NursingLink

THat is horrible! All of this money is paid for insurance and they are covering less and less as patients must pay more and more out of pocket. I have come accross many medications that are not covered. In the private practices, alot of the doctors, I have heard will give samples to you if they have them and the meds are not covered. I do not know what can be done about medical procedures that are not covered. Sorry.

Hello Charlita, I think you are right. THey probally do think that the skin graph is just a bandaid before amputation. It shouldn't matter though if it is what the patient wants! I wonder what happens when the heads of these insurance companies need a product or procedure that is not covered, I bet they get it covered for them or their loved one! It's just not fair!

Insurance companies are a JOKE. My fiancee has GERD very bad. He has to take protonix twice a day because the insurance co. won't pay for Nexium or the other, more helpful meds. Now the ins. co. won't pay for the quanity of medicine (twice a day) b/c they say he doesn't need that much!! How in the world do they know what he does or doesn't need. Protonix has stopped working for him and he needs something similar to Nexium. Guess what... his insurance doesn't cover those meds either. They are a complete JOKE and something needs to be done about insurance co. policies and coverage. This subject fires me up.

OMG!!! HOW F*KD UP IS THAT!! HOW CAN PPL WRK 4 A COMPANY THAT WILL PUT PATIENTS THROUGH THAT KIND OF UNNESSECARY STRESS AND DRAMA. BUT THEN WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT 4RM A CAPITALISTIC COUNTRY THAT DEPENDS ON BIG BUSINESSES WHO LOVE ONLY ONE THING....MONEY!!! AND THEY DONT GIVE A RATS A$$ ABOUT ANYONE ELSE!!!

I am getting set to start nursing school next year and the one thing I want more than anything else is to help people, but the truth of the matter is that none of us are willing to do it for free are we? Along with helping people we are also attracted by the potential of the nice living that nursing provides.

I mean if all you want to do is HELP people you can walk into almost any healthcare facility and volunteer or go down to the Red Cross. But, I know most of us are taking on debt to get our educations; we have bills, spouses. children and mountians of debt and we all expect to be well compensated for the hard work we do...right? Well where do you think that money comes from? Charging for services...

Surely you understand that if the hospital gave away it's services they couldn't afford to pay us so well and I don't see any nurses/doctors lining up to work for free, in fact most of them believe they are under paid.

I think what many of us fail to realize is that there are many levels of care, just like hotel rooms...there are basic rooms that get you in out of the rain and give you a place to sleep and there are suites with a great view and a fireplace. While some insurance only covers the minimum care, at least you get it. For those who are truly without money...they also get basic care...it is the law. Nobody can be refused BASIC treatment based on their ability to pay. For some reason we all believe we deserve the penthouse suite type of care instead of what we pay for through our insurance. Don't like your coverage? Buy better insurance.

Insurance companies hire doctors/nurses to help them determine what they will/won't cover and they know the limits of care based on statistical averages and sadly there has to be a place where we look at the facts and see that continuing tratment is a waste of resources...finacial triage has to be performed.

We all want our cake and eat it too, but sadly it doesn't work like that. If you have bad insurance, buy better. Great insurance is out there and yes it is expensive, but it is for SAVING YOUR LIFE. Oddly, most of us can all afford cars, clothes, cable T.V., cell phones, jewelry, eating out, iPODS, computers and the tons of trinkets that litter our homes and yards, yet we complain that we can't afford insurence...I think it is actualy a simple matter of priority. We want to be like the grasshopper who spent all summer playing and then when the winter came he had nothing.

Grow up children, the truly indigent are taken care of and the rest of us need to learn to be prepared for the future. I want nothing more than to work in a hospital and care for those who need it and yes I think everyone should volunteer a day a week at the free clinic to give something back but we can't work for free...oh, and as far universal healthcare in other countries...do your research, those people have been suffing for years while they sit on goverment waiting list for simple procedures...THAT is a crime.

nulife: I think you are a bit harsh. Nothing is ever cut and dried-black or white. Most things fall in that gray area in between. Volunteering is great if you are able to do it, but most of us need to work for the money. Yes, it's good to be able to work at a profession you love but we still need to get paid for it. Something needs to be done in this country as far as health care is concerned. Too many cannot afford health insurance and it's not just the poor anymore but the middle class as well. Don't be so quick to judge unless you've been in that situation. It's easy to sit back and tell someone else what to do. Try being alittle more open minded. You'll need that in the medical field.

Nulife: I totally agree with you about the government and how screwed up they are. They can't do anything right, including healthcare. They always find an excuse to charge us for something. I know that the current healthcare situation needs to change, and I don't even know what that should be. I have an open mind about this issue too, but insurance is the main reason healthcare has gotten so expensive in the first place. Insurance is out there to make money not to care for patients. They could care less about the patient. And HMO's, don't even get me started on those!

That sure would be nice. Something needs to be done. The government can't even run medicare, obviously. So that shouldn't be the answer either, but it would be nice to see something happen and soon! I hate nursing homes. I have worked in those for a couple years and it's horrible. I would not send my worst enemy there. Ultimately I want to be a home health nurse because I believe people will do so much better in their own homes. I have seen a lot of people die right after being admitted into a nursing home. What is this world coming too!

niether would I charlita and I work in one. Ive told my children they better just shoot me . And to you Nulife, your wrong nursing is very hard work and if your going into it for the money it just dont add up for the stress and disappointment. There are Dr that work out agreements with pts to charge a flat rate an they consume the brunt of the hosp bill. These are the ones that believe in their oath. My mother always said insurance is a racket, if you could put the money you pay for premiums in a savings you wouold not need it. Hopefully we will elect a official that has a heart and a conscience.

I agree w/ some of what nulife has to say, the other not so much.Starting w/ the op topic, big business insurance do tend to decide what care occurs and what doesnt via payment.Most peopple can not pay for the medical expenses insurance does not cover.Most insurances follow the guidelines set by medicare, the more strict they get the more strict the other insurances follow suit.I shudder to think how the nedicare system,if it is still up and running, is when i retire.The issue w/ insurance and reimbursement not only deals w/ reimbursement and medical coverage and denials, but the deeper problem is cost of health care.As i said previously, many could not pay for services not covered by insurance.I know new and innovative technology costs money, but at what expense to the pt?Alot of skyrocketing prices are due to the fact so many do not pay medical bills due to finances, no insurance,no job etc. Another is medicaid, although it seems to run more like an hmo, you know upfront what you are dealling with and the pa is.This rises costs for us who  do have insurance, since they will pay(to degress of course).

In regards to nulifes statements...You can't always buy BETTER insurance.If you have private insurance, it is expensive for the premiums alone, especially if you have a family,.If you have a family member with a chroninc condiotn requiring more frequent medical care,it can be outrageous.Ohter people have such  extensive health issues and problems/history, many insurance companies won't even cover them.Unless you have an employer where you can get coverage, you are in a serious situation.

Another point i would like to make is, everyone should receive the same care/treatment as everyone else.Noone should expect more or better care or more options just because you have money or "better" insurance.I do feel it is a shame tho that it seems the middle class or those w/ insurance seem to have it worse off than those on medicaid or those who just don't care about paying their bills(for whatever reason).When my boys were younger, i had to take them to the health dept for their shots and pay a nominal fee, others w/ medicaid ..they went to the DR.small things like that  really irk me.

Do i feel a universal health care would be be benfecial?Maybe, but i could see it would open  a huge can of worms, then there would be no choice.I fear that the same problems could surface and you have no alternate choices.Then major issues could occur.It could take a communistic turn for the worst,imo.........