war. More drug busts causes price of drugs to go up which in turn entices more people to peddle drugs. We are fighting the supply demand laws. The drug addicts will steal, prostitute themselves or do whatever to get another fix. What we need is a method to drive down the price of drugs, which would cause drug peddlers to be less interested in the risk of jail time for lower profits. The drug addict should be treated as a medical problem. The first step in resolving this problem is to identify those addicted. Use our tax dollars to ask the addicted to identify themselves? Why would they do that? After we get a database maintained by a Government organization (like the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)), then we set control the addict by requiring them to attend meetings (like the AAA) and supply free drugs to the addict as prescribed and controlled by the doctor. The DEA or other Government agency could pass a controlled amount drugs at no cost to the abuser. The amount of these drugs will be decreased until the abuser has control over his life. If the abuser does not follow the program them he goes back to jail. The idea is to get the abuser so that he is not so dependent on drugs and he has some control over his life and to also drive down the cost of drugs on the street so that drug cartels will make nothing and at the same time prosecute them. This will make peddling drugs not feasible because without profit and a penalty, it will not be feasible or practical. The demand for illegal drugs will be diminished so much the drug peddler will go out of business over time. It will tend to take the profit out of illegal drugs. Drug violence will also diminish over time. Non-violent prisoners jailed because of drugs can be freed on the condition that they participate in the controlled DEA drug program. Because drug addicts are no longer stealing to control their habit, a lot of crimes will also decrease and make it a little better for us all.
This simple idea saves billions of dollars and thousands of lives, so why not? Lets be smart and have not only a life but also a better life for everyone.
This simple idea saves billions of dollars and thousands of lives, so why not? Lets be smart and have not only a life but also a better life for everyone.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Euthanasia, chances are that sooner or later it will happen to you
According to the dictionary euthanasia is the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy. Was my Grandmothers death as described in the post 26 May 2008 death by euthanasia? Yes! It could even be considered as murder.
I am sure the doctor would say in his defense that since she was unable to feed herself that by not feeding her it was death by natural causes. That is a lot of baloney! I had at least one doctor who regarded her condition as not being terminal and how do you determine that? Do we determine a terminal illness by one doctor? Give me a break! Who is this doctor that determines life or death, God? Another issue is how good is this doctor and is the doctor in charge the best we can do before classifying him or her as terminal? Choosing doctors is like trying the lottery. If a patient is declared terminal, what is the best path? Do we have a mercy killing by starving them to death and allowing them to die of phenomena like my Grandmother or do we allow the cancer take its course and which will end up having the patient screaming bloody murder, “Please let me die”? When the doctor declares the patient terminal, do we allow the family, who sometimes stand to gain millions, make this life or death decision? Why not allow the patient, as long as are in sound mind, determine method of dying such as starving them to death and allowing them to die of pneumonia while they are lying in their own feces or taking a pill which puts them to sleep? Again, I ask the question, how do you want to die; because chances are more than 50/50 in time it will happen to you?
I am sure the doctor would say in his defense that since she was unable to feed herself that by not feeding her it was death by natural causes. That is a lot of baloney! I had at least one doctor who regarded her condition as not being terminal and how do you determine that? Do we determine a terminal illness by one doctor? Give me a break! Who is this doctor that determines life or death, God? Another issue is how good is this doctor and is the doctor in charge the best we can do before classifying him or her as terminal? Choosing doctors is like trying the lottery. If a patient is declared terminal, what is the best path? Do we have a mercy killing by starving them to death and allowing them to die of phenomena like my Grandmother or do we allow the cancer take its course and which will end up having the patient screaming bloody murder, “Please let me die”? When the doctor declares the patient terminal, do we allow the family, who sometimes stand to gain millions, make this life or death decision? Why not allow the patient, as long as are in sound mind, determine method of dying such as starving them to death and allowing them to die of pneumonia while they are lying in their own feces or taking a pill which puts them to sleep? Again, I ask the question, how do you want to die; because chances are more than 50/50 in time it will happen to you?
Friday, June 6, 2008
Health care like France's could save lives.
What about health care in France?
· Doctors in France are self employed and free to prescribe what they want
· French can choose their doctor are free to see any doctor or specialist they want
· World Health Organization rates France first in health care and US and 37 th.
· France’s infant rate is 3.9 per 1000 compared to 7 in U.S.
· France life expectancy is two years more than US.
· France has more hospital beds and doctors per capita than U.S. and far lower rates of death from diabetes and heart disease.
· Deaths from respiratory disease, an often-preventable form, is 31.2 people per 1000 in France and 61.5 in U.S.
· 65% residents in France are satisfied with their health care compared to 40% US residents.
· France spends 10.7 % of their gross domestic product compared to 16 % in the USA which is more than any other nation.
· France has no deductibles for the chronically ill.
· Almost all Frenchmen buy supplemental insurance which covers extra expenses such as private hospital rooms, eyeglass, and dental care
· In France, the sicker you get the less you pay. There are no deductibles
· Chronic diseases such as diabetes and critical surgeries such as coronary bypass are reimbursed 100%
· Cancer patients are treated free of charge. For example patients suffering from colon cancer can receive Genentech Inc.s (DNA). A patient in US may pay 48,0000 per year.
· French doctors are paid at a lower rate than doctors in U.S., however French doctors do not have to pay back their student loans and the French Government pays the doctors social security tax which is typically 40% of their income.
· France pays for health care to of general revenue and mandatory payroll taxes. Like the US these costs are escalating, but again most everyone is satisfied.
Frances taxes are lower than USA if you consider the benefits they get.
Political change is likely in the USA
Would it be nice if we were number one in health care for all our people instead of France?
· Doctors in France are self employed and free to prescribe what they want
· French can choose their doctor are free to see any doctor or specialist they want
· World Health Organization rates France first in health care and US and 37 th.
· France’s infant rate is 3.9 per 1000 compared to 7 in U.S.
· France life expectancy is two years more than US.
· France has more hospital beds and doctors per capita than U.S. and far lower rates of death from diabetes and heart disease.
· Deaths from respiratory disease, an often-preventable form, is 31.2 people per 1000 in France and 61.5 in U.S.
· 65% residents in France are satisfied with their health care compared to 40% US residents.
· France spends 10.7 % of their gross domestic product compared to 16 % in the USA which is more than any other nation.
· France has no deductibles for the chronically ill.
· Almost all Frenchmen buy supplemental insurance which covers extra expenses such as private hospital rooms, eyeglass, and dental care
· In France, the sicker you get the less you pay. There are no deductibles
· Chronic diseases such as diabetes and critical surgeries such as coronary bypass are reimbursed 100%
· Cancer patients are treated free of charge. For example patients suffering from colon cancer can receive Genentech Inc.s (DNA). A patient in US may pay 48,0000 per year.
· French doctors are paid at a lower rate than doctors in U.S., however French doctors do not have to pay back their student loans and the French Government pays the doctors social security tax which is typically 40% of their income.
· France pays for health care to of general revenue and mandatory payroll taxes. Like the US these costs are escalating, but again most everyone is satisfied.
Frances taxes are lower than USA if you consider the benefits they get.
Political change is likely in the USA
Would it be nice if we were number one in health care for all our people instead of France?
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