Thanks for nothing, assholes. (3983 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 1.69 on 44 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Tom <theubertom.at.gmail.com> (View user info) at 2005-04-21 00:16:43 EDT
I'm pretty prone to going off and having huge fits about medical companies, health insurance companies, and other bullshit rich asshole fuckface shithead piss in the face cock sucking dick licking ass stuffing shit eating nipple licking foot groping muffler humping hernia kissing alamo raping...
businesses.
Well I tell you what, ladies and gentlemen. I've never been more angry than I am right now. I got a call from a guy by the name of Casey, who works for Maxim Home Nursing. My father, being on a vent (tracheostomy) is required to have 24/7 nursing. Doctor's motherfucking orders, bitches. He says to me "Your new insurance company has denied him 24/7 nursing, saying that he is not eligible. If we don't start getting money soon, we're going to have to pull the staff."
Maxim Home Nursing makes 31,000 dollars a month PER CLIENT. The nurses are paid 12 dollars an hour. In other words: Casey is a rich fuck.
Backtrack, though. My mom is working for the county, the MAN now, and she decided AFTER BEING TOLD that Pacificare, this NEW insurance company, would pay for the nursing AND be cheaper for us, since she works for the county. Well, in general. As it turns out, the county's version of Pacificare will not pay for it, because its THIRTY ONE THOUSANDS DOLLARS A MOTHER FUCKING MONTH. How can you blame them, would YOU want to fucking pay that? Hell no. That's probably about as much as some of you make a YEAR, and even if you made more, could you pay 31,000 dollars a month? Fuck no you wouldn't. Why? Because it's bullshit. A big steaming heap of bullshit. That's why.
So okay, we can just bitch at the assholes who gave us the option of switching under false information and then just switch my dad back (as it'd be cheaper in the long run). Turns out, the old company might not pay for that sort of thing anymore, having switched and then switched back. Why? Got me, guys. Here's a big round of fuck you to those fuckfaces. Thanks for raping us.
And you know what our case worker suggested? "Why don't you put him in a nursing home? We'd pay for that. Would that be at all better for him?" What the hell do you think, genius? If you had the choice of getting good nursing in your home with your loving family vs. poor ass nursing in a facility with a bunch of crazy old fucks, which would you choose? Exactly.
Pacificare would also pay for facility nursing. So in every sense, they are not letting my father choose what happens to him. They are deciding for him. Last time I checked, Pacificare didn't run our lives from the medical angle. When I needed to get stitches, my mom was actually wondering if Pacificare would even COVER urgent care. Why the fuck would anyone switch to a medical insurance company where they might not even pay for your kid's urgent care needs? That's what I want to fucking know.
And say we somehow manage to keep him from going into a nursing home. As it turns out, Pacificare OR our old company would only pay into it 3 million dollars before cutting the funding. That's enough for 3 and a half to 4 years more of in home nursing because Casey wants to be a rich fuck.
After that 4 years is up, what do we do? Exactly! Nothing! We get to do it ourselves. And it's not like my dad is going to die now. Not after he went on the trach. We're fucked. We're either fucked now, or we're fucked later.
I. AM. PISSED.
So what the fuck do we do, ubersite? You tell me. Maybe I should call Bill O'Reilly. He's really good at making much ado about nothing, so just think about how much ado he could actually make over something that REALLY MATTERS to the people.
I guess this just proves that you can't be sick and still live relatively comfortably in the world. If you're going to discover the technology to prolong/cheat life for those with chronic illnesses, you need to be able to brace yourselves to better assist those lives who will be prolonged due to your discoveries. Not sell a 15,000 dollar handicap accessible van for 45,000 dollars. Fucking assholes.
They're just a bunch of fucking assholes. And you know what makes me angrier? Chances are, my plight will not be heard by anyone, and we'll just be fucked. Fucked through and through. Fucked because some people want to have a lot of money and will do whatever it takes to get it.
Fuck you very much, Gatsby. I hope you choke on your American dream.
