Being sick in America
People in this country who are sick see the health care system in a worse light than those who are well, according to a new poll by NPR and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They are more likely to believe cost is an urgent problem, that health care personnel don’t communicate sufficiently and that the quality of care has gotten worse in the last five years.
Even people with “good” insurance are paying more for their care, and medical bills count as a factor in two-thirds of bankruptcies in America. Insurance and pharmaceutical companies are very good at squeezing customers, hospitals and physicians, although they seem to be plenty generous with politicians.
Nearly half of sick people surveyed said the cost of care caused financial hardship — and that included people with insurance. About a quarter of those surveyed said they had a problem with insurance not covering care in the last year.
For example, insurance companies often deny coverage of a colonoscopy if it is performed in the same building as the gastroenterology practice, and they won’t tell you it’s denied until after the procedure is done. That’s $2,000-plus, and it’s one of the most common stories I hear.
One in six sick people (sick is defined as someone with a serious or chronic illness that requires medical care or who has spent overnight in a hospital in the last 12 months) said they were denied the care they needed because they couldn’t pay or because their insurance wouldn’t cover it.
Among people without insurance, 40 percent didn’t get the care they needed.
I don’t doubt that because for two years, Mike tried to get a colonoscopy in Savannah, Ga., but couldn’t because the gastroenterology practice demanded $2,300 up front. Because he was uninsured (and uninsurable because of a birth defect that left him vulnerable to colon cancer) and a student, he was a financial risk and so they wouldn’t bill him for the procedure. Had I known this I would have put it on my credit card, but he didn’t want anyone to worry about him, so he never said anything until it was too late. He hoped he would be able to finish college and get a job with health benefits before he got sick and needed care.
Sick people also described problems with the care they received, such as doctors and nurses not communicating with them or with each other, wrong diagnoses, inappropriate tests and wrong medications.
Seven in ten sick Americans say the influence of health insurance companies on treatment decisions is a major reason for problems with quality of care. More than half believe people getting too many unneeded tests or drugs is a major reason for quality of care problems.
Ninety percent said they believed hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies are charging too much for care. A majority also said people need to take better care of themselves, and nearly three-quarters say their doctors don’t discuss broader health issues with them.
People who aren’t defined as sick don’t see the system in a much better light, probably because they know someone who is sick and have seen the horror stories first-hand.
Yet people are pretty evenly split on the Affordable Care Act. What that says to me is that the billions being spent on advertising and opinion-shaping by the Medical-Industrial Complex is paying off. What it means is that tens of thousands of Americans will continue to die prematurely because of corporate greed.
For more on the survey, visit http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/05/21/153019327/poll-what-its-like-to-be-sick-in-america?ps=sh_botprev
Tags: Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a peer support program for people with one or more serious or chronic medical issues or disabilities.
We aim to reduce isolation and fear among people who have conditions, including psychiatric illness, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, mild dementia or other cognitive disorder or disability, thereby reducing depression and complications as people learn to improve self-management of their medical conditions.
Patient Pals help alleviate feelings of isolation and frustration. They can help people develop a list of questions to ask the doctor and then accompany the person to the doctor to make sure all the questions are answered, taking notes to be sure the person understands the doctor’s answers.
Our trained volunteers also accompany their “Pals” to art exhibits, movies and walks outdoors, meet for coffee, call to check in and more.
Our Pals have experienced weight loss, improvement in diabetes, HIV, psoriasis, depression and more, just because they have someone who cares about them. Some relationships develop into longer-term friendships; other Pals move on to more independent lives.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
Life o’ Mike honors Joe Eblen
Life o' Mike presented its first Michael T. Danforth Community Service Award to Joe Eblen at a luncheon on June 8, in the Friendship Hall of First Congregational Church, 20 Oak St., Asheville.
Joe, seen here with Leslie Boyd, left, and his wife, Bobbie, has spent his life helping children and families, both as a coach and game official for more than 60 years, and as founder of Eblen Charities.
Start From Seed
Life o' Mike has a new program- Start from Seed (SFS).
SFS is a volunteer doula program aimed at providing non-medical, comprehensive support to low income, high-risk women and families of Buncombe County focusing on three areas:
1. We help new doulas with certification and training in return for their participation as a volunteer doula for SFS
2. We mentor volunteer doulas with their first few clients
3. Our volunteer doulas provide birth and postpartum doula services to low income, high risk moms, providing support and tools to empower them as a new parent.
A birth doula is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; a postpartum doula provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.
Start from Seed clients are referred to us from the Buncombe County Department of Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program, Western North Carolina Community Health Services, and Mission Hospital. The Program is intended and designed for growing clients’ inner strength and helping them gain empowerment to help them cope with the emotional, physical and mental challenges of childbirth, labor, and motherhood.
Our new moms and their infants have many needs. If you would like to help them get off to a good start, please visit our Start from Seed web site: Start from Seed, or call Program Director Chelsea Kouns at 804-814-9946.