Easier said than done

You know, when I was younger I remember it being very easy to go to the doctor, dentist, optometrist, etc. There was minimal paperwork, inexpensive co-pays (if any at all), and nothing to worry about after your appointment. Maybe I was naive as to what was going on or maybe my parents were fortunate enough, financially, to take care of any health issues. Whatever the case may be, it just doesn't seem as easy to go to the doctor, these days.

For instance, when Brian went to his primary physician for severe stomach pain, back in 2007 (which turned out to be appendisitis), she told him to go home and wait until blood work was returned from the lab..which could be up to 24 hrs or longer. Then, she would refer him to a specialist and go from there. However, less than two hours later, he was in the ER and a surgeon had him scheduled for an emergency appendectomy. But it doesn't end there. When the nurses began prepping him for surgery, another hospital staff member came in and asked if I had made the ER/surgery co-pay. I replied "no" and was then told his surgery could not take place until I made the $500 co-pay. I thought that was the most absurd thing I had ever heard. As I made my way back up to the ER check-in counter, stood in line for another 10min, and then waited till another emergency was cleared so they could let me back there again, Brian remained in intensive pain waiting for his surgery to take place. But it still doesn't end there. As soon as we got home from the week long stay at the hospital, we began receiving insurance documents in the mail like the world was gonna end. Nothing said we owed anything; they were all claim papers, just a ton of them. But then a few months ago (a year after the surgery) we got a bill. Turns out we had to pay the hospital, directly, for the anetheseology and the insurance company would reimbuse us. Yup, a year after the surgery.

Anyway, my point is, why is insurance such a hassle these days? As citizens (and taxpayers) why should we have to worry about whether we're seeing a doctor in our network or if we're going to have to pay big time because we didn't use one in our network. Why do we have to give our whole life story and make co-pays before the necessary actions are taken to ensure good health? Why are insurance policies so limited, yet complicated these days? Why isn't insurance as good as it use to be? I may not know the politics of it all, but I do know, having good insurance seems way more difficult than it should be.

I guess I just wish my theory, as a kid, was true...I use to ask my dad "Can't we buy this toy with insurance? Insurance covers everything."