Socialized Medicine---Rant

Yesterday I received two letters from my insurance company. One dated January 5th stated that all treatment for my feet up to October 6th would be covered and that they has authorized 25 more treatments for my feet. The second letter dated January 6th stated all my physical therapy treatments after June 25th would not be covered because their physical therapist had reviewed the submitted claims and had decided I had no medical need for ultrasound and cold laser on my feet and exercises at home are just as good. Now for those of you that have insurance you know you cannot just call the doctor explain your symptoms and have him prescribe over the phone. He says because of insurance you have to come in and see him so he can diagnose the problem. When I forcefully brought this up on the phone the lady paused and her response was legally they can deny my need based on records. Of course my response was to point out I had surgery in October which was pre authorized by Aetna and yet their PT said I didn't need it? Then I told them according to her letter Aetna has to assign me a person to speak on my behalf. She didn't know about that potion of the letter. Last month Aetna refused to pay my podiatrist because they decided I had dual insurance. Now I have been working at B&W for five years and haven't married or added another person to my insurance. However they never sent me a request asking if I had a second insurance. I heard about it from my doctor's office. It seems insurance is getting worse since Obama took office and it appears our private insurance that we all pay through the nose for is turning into socialized medicine. I for one am upset that now even though I follow the rules I have to spend my days off arguing on the phone. Not because I am trying to get pain killers or collect social security or misuse the system but because I really want my feet fixed so I can be healthy and exercise so that I don't have to use my stupid insurance. At this point I assume the insurance company thought I was going to go belly up and pay but instead I made the phone call and the more I pointed out their flaws in their system all of the sudden the girl pointed out that there is a verbal appeal system in place and took my statement over the phone and promised me she would get back to me by 26th of January. Three months ago I called Aetna because they were refusing to pay lab fees associated with my annual exam because Lab Corp would not code it properly and Lab Corp is not in my network. However, when I have blood work done at work guess which lab is used? Lab corp. insurance companies are doing this because they think the majority of Americans are too passive to force them to do their jobs. They think we won't make the phone calls and we will just pay the bill when it's 100 dollars or 39 dollars at a time. Well that is BS. I think their CEOs are making plenty of money and their corporate bonuses are large enough as it is. I for one don't want to pay hundreds of dollars a month for prescriptions and going and seeing doctors for hundreds of ailments. Yesterday I purchased glasses. While my eye exam is covered, glasses are not. I pay about 10 dollars a month to cover my family and get a discount on frames and contact lenses. My total bill was over seven hundred dollars however if I break that down monthly that's still quit reasonable for someone with terrible vision. I am lucky that my work insurance is currently some of the best in the Texas panhandle but rates are rising and benefits decreasing. My only option is to become healthier. So this whole rant is one reason I am trying to juice. So far doctors and having insurance haven't fixed me feet. Right now money isn't helping nor are prescriptions. Hopefully this will and it will continue to help the inflammation and pain.