User Reviews
Submitted by Jeanneee (user info) at 2005-07-15 13:54:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I would bet my life that the CEO of that company makes seven figures a year plus stock options. Shit like this makes me want to release the virus.
Submitted by Darth_Adwain (user info) at 2005-07-15 13:39:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Now for my rating +2!
Submitted by Darth_Adwain (user info) at 2005-07-15 13:39:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by ProgramGeek (user info) at 2005-06-22 16:02:55 (#)
Ranking: -2
No Comment
________________________________________
Fuck you ProgramGeek... He is right!
Submitted by ProgramGeek (user info) at 2005-06-22 16:02:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
No Comment
Submitted by MissLady (user info) at 2005-06-09 10:53:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Geez, and I thought I had problems. My heart goes out to you and pops. I agree with the other post (forgot the name)....call Oprah. She seems to have a GIANT heart and certainly has more than enough money to spare. Maybe she can shoot some your way and expose these cruel insurance companies and nursing facilities for what they REALLY are. Although, you get more bees with honey than vinegar so I'd tone the frustration induced epithets down a bit though.
Submitted by Falconer (user info) at 2005-05-14 14:04:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Val (user info) at 2005-05-11 01:30:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Im serious about this Tom: CALL OPRAH. Oprah will help you out. Email her now.
Submitted by Wazza (user info) at 2005-04-28 02:36:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yep this is good , my old mum is getting to that stage ,and its a worry.
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2005-04-25 14:57:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I concur
Submitted by thorpe (user info) at 2005-04-24 05:33:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-04-21 17:43:38 (#)
Ranking: 2
It sucks to get old. That's one reason why I am NOT gonna do it.
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Too late, man. Too late.
Submitted by Wazza (user info) at 2005-04-24 05:09:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yep, this shit that goes down really sucks, I am going to asia when i retire one day ,there i know i will be looked after .Too much dog eat dog in our western world these days.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-04-21 17:43:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
We're about to - maybe - put Mrs. Shlongy's parents, who are both in their 80's, into an assisted living home situation, against THEIR wishes, because they cannot take care of themselves any longer without help...
They do NOT want to sell their house, but we might have to - fortunately, it's one huge ass golf course house - to pay for this overpriced care.
It sucks to get old. That's one reason why I am NOT gonna do it.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2005-04-21 16:59:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Ugh. I can only imagine the frustration.
"Fuck everything, now that I think about it." - George Carlin
Submitted by canadia (user info) at 2005-04-21 11:55:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
this sucks.. good luck. I hope everything works out.
Submitted by the_mysterious_stranger (user info) at 2005-04-21 11:50:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I feel you. I live in Germany, we have universial health care hear, of course, they only cover the absolute basics, i.e. nursery home. My grandmother is in one right now, it cost about 3000 Euros a month. Now here comes the kicker: If the state deems you are wealthy enough, it can force you to pay for the care of your parents yourself. We are lower middle-class. My parents have a house which has recently been cleared of mortage (after 25 years of hard work), part of which we rent out. Now the state can LEGALLY take a big part of the rent (they have to leave enough for my parents to sustain themselves) and use it to pay for my grandma. My parents worked their whole life for that house, and the money was to be used to get me through college. Fucking socialist economy. I think I'd much rather prefer the American system.
Submitted by missflibble (user info) at 2005-04-21 11:37:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
*pats on back* you'll find something. thoughts with you.
I know, thoughts don't pay the bills, but it's all I got man, I work for slave drivers.
Submitted by the_lone_stranger (user info) at 2005-04-21 11:37:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Bill O'Reilly? That fuckstick will capitalize on your plight and then kick you out the back door of the studio.
Call Oprah. She'll probably buy you a hospital.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2005-04-21 11:06:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
those people have no souls
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2005-04-21 10:58:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
So sorry for your troubles. Teephphah was right about going through the paperwork. You may want to talk to a lawyer (most medical suits have no charge unless you get money). If they try to charge you up front then you don't want them anyway.
