Dear Senator Warren: we love our private insurancd companies

[athena]

18. I have excellent insurance, and it sucks.

Every time I have to see a doctor, I have to pay a $30 or $60 co-pay, depending on whether the doctor is a specialist.

Four years ago, I had to have a minor surgery, and while I was recovering from it, I received a letter in the mail telling me that my surgery wouldn't be covered because it should have been out-patient surgery, and I had stayed at the hospital overnight. (I have no idea how I could possibly have gone home the same day; getting up out of that hospital bed on the second day was the most physically painful experience I've ever had.) I was completely stressed out for days, not knowing how much I would have to pay out of pocket. When I called my doctor's office, they were completely unhelpful. After lots of phone calls and e-mails, I was finally able to figure out that my doctor's office had filed the claim incorrectly. (I believe they did this on purpose because they charge a patient three times more if insurance doesn't cover a procedure. Insurance companies will refuse to pay more than a certain amount for a procedure, but an individual is in no position to argue about what any given procedure should cost.) In the end, after lots of phone calls and e-mails, my doctor's office filed the correct paperwork, and I only ( ) had to pay $500 out of pocket for the surgery (not including additional amounts for the anesthesia, etc.). But I'm certain that my recovery was slowed down because of the extreme stress I suffered.

Anyone who likes their insurance company has not (yet) been in a situation where their insurance company will try to screw them over. The insurance companies hold all the cards. They're able to refuse to cover a procedure for extremely arcane reasons. Medicare for all, on the other hand would ultimately be controlled by the power of the vote. I will never understand what makes Americans so comfortable handing over all the power to a private company and so uncomfortable handing over much less power to the government.