I Really Don’t ♥ Aetna
Not even a month ago I shared a story about post-partum, bipolar wife who was denied a refill by Aetna because, after two years, they no longer want to help pay for her medications that are, according to all of her doctors (especially at this point), imperative for her to keep taking. They want her to find a generic. They don’t care about her health but only their profits. So when CEO Obama says he doesn’t want to put Aetna out of business because they provide a legitimate service, my wife and I are left seething with anger and frustration.
Last night they changed tactics. Initially they wanted something from the doctor and the doctor was glad to say what they should already know: Now is not the time to experiment with alternatives. When a patient is on this type of medication they can’t just stop taking it and take something else. They have to be slowly taken off it, which is what we had to do when we decided to have a baby. So couple that with the fact that she is post-partum and you get an idea of how disturbing their behavior is – though it makes sense when you come to terms with the fact that Aetna is not in the business of healthcare but in the business of making money while posing as an entity that IS in the business of healthcare.
So the Doc responds and they volley back, "Your RX deductible is now 90% higher."
Our jaws drop in cartoon fashion.
After two years they decide to make it exceedingly difficult to respond. They win. They got the resources and the president in their hip pocket. We lose in more than one way.
You see, Aetna will tell you they are not denying care. It is an industry practice to not use the word denial, and you can cover cow shit in strawberries but I still won’t eat it.
They just made it too difficult for us to pay.
We are to believe there is a difference.
One of these days Aetna and its HQ in Hartford, CT will burn – though not by the hands of arsonists. No, we wouldn’t want them to get their insurance claim approved! CEO Obama may not deliver single-payer. We may never get it. Justice may have to wait for the Sun to die out and life to disappear, but the Sun will swell, Earth will dry up and Russell’s prophecy will come true: peace will return.
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