At least if you speak to a lawyer and get some professional advice you may then use said advice to contact the original insurance company and let them know that you have consulted a lawyer because the new company did a 'bait and switch' type deal as Thinkbulb suggested.
As for 'pre-existing conditions' some companies do not have such a policy. I have to be careful of that since my son has brain damage ( don't want to linkwhore, but in case you want to see --> http://www.ubersite.com/m/64091) and they try to play that card. When they do I suggest they call my lawyer and discuss it with him.... that usually shuts them up pretty quickly. As for the maximum dollar amount regarding care I think that is something they are required to say. My son's charges for his first ten days almost equaled $500,000 which is technically half of his maximum lifetime coverage of 1 million.
Worst case scenario you may want to call Aetna, I've had them a few times for a provider. They are usually pretty easy going about the limits and prexisting condition stuff. You can pay out of pocket I think it's around $200 a week, but that shit is tax deductable after you spend a certain amount.
But definately talk to a lawyer, it can't hurt. Best of luck.
Submitted by HadToBeDone (user info) at 2005-04-21 10:30:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
"Turns out, the old company might not pay for that sort of thing anymore, having switched and then switched back. Why? Got me, guys."
--------
Like Teeph said, you jumped ship on a company that was paying for that, then expect them to welcome you back?
But the real answer is probably this: Before, it was covered. Now it's a pre-existing condition.
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-04-21 08:24:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Shame you guys don't have national healthcare.
Submitted by Teephphah (user info) at 2005-04-21 08:02:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Well . . . I gotta say, this really made me run through my entire emotional range. First I was pissed because you sounded like a whiney bitch, then I felt sorry for you and your family. Now I wish I had something helpful to tell you, but I don't really.
I'd be a little interested in hearing how your mother was convinced that the new insurance coverage would willingly cover your father's pre-existing condition. Did she read that somewhere, or was she told by a representative of the company (rather than by her employer's HR person)?
I can't say that I'm surprised that once she cancelled her policy with the original insurance company that they weren't really interested in picking up where you left off. You guys had a contract that probably covered your dad IN THE EVENT that he got sick, and he did, so they covered it. Then YOU GUYS cancelled the policy. Blam. YOU let the insurance company out of the agreement (one in which they were losing money, yet still honoring the terms). Now you want them to voluntarily sign up to lose money again? It might be nice to think like that, but it isn't very realisitic.
Blame it on capitalism if you want, but I think the real blame is a little closer to home.
As for everyone clammoring for you to sue . . . great idea, so long as you can document how the terms of the policy you signed up for were misrepresented to you (and how you were not provided with accurate information anywhere in the massive amounts of paperwork they threw at you). But you should also consider the impact that excessive litigation has on the cost of medical treatment. It isn't the only factor leading to high treatment costs, but it is a big one. By filing suit, you sort of become part of the problem you are complaining about.
But maybe that's the only way to compete in the system that we have?
I don't know. I wish I had more advice to offer, but situations like this are one of the big reasons I didn't ever want to do tort work in the first place (although this is actually more of a contract suit, which I SHOULD remember more about than I do).
I'll think about it some more if you can tell me some more about how your mom was convinced to switch policies. If you don't want to post all the details, you can e-mail me: Teephphah@gmail.
Submitted by bush_for_god (user info) at 2005-04-21 04:29:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Williamson you're a jackass
Submitted by Quasiplasmohedron (user info) at 2005-04-21 04:25:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
If you complain enough and get enough people on your side, maybe something will be done. Look at the response to Maddox's anti-Orbitz rant. Write to CNN, Fox, every other media outlet, your congressman, and tell everyone you know and everyone who reads this thread and anybody else you can reach to do the same. It's a long shot but if you can get a lot of people pissed off about this you never know what can happen. If that doesn't work do like John Q.
Submitted by williamson (user info) at 2005-04-21 03:42:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Fuck them.
Submitted by funk_boy (user info) at 2005-04-21 03:41:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
you can always eat him
Submitted by Siren (user info) at 2005-04-21 03:36:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Insurance companies suck. Humanity/ the lack of compassion in the worlds sucks. Good luck, and God speed.
