HORRORS OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
There are many horror stories when it comes to medical bills. I have seen the horror first hand. For many years I suffered with back problems. For a time the symptoms would come and go, and then there came a point where they would not go away. Things became exceedingly worse, with no relief. The details of my symptoms are far too long to go into, but I assure you they were bad. So bad that at times I could barely walk. Then the whole gamut of tests and doctors began. Test after test. Test upon test. Bloodwork, MRI’s and CT scans. The list goes on and on. Finally I was told that I had a mild case of spinal stenosis in my neck, and that I was also suffering with mild arthritis. They said I was okay. Things should go back to normal they told me. But, the symptoms were too pronounced to fit the diagnosis. I began researching my symptoms on the Internet, which is the worst thing I could have done. At first I convinced myself that I had MS. Then I moved over to Parkinson’s disease. My mother had it, so I must have inherited it from her. Then I imagined it was Lou Gehrig’s disease. But that didn’t last long as I quickly moved on to Krone’s disease, and several other imagined maladies. Finally I resolved to solve the riddle once and for all and went on a five year journey, right into the Bowles of hell they call the medical profession. Five years to find out I had three ruptured discs in my lower spine. Then came visitations to back specialists. The first one looked at my MRI for five seconds and told me I needed fusion. He showed me a model of the plates and screws that are used for the procedure. Devices reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition. No thanks, I’d rather crawl. More back surgeons, one worse than the next. I began researching again and found a procedure called Coflex. It is a minimal invasive surgery where the surgeon cleans away the debris from the bad discs and then replaces them between the vertebrae with titanium couplings. It worked, somewhat, but I still suffer. The difference is, now I no longer fear that my body will break in half. Then came the medical bills. One from the anesthesiologist. Bills from the hospital. Bills from doctors I don’t remember seeing. Bills from labs, more bills from the hospital. I put all the bills in a fat envelope and decided to deal with them later. After a few months I took them back out of the envelope and began to fight the collectors. You see, medical bills are different than other bills. When you have a procedure you are never told by anyone what the actual cost will be. At the time before surgery I really didn’t care. But, it’s Blue Sky all the way. Doctors, clinics, labs and hospitals believe the sky is the limit. So, they keep billing and billing. When my Humana statement comes I see an entire list of bills that Humana has rejected. They know the game better than anyone. At the end of my battle with bill collectors I was able to bring my medical debt down to a fraction of the original asking price. But why, why was I able to do that? Again Blue Sky. They never told me what they were going to charge, and that is a farce. Could you imagine going into a restaurant and there are no prices on the menu? If you decide to eat there, and you eat too well, you may wind up washing dishes for a millennium. If this medical nightmare happens to you one day, and it might, keep in mind that the bulk of the bills you will receive can sometimes be negotiated down to ten-cents on the dollar. STAY WELL
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