Warning: this is a rant...
Just spent hours tracking down doctors accepting a Medicare advantage plan for someone I know. First, health insurance plan website lists a bunch of doctors that would accept them right there. So, you'd think this is simple - just pick one from the list... but no, you call some doctors and they say, 'Yes we accept insurance X but not that specific plan'! Ok, then you call other few doctor from the list, and it turns out they don't work where the site has them listed; instead a different set of doctors work at that location but they don't accept this insurance... Call another doctor. They say, 'Uh, yes, we accept that plan but you have to call the insurance company and have them send you what exactly they will cover'. I say, 'Well, it's on their website.' They say, 'That was not enough in the past. For some reason the insurance does not send us what is covered and we require patients come with that information.' What the heck is that?! Never heard of this of kind thing before... And of course all of this has to be done before going to get a referral to one of those doctors... And of course when I say making a "call" that means waiting on hold, getting transferred once or twice, waiting for the person to find out, etc...
Now imagine a sick person doing all this... Hmm.. maybe you don't have to imagine?
What a great healthcare system! Clearly no need for a single straight-forward plan accepted everywhere...
Just spent hours tracking down doctors accepting a Medicare advantage plan for someone I know. First, health insurance plan website lists a bunch of doctors that would accept them right there. So, you'd think this is simple - just pick one from the list... but no, you call some doctors and they say, 'Yes we accept insurance X but not that specific plan'! Ok, then you call other few doctor from the list, and it turns out they don't work where the site has them listed; instead a different set of doctors work at that location but they don't accept this insurance... Call another doctor. They say, 'Uh, yes, we accept that plan but you have to call the insurance company and have them send you what exactly they will cover'. I say, 'Well, it's on their website.' They say, 'That was not enough in the past. For some reason the insurance does not send us what is covered and we require patients come with that information.' What the heck is that?! Never heard of this of kind thing before... And of course all of this has to be done before going to get a referral to one of those doctors... And of course when I say making a "call" that means waiting on hold, getting transferred once or twice, waiting for the person to find out, etc...
Now imagine a sick person doing all this... Hmm.. maybe you don't have to imagine?
What a great healthcare system! Clearly no need for a single straight-forward plan accepted everywhere...