I'm so glad you are still feeling ok ;-)) You letter was excellent as usual, very well said ;-))
I am still not taking any pain medications either, never thought I'd get to this point .. pain free, it's an unbelievable lease on life again. I could conquer the world at this point. The money I did pay to my surgeons (still paying off) is finally coming to an end. I have my disease under control. What a feeling.
I hope to catch up with you again soon, Big Hugs Trace xo
>----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Wade" <acbcsrt@kansas.net>
To: "Multiple recipients of list ADHESIONS"
<adhesions@mail.medispecialty.com>
Sent: Saturday, 10 March 2001 10:47
Subject: Adhesiolysis---40
> Dear Friends
>
> There is a reference book that health care providers can use to figure
> out what they can expect to be paid from insurance companies for medical
> procedures in the US. Prior to my Dec 15 surgery with Drs. Reich and
> Redan, I looked up what that average pay-out (based on Medicare rates)
> is for adhesiolysis. I about fell out of my chair! $640!!! I had heard
> some adhesiolysis surgeries in Scranton have taken up to ten hours. That
> was a moment of truth for me. That "$640" told me why there are not
> surgeons for us. If we are looking for a battle cry....this is it! Hang
> with me on this one. Let's look at it.
>
> Do the math. Take that $640 and see how far it goes. Pay the office
> staff. Pay their benefits and employer's share of FICA. Pay the
> professional dues. Pay the rent and the utilities. Pay the many many
> thousands of dollar in malpractice insurance (and any doc who wants to
> work with us is going to pay huge premiums...$50000-$100000 per year, I
> would guess....because we are so high risk). Think there is still of
> money left over? If so, then you have never run a business. If I spent
> years in medical school, would I choose a career path that would promise
> minimal compensation with maximal headaches? Nope...not me. There are
> bills at home to pay, too.
>
> So let's look at my adhesions treatment options. 1) I get all my care
> at state-subsidized teaching facilities (i.e., medical schools).
> Students there have to log their "hours" doing surgery. Hmmmm....wonder
> which student would be getting their hours on me. Even the clumsiest
> student needs his/her hours. 2) I do not seek a surgical solution. What
> a difficult situation I am in to know instinctively that the only "cure"
> for me will be surgery...but to also know that surgery is often the
> cause! 3) I find a surgeon who does a lot of different types of
> surgeries so that the compensation she/he gets for those other surgeries
> can help counterbalance financially what they get from my procedure.
> This route means that they would not have specialized in adhesions. I've
> never met another person like me in real life. So, how common is my
> predicament? How often would this doc have a patient like me? Any task
> improves with repetition. How often has this doc done "my" type of
> surgery?
> 4) I choose the only facility in the US with physicians dedicated to
> working on adhesions. And I pay fees my insurance *should* be paying.
>
> We must recognize that we ARE in a heckava position..but the REAL fight
> that we should be waging is with insurance companies. And that is a
> whole bunch of work and the pay-off....will be years down the road.
> Anyone interested in taking that one on? I am. Let me know and we'll
> make it a goal that 15 years from now, that insurance companies will
> honor our medical needs with their dollars. 15 years? I figure it will
> take that long. $640 is an insult to US.
>
> I suppose it is a whole lot easier to make physicians or their staff the
> focus of our frustration. The risk of this focus is that the PA doctors
> will say "screw this" and their pioneering actions in creating an center
> to treat adhesion patients in the US will have been a "mistake." This
> option for us will go away. Nothing obligates them to continue this
> work. That is a desperate thought for me.
>
> This week, I worked 10-12 hour days...by choice. Today, I will take no
> pain meds. With a clear mind and a happy and joyful heart, I will spend
> the day babysitting for our 2 year-old wild-child granddaughter. We
> will dance. We will go to the park. I'll hold her in my lap and pump
> my legs to make the swing go high. When she runs the other way, I can
> run to catch her. This week...this day...and others like it....is what
> we were shopping for when I went to Scranton.
>
> In friendship, Mary
>
> --
> Mary Wade
>