If you guessed that I am now tweeting on Twitter, you're right! I started for a really good reason.
My BIL has an extremely-rare illnesses, his medical insurance is through Kaiser and his surgeon considers him an urgent case. Long story short, there has been poor communication, slow responses, records not sent, approvals moving slowly, and an unresponsive primary care physician.
When you are facing an inconclusive biopsy, a ten-to-twelve hour surgery (including direct chemotherapy in the peritoneal cavity) and a one-to-three weeks in-hospital recuperation as the result of a 1-in-2 million tumor it seems like you deserve just a bit of extra patient care. You'd think that even a large HMO like Kaiser might expedite your case instead of acting like the Keystone Cops.
You'd be wrong.
And if that's how Kaiser treats a customer/patient who's really ill, imagine how cavalier they must be about patients who have run-of-the-mill cancer. Or a stroke. Or appendicitis.
I'm hoping that Kaiser is one of those image-conscious companies who assign an employee to watch Twitter, jump on any negative comments that show up, and resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Because they are going to get plenty of bad publicity from me otherwise!
My sister and her family are using most of their energy to survive from day-to-day while facing a scary and uncertain future. They have little time left over to struggle with a faceless entity, revolving doctors and basic foot-dragging. And since I'm not close enough to march up to their local Kaiser hospital and demand answers for them (just as well since they'd probably summon security to remove the furious lady yelling her head off while carrying a placard stating "Kaiser is a joke"), I'm trying Twitter. It can't hurt. And it makes me feel less helpless.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening.
The ".../Tweet" in my title is the lost cockatiel that my neighbor rescued yesterday. As the resident bird-person in our cul-de-sac I provided a cage, some food and fresh water for the little guy.
He obviously was much-loved by his owners but his unclipped wings allowed him to fly through an open door and off into the Nevada summer. Sadly, the little guy didn't make it. Apparently he'd been away from home too long, hungry and thirsty, or perhaps had been injured. It broke my heart.
I'd fallen in love with his sweet and gentle personality. So much so that I found myself checking craigslist and discovered that there are cockatiels out there who need someone like me who enjoys spending time with birds. Something tells me we might soon have a new family member.
Oh yeah--I tweet as "meadowsweetisme"--because I really am very sweet, don't ya think? (FYI: One of the first accounts I followed was Nathan Fillion--I'm a fan of both Firefly and Castle and I find him irresistibly cute and funny!)
Hoping for better days all around,
My BIL has an extremely-rare illnesses, his medical insurance is through Kaiser and his surgeon considers him an urgent case. Long story short, there has been poor communication, slow responses, records not sent, approvals moving slowly, and an unresponsive primary care physician.
When you are facing an inconclusive biopsy, a ten-to-twelve hour surgery (including direct chemotherapy in the peritoneal cavity) and a one-to-three weeks in-hospital recuperation as the result of a 1-in-2 million tumor it seems like you deserve just a bit of extra patient care. You'd think that even a large HMO like Kaiser might expedite your case instead of acting like the Keystone Cops.
You'd be wrong.
And if that's how Kaiser treats a customer/patient who's really ill, imagine how cavalier they must be about patients who have run-of-the-mill cancer. Or a stroke. Or appendicitis.
I'm hoping that Kaiser is one of those image-conscious companies who assign an employee to watch Twitter, jump on any negative comments that show up, and resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Because they are going to get plenty of bad publicity from me otherwise!
My sister and her family are using most of their energy to survive from day-to-day while facing a scary and uncertain future. They have little time left over to struggle with a faceless entity, revolving doctors and basic foot-dragging. And since I'm not close enough to march up to their local Kaiser hospital and demand answers for them (just as well since they'd probably summon security to remove the furious lady yelling her head off while carrying a placard stating "Kaiser is a joke"), I'm trying Twitter. It can't hurt. And it makes me feel less helpless.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening.
********
The ".../Tweet" in my title is the lost cockatiel that my neighbor rescued yesterday. As the resident bird-person in our cul-de-sac I provided a cage, some food and fresh water for the little guy.
I'd fallen in love with his sweet and gentle personality. So much so that I found myself checking craigslist and discovered that there are cockatiels out there who need someone like me who enjoys spending time with birds. Something tells me we might soon have a new family member.
Oh yeah--I tweet as "meadowsweetisme"--because I really am very sweet, don't ya think? (FYI: One of the first accounts I followed was Nathan Fillion--I'm a fan of both Firefly and Castle and I find him irresistibly cute and funny!)
Hoping for better days all around,
Sorry to hear about your brother in law...
ReplyDeleteThat's the first good reason for tweeting that I've heard! When I was in law school one of the professors always said insurance companies are in the business of collecting premiums and denying claims. I'm so sorry your family is caught up in this.
ReplyDeleteI love love love Firefly, too!.
Sorry to hear about your BIL. Good grief these Insurance companies are so inhuman for people that are suppose to be helping. I for one think it is appalling for insurance companies to impede any treatment when it comes to quality of life and death. They need to change their names of Insure to Big Business period. I also think they should be sued for their failures to insure and for their impeding treatments when it harms the patient. You go girl and let them have it! Tweet away. Prayers for your BIL.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping and praying for some answers and recovery for your BIL. Having dealt with unresponsive insurance companies myself in the last few months I understand the fight and will join in to help in any way I can! Us little people must join together to bring down the unhelpful big companies and force them to actually help! I am glad you are on twitter and will be heading there now to find you. :)
ReplyDelete