Lynch Pen Healthcare billing confusing, frustrating

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

— When the hospital entered the wrong birth date for my emergency room visit back in May, the billing service sent the bill to me because Medicare rejected it. The bill was for $951 to cover the doctor’s fee.

When they finally straightened out the paperwork, the amount approved by Medicare was for 17 percent of that amount, $161.51. If the time the doctor spent with me actually warranted the original amount submitted, it is no wonder insurance premiums escalate so rapidly. It is interesting to me that my problem came only a short period of time before the debate over healthcare reform started to reach epic proportions.

I have been able to witness the best of our current system as well as see some of the redundancy of medical testing as they have tried to help me return to pre-problem activities. In spite of all the efforts and the information gained on my health status, no explanation of the problem has been determined.

The prospects of a revision to our healthcare legislation promises to be more confusing before it is finally proposed. The newscasts continue to report on the debate but there seems to be a lot more secrecy about the actual contents than any legislation I have followed in my recent memory. No matter what they finally agree on,it is doubtful that it will be the answer to our healthcare problems. I, for one, find that growing older is better than the alternative, but having watched my parents, and many other family members and friends grow older, I didn’t learn a thing about what actually happens to one mentally and physically in the little obscure areas on one’s life as the aging process takes place. This is not my usual topic for an article, but there are times when we need to do the unusual.

And, when we actually resort to doing the unusual, hopefully it will be of value to others - not just something to console ourselves.

In this case my questions may be familiar to you if you are in the approximate age range where aches and pains cause the darnedest complications.

Every time I see a new doctor, and there have been plenty of new experiences with these this year, I ask the same question. “Where can one get the definitive book on aging?” Each specialist from the neurosurgeon to the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor to the gastrointestinal specialist can answer detailed questionsconcerning their area of expertise, but no one seems to have answers to the common everyday discomforts that grandmother always attributed to arthritis or bursitis. What the world needs now, or at least those of us in our seventies need, along with “love” is an understanding of what to be concerned about and what to learn to live with on a daily basis.

The doctors listen patiently, ask questions that seem pertinent to the problem, probe and push in the right areas, seem surprised at my activities as if they are for some reason unusual for men my age, but have nothing to offer unless it is another prescription.

When I share with them that my occupation is farm labor - on my own farm - most are impressed.

However, none offer to help, none suggest I quit (which wouldn’t/couldn’t work) or tell me how many Tylenol to take so I can get through the day.

It seems to me with the wealth of knowledge available in the world, someone would be able to pinpoint the problems that create these questions. Surely I’m not the only person to enjoy a little exercise without having to visit the emergency room with a sharp pain that turns out to be a pulled muscle and not a heart attack, a gall bladder attack or some other serious condition. Education forus older Americans might help us make better decisions about seeking medical assistance and reduce some expensive doctor‘s visits. And, taking some of the scare tactics out of prescription medication commercials could go a long way to keeping people from noticing some of the small aches and pains.

After taking nutritional supplements of various types for over 30 years, I truly believe they can add years to our lives - if taken appropriately. However, I also believe God has provided us with natural health foods as a means of controlling many of the problems that lead us to the medical professionals who then prescribe drugs from our friendly pharmacist.

Along with aspirin, the doctors now have me on three prescription drugs as precautionary medications.

The treatment I have received from individual doctors, nurses and the hospital has been an act of love and concern. However, I have also witnessed the expenses associated with our system and fear that “reform” is not going to reduce the cost of medical care for most people. When they use terms such as “assigned risk” to provide coverage for “existing conditions” that can provide an avenue for premiums beyond the reach of many families.

On the positive side, have a very Merry Christmas!

Opinion, Pages 4 on 12/23/2009