In our Community Health class we were to read the TIME Article, "Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills are Killing Us". The main article can be found here:
http://time.com/198/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/
This is my personal response. It has been a long time coming, but this essay was a perfect excuse to post as a blog.
On the 21st of March in 2010, I sat anxiously in front of the television, waiting for the final vote. Only one year before I was a 4.0 Biomedical Science undergrad at Texas A&M University. During my sophomore year I became very ill and was forced to withdraw; chronic fatigue, movement disorders, autoimmune thyroid disease, and under continuous evaluation for more conditions. My mind swirled with nightmares of not having access to doctors, to living my whole life in debt, to never accomplish my dream of being an optometrist. Just as my fears began to spiral, the vote was in, and those in continued education would be able to stay on their parents insurance till 25. I would not be denied coverage because of my pre-existing conditions. I now had a few more years to figure out how to handle the situation, and let my body recover.
Two years later, I was tapered off of steroids and doctors had labeled me "in remission". I graduated with honors from A&M and went on to lead a learning program at a high school for math and science. I worked harder than I had ever before; but my body seemed to handle it. With that new found confidence in my health, I decided it was time to conquer optometry school.
The first semester of school was intriguing, engaging, and basically everything I wanted in a program. I was making almost all A's and my health seemed to be handling the stress pretty well. That changed quicker than I could ever have expected.
As finals began, I lost my ability to breathe without pain and was finally sent to the emergency room. I sat in bed pondering how fast it happened and what it could be. So there I was, being wheeled to all sorts of imaging as phlebotomists chased me down to collect my blood for labs. After seven hours, CT scans, EKGs, and lab work I finally had an answer: spontaneous pneumomediastinum. I was to be immediately admitted and started on antibiotics and oxygen. Soon I was wheeled from the ER to the IMU to be monitored. At that point in time, my current bill was $2,000 to the hospital. Even with good insurance. It didn't take long after that for me to see the charges start to rack up.
On my fourth day in the hospital I had I go a contrast study of my abdomen. I could barely eat and had already taken contrast by mouth for another test the day before. After being food restricted for days, I was wheeled down to imaging only to find out that they could still see the other contrast in the attempted imaging... And I would have to repeat the entire procedure again in 24 hours. Are you kidding me? Their mistake cost me several more days in the hospital along with the horrible symptoms of drinking bottles and bottles of contrast. I was diagnosed with duodenitis and vasovagal syncope. In the end, the doctors had performed everything they could think of to cover their steps. After nine days, I was finally released and my parting message from the attending, "You should probably go to a hospital that is more up to date on complicated things like this." My total bill for the stay was unbelievable. I was billed for over 12 specialists, most of whom I never met. And I left still in pain, with few answers.
So began my current journey with health problems. Since being discharged from the hospital the list serious symptoms, infections and random inflammation kept piling up. Each symptom requiring it's own specialist. I am a patient at Kelsey Seybold and have seen over 10 specialists for various labs, medications, or procedures. Each item billed at a high rate that my insurance wouldn't fully cover. And unfortunately, it was the beginning of the year, so it was time to restart the deductible.
I went to my neurologist to have an EMG done for nerve palsy that developed since the hospital. As I checked in, I was told I had an outstanding amount that just be paid before seeing the doctor. As she printed me out the pages of itemized charges, my heart sunk. The total was nearly $3,000. Almost twice the cost of the equipment I needed to buy for optometry school.
I sat in a semi daze; How did I get to this position. I am a 25 year old woman now facing over $35,000 in student loans with barely enough physical energy. My only choice was to pull out my credit card to pay the bill so I could see the doctor. Now my total including emergency room, hospital, copayments, and fees from labs and procedures was easily reaching the $10,000 range.
With my alarming symptoms, doctors are left with the only option of protecting themselves. So when they see a puzzle like me, they cover their bases by ordering anything and everything. Why do they care? They are being hired by Kelsey Seybold to see patients, not to deal with patient fees. So as my credit card swiped, I was sure that I was contributing to the next, bigger and better, Kelsey Seybold campus. They were the only ones winning in the situation.
So I continue on in my health battle. Giving up is not an option. However, as my last year on my parents insurance, I can't help to think of the future. Will I be able to afford to take care of myself? Will I always be in constant debt to hospitals, doctors, and lab corporations? What will be the next big event that will shatter my world? I don't have answers, so the best I can do is push forward and hope for a healthier, happier future. Till then, I sit on a pile of bills; now that is a bitter pill to swallow.
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