I'd Like To Put That On Lay Away
I was sitting at my desk pondering what to write about today when the hospital where I'll be having my surgery next Tuesday called. I thought she'd have some sort of instructions about not eating or drinking, don't take certain medicines, blah blah blah. But no. She wanted to make sure that I bring my copay with me on Tuesday. I've been really lucky that I have great insurance, so I certainly don't mind paying the small amount that I have. I just find it hilarious how obsessed hospitals and doctors are with insurance. They verify your insurance more carefully than they check the chemo drugs.
Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that my doctor's bills have been $100,000 since that's a nice round number fairly close to the actual amount. Insurance has told the doctors and hospitals that they think that is really worth about $50,000 and that's what they've paid. I am not responsible for the difference. However, if I didn't have insurance, I'd have to pay the entire $100,000; they wouldn't give me a network discount. Who can afford that? People lose their homes and their businesses and everything they have because of this disease and the fact that we don't have adequate health coverage for everyone in this country. Do I think my life is worth $100,000? You bet! And I'd figure out a way to pay every penny if I had to. But I would hate to have to make a decision on something as serious as cancer treatment based on whether or not I had that kind of cash in the bank. I doubt the lady at the hospital would have been quite as excited about my pending surgery if I didn't have insurance and she was calling to work out a payment plan.
Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that my doctor's bills have been $100,000 since that's a nice round number fairly close to the actual amount. Insurance has told the doctors and hospitals that they think that is really worth about $50,000 and that's what they've paid. I am not responsible for the difference. However, if I didn't have insurance, I'd have to pay the entire $100,000; they wouldn't give me a network discount. Who can afford that? People lose their homes and their businesses and everything they have because of this disease and the fact that we don't have adequate health coverage for everyone in this country. Do I think my life is worth $100,000? You bet! And I'd figure out a way to pay every penny if I had to. But I would hate to have to make a decision on something as serious as cancer treatment based on whether or not I had that kind of cash in the bank. I doubt the lady at the hospital would have been quite as excited about my pending surgery if I didn't have insurance and she was calling to work out a payment plan.
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