Back to Diversity Equity Inclusion - In the ER
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Happy Wednesday Healthcare Advocates
I would like to encourage comments and suggestions from you if you have time. If there is a special topic you’d like to see please let me know. Please use the comment button below. Some of the topics in work are funding for key medical research, rural healthcare, and healthcare in prison.
Claims Denial Update
Another article about claims denials is in work. I have two motives for the article: First, make sure we know what to do when claims are denied (see the Resource section below) and 2nd is to have denial rate information available when we have to purchase insurance. Since denial rates vary between 3% and 49%, I think 3% may be one indicator of a better insurance company.
Here is a good Washington Post story on the subject. It is by one of my favorite writers, Dr. Elizabeth Rosenthal. She is a passionate Universal Healthcare advocate at the Kaiser Family Foundation and frequent contributor to NPR.
In her article she notes that the Department of Health and Human Services is mandated by law (Affordable Care Act) with monitoring denials in both plans on the Obamacare marketplace as well as those offered by employers and insurers. It hasn’t fulfilled that assignment.
Since we don’t have Universal Health Care yet, let’s ask The HHS director, Xavier Becerra, to make sure to collect all those data so we can at least be informed consumers.
ACTION
Let’s email HHS director Xavier Becerra and ask him to collect all the health insurance claim denial data mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Make sure to put your name and city/state in the email.
His email address is xavier.becerra@hhs.gov
Subject: Health Claims Denial Information
Mr. Becera,
I understand that the Department of Health and Human Services is mandated by law (Affordable Care Act) with monitoring denials in both plans on the Obamacare marketplace as well as those offered by employers and insurers. I also understand that while many companies denial rates are monitored not all are.
Please take the action to monitor all ACA health insurance plans as well as plans offered by employers, so that we the people can be better consumers of health insurance. Thank you.
[Name] [City, State]
Discrimination in the ER
I always thought that when you show up in the ER, the staff operates on a triage basis. Emergency triage models are intended to queue patients for treatment. In the absence of higher acuity, patients of the same acuity should be treated in their order of arrival.
Black, Hispanic or Latino, Spanish-speaking and Medicaid patients are more likely to be skipped over in line when waiting in the emergency department, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.
314,763 ER visits between July 2017 and February 2020 were examined in the study. 14.2% of the patients were queue jumped for someone with a lower acuity rating and 24.8% were held back for someone of the same acuity rating.
Medicaid beneficiaries, Black patients and Spanish-speaking patients were more likely to be passed over by same or lower acuity patients compared with those on private insurance, White patients and English-speaking patients, respectively. Men were also more likely than women to receive care ahead of same-acuity patients.
So, Houston, we have a problem. In the Emergency Room, treatment favors men over women, White People over minorities, and private insurance over Medicaid.
These decisions may or may not be intentional but the fact remains that they are there. Diversity and equity training for those that make that decision are in order. I’m sure there are Continuing Education Courses on DEI that could make people aware of their choices so that each of us, when we are in the ER have a more fair shot at treatment.
PS if you need a course, here's one for $15.00. I’m sure if you look you can find many more.
Find My Elected Officials
Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact State and Federal Representatives
https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/addr/
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare
Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Plan
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
Appeal a Healthcare Decision
Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill
Save Democracy
Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens
RESISTBOT
Link to the RESISTBOT site to learn more
Link to Chop Wood, Carry Water Resistbot write up