Mal Practice & Insurance Debates

I've grown more than a bit tired of all these insurance debates. I would be a bit more enthusiastic if it weren't for the fact that our current insurance issues are driven by many aspects & some are never addressed in these debates like the fact that Mal Practice is a very real subject that gets swept under the rug on a regular basis. It is so bad now that there is a commercial running that shows an individual asking massive questions about an ipod he's about to buy, & then shows him sitting in his doctor's office without a single question. Unfortunately a lot of the problem with our health care system is that so few people care about their health until they have done massive damage to themselves; but there are also many incidents of mis diagnoses. We watch programs like "House" & believe that if we get sick we will have doctors that work that hard to find the right problems & the truth is that that does not happen.

Most of us do not think to question our doctors or realize that when we give them more information they would be more likely to be able to help us, but there are also other aspects that can play into diagnoses. A great example of that is what happened to my grandmother many years ago. She got her leg broken in a small town on a Saturday & she had her x-ray done by a chiropractor who showed the broken bones to the doctor, but never mentioned that there was something else in the x ray. Later after her leg healed, she began to have pains in her rib cage & some doctor wanted to admit her to an old folks' home because he felt the pain in her ribs was her imagination. My mom knew that was wrong & so she figured a way to fly her to Dallas to the hospital my grandmother had worked in & learned that my grandmother's ribs had been eaten by cancer, she died about a week later. Eventually the doctors in Dallas got my grandmother's records & saw the cancer in the original x ray of her leg. Truthfully, they might have given her a month or two longer but at least no one would have accused her of being a lunatic that imagined pain in her ribs.

Since then I have many dis-satisfying experiences with doctors & my advice is if the doctor does not listen to you find another doctor. There are many reasons that doctors may have a problem trying to learn what is going on with you, but when they are dismissing what you have to say it becomes somewhat obvious that you need another doctor. One issue I would really like to see brought up in this "insurance" debate is the issue of Mal-Practice, I've had doctors tell me that one reason their prices are so high is because they have to cover their mal practice insurance. Here in Texas they have actually capped amounts that can be assessed to mal practice suits, they refer to these suits as "frivolous Law Suits". Doctors are so afraid that their rates will go up that they help to sweep other cases under the rug & that is wrong & one of the reasons that health care is as expensive as it is. I hope that all reading this actually have doctors that care & listen, but chances are you have dealt with some of these less responsible doctors yourselves & they should not be able to get away with just because they keep their insurance payments up. Learn about your health issues & question your doctors & the doctors of your loved ones while you can & don't wait to bring your "frivolous law suit" up once it is too late, because chances are, the insurance company will figure a way to beat you in court, all the money is on their side. Thanks for reading this & have a great day, yer pal Mel Bell.