Guaranteed Healthcare

When my son was a toddler he injured his jaw. By the time he was ten he couldn't open his mouth. Several operations later there was some but always temporary improvement. Insurance covered these operations... sort of (In one instance, a Massachussetts doctor said "we are not obliged to accept the 'usual and customary' from your insurer since you are from out of state (NH) so pay the whole cost." By the way, our insurer in our state allowed a greater "Usual and Customary" than they did in Mass. It was resolved when I told the collection agency it needed to come to NH to collect. They did not.).

Fast forward to when my son is an adult and no longer under my insurance and whose employer does not offer healthcare insurance. His jaw had not opened for three years (With the help of a certain elasticity of the jawbone and an overbite he could mash soft food into his mouth). This was a life threatening condition. If he had ever vomited he surely would have died. Not until his employer got insurance was his condition finally corrected... sort of.

My healthcare horror story is not limited to insurance (or lack thereof). There were the double billings by the hospitals and the greed of doctors which make me think that, if there is a God, there is a special corner of Hell where many in the healthcare industry will writhe for all of eternity.

All the best

Bill Perrron