Medical equipment breaks and fails far more often than people like to admit or think. Having been in this field for a year, I fear going to a hospital for a medical reason…that infusion pump has the capacity to kill me, all that needs to happen is for some dirt to cover up the air-in-line sensor, and I could be on my way to embolism city.
If you work for a relatively large company that provides MM insurance (let’s say 5,000+ employees) on an ASO basis (i.e. play with their own money, using an insurance company to provide Asministrative Services Only:
[ol]
[li]If you gripe enough, your appeal will probably work (internal stat at my company, 67% of appeals are overturned infavor of the employee)[/li][li]Your executives probably have an “executive medical plan” where they get their out-of-pocket costs reimbursed[/li][li]Your drug program is limiting you? Gripe! Overrides are VERY common, often for no good reason[/li][li]And yes, we know all of your medical history. HIPAA is violated every day at an insurance company.[/li][/ol]
-Cem