A QUESTION FOR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

 

     One morning, after waking up, I went to the kitchen as it was usual but that day something was different. I felt sick,I didn’t feel right and had chest pain. I could not breathe well. I sat and waited for several minutes.  After five or ten minutes I felt better and decided to continue my work as a housewife. I didn’t tell anyone.

Three days later, I felt sick again, with the same symptoms: chest pain, sickness, and respiratory distress; at that time I was alone, and a little scared but gradually the pain disappeared. I thought that I could have a heart problem or may be that I could have anxiety.  My discomfort came back two weeks later, and at that time I decided to go to the doctor’s office. I called to make an appointment a woman   answered my call and she told me that I had to wait four weeks.  I tried to explain that I had chest pain, and she gave me an appointment for next week. My discomfort came back several times.

I went to the doctor’s office, the day of the appointment.  Before, seeing the doctor, I had to go to the front desk and made a co-payment. After that, and the doctor’s office, the nurse took my vital signs and then the doctor asked me some questions and he conducted a complete exam. Then the doctor decided that I needed to take an electrocardiogram immediately. When he checked the electrocardiogram he ordered me to take a stress test. I was concern so I called on the same day for an appointment. I got an appointment for the following week.

I went to the stress test, but before that, I had to go to the front desk, and made the co-payment but at that time the clerk, told me that she didn’t know how much I had to pay, so they would sent the bill to my house. Although I had a little bit of fear I had to go ahead. I was waiting when the nurse came, she explained to me the test, after that the doctor came and started the stress test. I didn’t have pain or discomfort. The test took fifteen minutes but at that time the doctor saw something so he decided that I needed to take an echocardiogram. It was another exam; that day I called to make an appointment. Two weeks later I was at the cardiologist’s office.  Once again I had to go to the front desk and ask for the co-payment, the clerk told me again that she didn’t know how much I had to pay, and, again she said to me that they would sent the bill to my house.

The cardiologist’s office was dark and smaller than the other offices.  I had been a woman who seemed to be the nurse came into the office, she asked me for my weight but I was scared that I didn’t answer immediately, so she was very rude. She ordered me to take off my shirt and I put on a robe. She was the one who took the test, and even though I felt dizzy may be due to stress, I didn’t have chest pain or trouble breathing. The nurse never talked to me, she only said to me: “put on your shirt and you can go”.

Almost two months have passed and still not a word of the stress test and echocardiogram. I don’t know nothing about the results but I am getting the bills from the clinic; I have six bills for two test each one for five hundred dollars ($500).

After this experience, I have a question for the health system: how people survive?  I can’t understand, how do people pay their health insurance.  Every year there are new health insurance programs, more and more people get a health insurance and all of us have been paying a monthly fee for a minimum package of coverage; but what happens when we need to go to the doctor’s office, or a clinic? What happens when we need to take test, or we need an expensive treatment? What happens if we need surgery?

A high percentage of the population makes a great effort to pay the monthly health insurance but when people need a health service they must pay an additional fee for each service.  The bills can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some people have to sell their houses or request a loan their houses. I hear from some people who bankrupt after paying their bills to health insurance companies.

I believe that people need a better health insurance system. I propose a system in which people pay a monthly fee based on income and a minimum co-payment. Also a single payment for admission to hospital and surgery, but not more than  0.1% of the total bill. For other health services such as doctor visits or test no co-payment, any additional fee.

I am sure that health insurance companies make enough money to change by reducing their incomes to benefit people.