Chiropractors, Insurance, and What the Heck?

I started seeing a chiropractor this week. This isn't something new for me. Since I was in 10th grade I have been seen by these doctors at various times. When you have scoliosis, it can be another source of treatment.

My back has grown progressively worse over the years, to the point where, in the last two weeks, I have been in severe pain that has made it difficult to do anything. So, I checked on the Mighty Google (capitalized for emphasis and required respect) and found an office right down the street from my home. This isn't just any chiropractor. They actually have medical doctors on staff and do physical therapy as well as chiropractic.

It seems that every chiropractic office has little quirks. Some go for homeopathic medicine; others go for machines that, when attached to the shoulders, make you shrug involuntarily for many minutes (I'm unsure what that unpleasant machine was supposed to do); to the current office that uses a newfangled version of the rack to stretch out patients while intensely vibrating the fillings out of their mouths.

However, after going through x-rays and a consult, I found out that the recommended treatment procedure would last for about 38 weeks and cost over $4000. Yes, you read that right. I could get it lowered by a bit for paying cash. Okay. It's still out of range. Before you ask, yes, I have insurance. However, it is Kaiser insurance, which doesn't cover chiropractic. So where does that leave me? Well, I can change insurance companies during open enrollment, which might lower my copayment to something in the $1 - 2000 range (I'm waiting to find out the damages on Monday), but I have to change doctors and pharmacies, as well as go visit the new doctor to get my prescriptions transferred over. It's all a pain, but may be necessary to get some non-surgical relief.

I am, fortunately, one of the lucky ones who has insurance available to him through his employer. There are many who don't have that option. Either they can't get insurance because of a pre-existing condition, or they can't afford it, or whatever. So, they don't get preventative care or don't go to the doctor when their problem is in an early stage...instead, they have to go to the emergency room where the cost skyrockets.

My statement for this blog is as follows: In one form or another, we all pay for medical care for the uninsured right now. The bills going through Congress are trying to make some changes to the way the insurance industry has to operate, but some people are saying that they shouldn't have to pay for the uninsured. Don't you see? You already do! But wouldn't it be cheaper to allow people to see a General Practitioner on a regular basis to avoid serious problems than to wait until these folks hit the emergency room and are admitted to the hospital, where they HAVE to be treated and where the cost rises through the roof? Who pays for that? Again...we do.

Something has to change. For me, it is something as simple as changing plans in January. For others? Who knows.

I think my back is hurting from stress as well as scoliosis. I'm going to go take a Tylenol, lie down, and keep my eyes focused on a brighter future, where insurance won't be necessary, and "no resident will say, 'I am sick'."