Monday, September 22, 2014

Pogo Sticks and RFI Chips




Any of you that still think Obama is doing a great job untangling other people's errors, please stop reading now.  You won't believe me or finish the article anyway.

Here is the thing.  Even if you were one of the very first to use Sebelius's horrible website, or even if you are a person that feels kind of anarchist about government aid of any kind.  There is SO much you do not know --- so much that will be revealed only through time and experience.

First there was that thing about giving up the right to keep your medical records private.  That was a law that made it necessary for us to sign that HIPAA  or HIPPA paper at the doctor's office.  We were supposedly guaranteed privacy.  But there is a clause in the ACA that says if you sign up you give up the right to privacy.  They had a hearing about it and nothing was admitted and nothing was changed and I am an amateur politician so you have to research elsewhere.  But it is true.  No spoofing.

Then there is the stuff you find out about no matter what kind of coverage you have.  I have a relative who is a medical professional working for a large health care corporation, so this person probably has decent health coverage.  An accident.  A pogo stick.  A broken wrist.  All healed.  All supposedly paid for and insurance info accepted.  Weeks later news comes that the claim cannot be settled until further documentation from Blue Cross Blue Shield's subrogation department.  Where did it happen? Why? Who else was involved.  Was it on private property?  Do you have other insurance?  (This question was always the part of every form.) The person is afraid to answer the many questions, these and others, for fear she will have to testify when Blue Cross sues the pogo stick manufacturer or the property owner from whom she rents. Or me, the person that purchased the pogo stick.  Or Toys R Us where the pogo stick was purchased.  You get my drift.  They will drag it out until what ever monies are involved are meaningless.

Then, at my regular checkup my doctor tells me she now has to ask me a series of questions, which were kind of uncomfortable.  You have to pause before you answer so the Paddy Wagon doesn't show up at the door.  She HAS to ask these.   If she doesn't, insurance claims and coverage will probably fly out the window.  This is all law now.

Now.  First of all.  How much money and how many people are needed to process, research, and follow up on all this information?  You wonder why it cost so much to go in an emergency room?  More and more people are going to want to work illegally with no SSN identification, so they can walk in an emergency room and claim indigence. Many, if not most, emergency rooms have little signs on the registration desk saying whether or not they HAVE to take you. To many, this becomes more and more attractive.  Especially if you go into a faith based facility.  But, of course, unless you walked across our Southern border, the more people that try to fly under the radar, the stricter the policing will become.

I have written before that you need to indoctrinate your kids and grandkids to make sure they never let anyone put an RFI chip under their skin.  Well, that won't do any good.  Betcha.  If you don't have the RFI chip you will be refused care.  I think the choices will be automatons or total anarchy.

This is the legacy my generation leaves you and for that I apologize.


Image Attribution:   https://www.istockphoto.com