The saddest thing is when mental and physical health care is treated like any business, where profits (long and short term) come before the well-being of those who need the care.
I read, about a month or two ago, an article in the NYTimes (online) about how insurance companies will deny coverage for simple routine preventive care for patients with diabetes, such as a $100-150 routine checkup with a podiatrist, but will shell out literally tens of thousands of dollars for the cost of an amputation that could have been avoided.
The worst part was reading that the hospitals preferred this as well since it means a much larger reimbursement from the insurance companies.
I can't even imagine the amount of jumping through hoops required to obtain care for people with less tangible problems.
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zvi
(no subject)
Date: 2006-03-22 12:08 pm (UTC)I read, about a month or two ago, an article in the NYTimes (online) about how insurance companies will deny coverage for simple routine preventive care for patients with diabetes, such as a $100-150 routine checkup with a podiatrist, but will shell out literally tens of thousands of dollars for the cost of an amputation that could have been avoided.
The worst part was reading that the hospitals preferred this as well since it means a much larger reimbursement from the insurance companies.
I can't even imagine the amount of jumping through hoops required to obtain care for people with less tangible problems.