No wonder why health care costs are so high

[deepskyal]

Just spent a couple days in the hospital, minor crap compared to my roommate.
Guy is 73, has diabetes and a blood clot in his lung and leg. He'd been in there 4 days and he was absolutely miserable, wasn't watching tv or anything, just staring at the ceiling or wall.

Anyhow...he was to be discharged the same day as me and he needed approval from his insurance carrier to pay for a shot he needed that cost $1200.00 a day that he would administer to himself at home for another week or so.

His insurance company refused to pay for the shot but the guy needed it to disolve the clots...so the hospital told the insurance company they would have to keep him and the insurance company WILL pay for that. So instead of 7 days worth of medicine, now it's the medicine PLUS the hospital stay, the daily diabetic regimine, the doctors, other medications at some inflated rate.....

I mean seriously...even the guy was outraged that he couldn't go home and give himself shots and his carrier preferes to pay 8 to 10 times more to keep him in the hospital.

So tell me....who's raking in the big bucks here? Certainly isn't me. I pay for my insurance ...this is why my insurance costs so friggin much..

Al

[FarmerChick]

wow, certainly 'seems' crazy.

but I would love to know the real explanation from the insurance company on why this was handled this way Hmmmm....

[ivan salis]

they do not want folks "self medicating " --say the guys screws the shots up and dies * then the insurance company would get sued for "encourging" the hospital to release a man that should be under hospital care --if the man has "blood clots" in the leg and lungs they can break free and travel to the brain and kill ya -- sadly most likely he needs to be in the hospital being closely watched during the clot destroying time --it is actually very dangerous.

[olroy70]

Insurance companies do it because they can. Something written in the fine print, no doubt.

Hope ya never have a serious problem, because they can really jerk ya around.

But, so do docs and hospitals.

My wife spent the last 3.5 years of her life fighting cancer, and I spent most of that fighting docs, ins, and hospitals!!!!!!!

[olroy70]

One more thought...........

If you have every had the IRS on ya, or the USPS to deal with, imagine how much fun dealing with the feds will be with obamacare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ray S ECenFL]

Dumb question: Why couldn't the hospital discharge him and have him stop by once a day for his shot?

Rocket science, it is not.

[FarmerChick]

I remember a friend of my friend had a blood clot and he was told not to walk. After a hosp. stay I think she said he was on pills and sent home and told to stay put and keep leg elevated. I don't think traveling 1 time per day is recommended on clots.

[savant365]

When my father had surgery a few years ago he needed daily attention from a nurse and they sent one by the house every day for 2 weeks. Why they couldn't have had a nurse stop in and give him the shot is beyond me. Insurance covered the cost of the home visits as well.