Submitted by baking_Lady (user info) at 2005-04-21 03:27:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Just imagine if we had universal health care.
Submitted by Tom (user info) at 2005-04-21 01:57:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Well the thing about universal healthcare is that they're probably do the bear minimum too! He'd be in a nursing home like that.
Once again, when you get sick, you sign your life away.
Submitted by magic_flounder (user info) at 2005-04-21 01:55:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
That is totally insane. I do not understand how on earth your country can function with that kind of thing going on.
I suppose one good thing the UK has going for it is the NHS system, we're always moaning about it but we're damned lucky in comparison to what you're going through. You have my sympathies and I hope that something works out for you.
Submitted by Saxon (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:52:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good Rant, i hope it gets a good ending.
Submitted by shitfuck (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:48:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I hope you win a lottery.
Submitted by chronic_one (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:45:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Call Bill O'Reilly. I am sorry for that shit. So fucked up dude. It ain't right. Damn.
Submitted by Ainkara (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:42:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm sorry babe. Anything I can do?
Submitted by Tom (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:40:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I swear to God, fellas, I will go talk to Bill O'Reilly before I let this bullshit slide.
Submitted by MadScientist (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:38:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
+2 for taking a position on a topic that actually matters. Not "Chicken Nipples" (even though I laughed).
I can relate to what you are saying. So many times in life, I find myself being the "little guy" and getting fucked by the assholes that you speak of.
I personally think that the government should be much more involved in the regulation of insurance companies. I think that government agents for some Insurance Watchdog group should actually have offices inside the offices of these companies. It would be sort of an "internal affairs" for the insurance industry.
I am in a similar situation- similar to the outrageously high $31,000 for the cost of monthly in-home nursing. That is fucking outrageous. It probably only costs that company in the neighborhood of $10,000 to provide that care, leaving $20,000 in profit. That is unacceptable.
If you read some of my early work on Ubersite, you will remember "Operation: Operation" (http://www.ubersite.com/m/30493) where I spoke of a hand operation that was performed on me. I am now in debt in excess of $15,000 for something that was not at all my fault. When I received the itemized bill, I wanted to rush out to the hospital immediately and choke every motherfucker in the goddamned place.
It was forty fucking dollars for the blood-stained hospital gown that I wore for less than 2 hours. And it was in excess of $2000 for the Anesthesiologist to "put me to sleep". I paid in excess of $400 per hour for LABOR for 3 goddamn assholes to operate on my hand. The bill was crazy. Everytime I went to physical therapy, they used a cold-pack on my hand after therapy. This re-useable cold pack cost me $35 each time I used it. IT WAS THE SAME GODDAMN THING THAT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS USE TO KEEP THEIR LUNCHES COOL! It is UNDGODLY. Then, I find out that medical insurance providers negotiate with the hospitals to lower the prices on goods and services that they pay for. But, since I am paying cash, I pay the full cost. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't those fucking insurance companies pay the high rate, and the little guy, who wants to pay cash get the lower rate?
I dont understand it.
These types of issues make me want to get involved in politics.
The MadScientist
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:35:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:34:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yep! I know the feeling man, I know the feeling.
Submitted by chipolatte (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:32:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Didn't Gatsby die?
Submitted by Tom (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:32:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
What good is a lawsuit vs. a set protocol? That's what I want to know. That's like suing mammals for having fur and not scales.
Submitted by thinkbulb (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:27:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Hah yeah, when I was reading this I thought of a lawsuit. This is America. If people can't sue for no reason than that means al Qaida won. But seriously, someone is probably liable for something. The insurance company would be a good target. Bait and switch?
This really sucks, and no, nobody with power or money will hear this. That's the way things are, and you're not the only one dealing with it. Best of luck.
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:27:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Damn.
Submitted by thorpe (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:27:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Bugger.
Submitted by spedmonkey (user info) at 2005-04-21 00:19:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Ugly situation. Didn't you mention something about bringing a lawsuit? How seriously would you consider that option?