So, I have a little time to do a blog entry.
I just happened upon a link to a blog posting by a pediatric oncologist, David Loeb, who works at Johns Hopkins. It’s called “Why David Hates Health Insurance Companies.” Here’s some of what he writes about one of his patients, a young woman diagnosed with liver sarcoma:
“My patient will need a chemotherapy drug called ifosfamide to treat her tumor. This drug has a significant risk of infertility associated with it. After consultation with a reproductive endocrinologist, we decided that the best way to try to protect her fertility would be to use a drug called Lupron. Unfortunately, Lupron is expensive, so it requires prior authorization from the insurance company. I just received an email from our clinic coordinator that read, in part, ‘It won't be covered if it's for fertility reason (per her case manager).’”“So... I have some choices to make. Do I lie and say the drug is being prescribed for another indication? Do I tell the truth and risk the family having to pay $750 per dose out of their own pockets? Or do I choose a different drug, one that will not work as well, and know that I am not providing optimal care for this young woman, and am increasing her risk of infertility?”
The rest of the blog entry indicates how hard this doctor has been working, documenting all the complexities of the case, emailing copies of medical-journal articles to insurance-company drones – trying to convince them to make an exception. Bravo to Doctor David for going the extra mile for his patient. I hope he gets someone to listen to him.
Who can put a price on a young woman’s fertility? The very notion of it boggles the mind. Yet, this is the Godlike power our broken health-care system places in the hands of insurance-company functionaries.
Think about it: an insurance-company clerk at a computer terminal vs. an oncology specialist at Johns Hopkins. The clerk is supposedly advised by a consulting physician – who’s on the payroll of the company and who receives bonuses for declining claims – who may not even be an oncologist. And who’s this “case manager,” anyway? My case manager, when I had one, was a nurse. A very capable and helpful person, but certainly not the equal of a Hopkins oncologist when comes to making treatment decisions.
This is the nitty-gritty of our present healthcare mess. This is where it gets up-close and personal. Those rageaholics at Tea Party rallies, ranting on about mythical “socialized medicine,” are perpetuating a system that forces highly-trained specialists to take precious time away from caring for patients to educate insurance-company bean-counters.It’s not that this is an occasional aberration. This sort of Kafkaesque scene is replayed day in and day out, in hospitals across this land. It’s why our healthcare dollars buy so little patient care.
In a comment on Dr. Loeb's posting, his clinic coordinator chimes in:
"Why do physicians have to charge a high rate for service? They have to pay for me! On a daily basis, I have at least 20 cases on my desk to try and convince an insurance company to approve treatment and/or medications that will improve the patient's quality of life. This is distressing for the unfortunate loved ones who have to deal with the sometimes long wait. As if a child with cancer is not enough to deal with!"
We all know it’s a wasteful, inefficient system. Yet, there are also hidden costs, like this doctor’s and this clinic coordinator's time, that don’t show up on the usual balance sheets.
I wish every obstructionist Senator could read Dr. David’s blog entry.
This is our national shame.
2 comments:
Here in the Finger Lakes region of New York, we're getting a bit of snow, so like you, I also decided to write a blog post.
I stumbled across your blog, thanks to someone else who visited mine.
I also am a Presbyterian pastor who has had cancer. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor in November 1995. I had surgery, radiation treatment (which cost me some hair!), and seven rounds of chemotherapy (which lasted until February 1997). A couple of years ago, I was pronounced "cured." I still take anti-seizure medication.
I share your frustration with a mentality that sees health care as something to be marketed the way we do soap. I don't want to oversimplify the question, but there does seem to be a serious lack of will involved.
Grace, health, and peace to you!
I don't know. I think I am on the side of the insurance company on this (assuming that the insurance contract doesn't cover fertility treatments).
Heath care is not free. Even in a private system, society bears the cost of increased healthcare premiums. In a taxpayer supported system (a system that I think is more rational) it is even more clear that everyone bears these costs. I can easily see the rational for drawing a line that says that -- if a cancer patient wants to preserve fertility, that should not be a public expense.
As for the doctor's quandry, he clearly should be telling the truth to his patient -- and she and her husband should decide whether the cost of the more expensive alternative treatment is worth it.
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