One big change since my first cancer battle is the way my treatment is handled by my health insurer. There are things I don't care to recall from those days, but I am sure I did not receive the blow-by-blow detail of every charge for every medical service that my insurer now provides.
During my previous treatment, one of the messages I delivered in my day job was how consumers needed to have more information about health care costs in order to make intelligent decisions and help bring out needed health care reform. We certainly have more information now, but we not much closer to reforming how we pay for health care.
The medical claim summaries I receive routinely now from my insurer spell it all out -- the hefty price for procedures and services, the "discounted" portion the insurer lops off the top (usually half or more of the original charge), the remaining portion the insurer agrees to pay and the pittance left as my responsibility. My job involves helping to explain health care, so I should not be surprised by any of these figures. It is still shocking, though, when you see it in such a personal context.
When my cancer fight is behind me, I am committed to not forgetting how it feels to see this side of health care so that I can work more effectively for reform.
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