Our health care system is whack

I’ve never had too many dealings with doctors and health insurance.

The last few years I’ve done my annual checkup/physical every December and I may go see the doctor to get a prescription for a cold or something similar.

And I’ve had several times where I was told by a dentist or doctor’s office that a procedure would be “covered” by my insurance, only to find out later that I would be paying out of pocket for the majority of the cost.

But with the boys, I’m seeing a whole ‘nother side of the health care system.

It’s so automated and bureaucratic that it’ll drive even the most patient of men insane.

We received notification this past week that several claims for Hayden while he was in the NICU would not be covered/processed because there’s no patient named “BOYAALAUR BLUNDELL” on my policy.

Really?!

I hope there’s no patient named “BOYAALAUR” on my policy because that’s not my son’s name.

What clear thinking person would submit a claim from the doctor’s office under the name “BOYAALAUR”?

Oh that’s right — it probably wasn’t a clear thinking person, it was an automated machine.

Perhaps if someone had taken the time to ask, they would have known from the moment they were born that our son’s names were Hayden and Ian — but who has the time for silly questions like that?

And now we’re having to deal with the issue that the pediatric doctor that we’ve chosen for our boys — who’s listed on the website for our insurance company is not considered a PCP by the insurance company.

And according to the doctor’s office, they’ve requested that change months ago and the insurance company simply hasn’t updated their system.

And we go back and forth and back and forth.

Sadly as frustrating as this may be to me, I realize these are probably minor inconveniences compared to what many others deal with.

But it just continues to ring-in the idea to me that our health care system in America is out of whack.

And no – I don’t think “Obamacare” will be the death blow to our system… or the savior of our system.

But what we have isn’t working — and I don’t see any relief in the near future.

[ /end rant ]