Health Insurance Companies Suck

The barriers created by health insurance companies that stand in the way of patients getting quality medical care is completely out of hand.

The common strategy taken by the health insurance industry is to automatically deny expensive treatments that are prescribed by the physician. It is often possible to get these treatments, but it requires the physician to navigate a ridiculous maze of paperwork and bureaucracy in order to get that treatment approved. The companies figure (and rightfully so) that not all physicians are going to have the time and energy to do the appropriate paperwork, so not everybody who needs the therapy will end up getting it. Not surprisingly, this helps save the insurance company money.

I'm ranting because I spent a significant amount of time trying to frantically arrange lovenox (an expensive but necessary injectable medication used as an anticoagulant) for a patient who needed to leave today. In the end, it could not be arranged, in large part because the health insurance company which requires physician approval of the lovenox is closed for business beginning on Friday at 4:30pm for the entire weekend. This patient now faces the choice of remaining in the hospital for an unnecessary three more nights getting lovenox as an in-patient versus going home on sub-optimal therapy. He chose to go home, despite my recommendations not to. All in all, extremely frustrating.

Came home & watched a movie on pay-per-view with my wife which I highly recommend: The Island, a sci-fi thriller starring Ewan McGregor (one of my favorite current actors) and Scarlett Johansson, who I'll admit is pretty easy on the eyes.

Tomorrow: Last Call in the MICU!!!