The Raping Of Blue Collar Americans Through Healthcare Costs

Unbeknownst to me, when I took my little girl in to have her heartburn and stomach aches checked, did I realize I would be contributing so heavily to the scam of high cost medical care and prescription rape. We are not a family to run to a doctor every time we have a sniffle or something hurts. I was raised to 'ride it out' and see if it clears up with the help of my built in healing vessel, ie; my body and its intricate system. I believe that we can achieve wellness by not interfering too much and letting our God-given systems do their job. Sometimes intervention is needed however, and this is one of those times. My 12 year old has been complaining of tummy aches since she was in the third grade. I did some research and contributed them to normal childhood issues, plus the fact that she tends to sway to the side of being a perfectionist. Stressing over grades, friends, activities, and plain old social drama is pretty much the norm for a girl nowadays. Progressively over the years the complaints went from "My tummy hurts" to "My tummy hurts and I have heartburn" somewhere throughout the course of almost every day. I decided I better take her in. Her GP noted her complaints and referred us out to a G.I. specialist mostly because we couldn`t pinpoint an attack. I`ve kept food diaries of the things she ate and noted any complaints, I`ve kept a calendar of events to see if there was any commonality regarding days/ or times and correlations between foods eaten. I was at a loss and so was her doctor. Seriously, a 12 year old shouldn`t be having frequent heartburn. Ok, thirty five bucks for a referral out. I can handle that I suppose. Even though I figure my fourteen hundred dollar quarterly premium should cover everything regarding visits, that event just occurs in my dreamstate.

We entered the office of the G.I. specialist and he asked Autumn a bunch of questions including "Are you pregnant?" My daughter`s eyes bugged out of her head in surprise. Neither her, nor I was expecting that question, although I know why they have to ask it. "Ummmm NO" was her response, and she proceeded to tell him the date of her last cycle. He palpated her stomach, checked her ears, looked in her throat; the usual stuff. He then told us that he wanted her to have a barium swallow done to rule out any swallowing malfunctions and he wanted to see how her digestive system worked when she swallowed. I forgot to mention that she also complains of food getting stuck in her esophagus occasionally. Exit G.I. specialist, thirty five dollar co-pay paid and another five hundred four dollars charged to insurance.

Within a week we headed to St. Mary`s imaging center to have her barium swallow performed. I must praise all of the staff there for their humor and for their friendly personalities. I spent many years dealing with the public and it`s so nice to deal with enchanting people instead of grumblies. The procedure was painless and easy and the radiologist found nothing wrong. We ran as fast as we could out of there without paying a co-pay. The EOB I received later revealed a one thousand one dollar figure for swallowing that precious liquid and having a scholar in the profession deem it as normal or abnormal. The radiologist contacted her G.I. specialist, told him of his findings, or unfindings, which brought on the next series of events.

The esophogeal endoscopy was the course of action needed to determine what the lining and inside of her esophagus looked like, along with the inside of her stomach. It is used for evaluating patients that are complaining of GERD, heartburn, and is useful in seeing abnormalities in the digestive track that may not be able to be seen in other ways. My girl was taken back to surgery where she was told to pee in a cup for the standard pregnancy test. Welcome to womanhood my dear. She headed back to the restroom, cup and gown in hand, and delivered to them what they needed. Back into bed and ready for the IV insertion within two minutes. Now my daughter hates needles, and she was a very brave soldier during this whole thing. They wheeled her away and I mosied into the waiting room. Not more than twenty minutes later I was called into recovery to be with my little girl. One look at her revealed the fact that she was stoned out of her mind! She was slurring her words and feeling no pain. I laughed and laughed at the uninhibited words that came out of her mouth. After examination of her esophagus, the parts connected, and a biopsy taken, it was decided that she has what is called eosinophilic esophagitis, or EoE. In terms that are understandable by most, including myself, EoE is caused by an allergic reaction to something, which causes inflammation, and elevates the number of eosinophils in the area. Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell which are a part of our immune system. In Autumn`s case, her esophagus is where they are elevated. I`m still unsure as to why it affects her stomach. I was so wrapped up with getting her out of the recovery room, I forgot to set up payment before I left. Later in the day when I called, I was informed my bill was to be in two parts; one for the procedure, and one for the building. Put the two together and you have close to four grand in charges.The EoE diagnosis brought on another date, that one with an allergy specialist.

It took about a month to get an appointment with the allergist; he must be a very busy man. Autumn was asked a slew of questions and the grand finale was her back being attacked by tiny needles, each having their own special serum inside. The testing revealed she is allergic/reactive to a bunch of local grasses and weeds, dogs, and cats. Now Smudge, our beloved family feline of almost eighteen years just passed away Labor Day weekend, so we are left with Diva, my 16 year old Golden Retriever, and Fred, my seven year old Papillon. Autumn loves them both and thankfully we are not asked to give them up. Thankfully, they do not sleep in her room so she has a safe haven when she`s feeling attacked by histamines. I asked her about her canine allergy and her reply was, "I don`t care Mom, I love Diva and I`d never give her up." Our homework is to record everything she eats for our next week`s visit and the doctor will hammer her skin with food agents and see if her body retaliates. He wrote me, or should I say her, a prescription for a steriod that has proven to be effective in treating her condition. We walked out of there with...you guessed it, a wallet thirty five dollars lighter, and a prescription. What I didn`t realize was that the prescription must have been written on some kind of rare, precious materal that resembled plain old paper. What led me to that conclusion? The one hundred forty two dollar price tag on that inhaler! That was after the insurance paid their part, that was my part! I have no clue what the pharmaceutical company charges for it. Is the price so high because it`s a rare medicine that is not used by many people? The answer is no. It`s a very common steroid used by asthmatics, and mind you, there are many, many asthmatics in the world. Why then, does the cost have to be so high? I had no choice though. This is the only treatment to try and get my only daughter to be able to live hopefully, with less pain. Trust me, we tried to get a different brand name or a generic version. I called and the allergist said this was the only effective medication for this particular disease/condition. He`s going to try and push the insurance company so they realize this antidote is the only antidote, and just maybe that will urge them to cover more of the price. With the stories I`ve heard, let`s just say I`m not holding my breath.

I feel so fortunate to be in the position to be able to fork out the exorbitant monies needed to make my daughter feel better. What about those that can`t? So far this journey has costed over fifty six hundred buckaroos; and that`s not counting the charges from the allergist which I haven`t received an EOB for.

I don`t have any answers as to what will fix this trend. Something needs to give though; this is inexcusable. I really don`t understand why prices on all ends of the spectrum are so high. Whose pockets are we lining?

Auttie has been keeping track of all the foods she`s eaten these past seven days. Today is food allergy testing day. I haven`t received any EOB`s (explanation of benefits) from the insurance company so I don`t what that costed us as of yet. After her back was poked and prodded with the tinctures of many foodstuffs, she tested negative for any food intolerances/allergies. That`s good news! Treatment is to stay on this medicine that`s prescribed for asthma for a month and re-evaluate her symptoms at the end of the month. The allergist is writing a letter to the insurance company to see if that will help lower the cost. We can hope right?