Manged Healthcare

I just went through an ordeal with insurances over the past 3 hours. Basically because I got hurt in a hotel that I was in for work, it is covered under workman's comp apparently. Even though I wasn't working at the time. "They" decided that we're covered under workman's comp from the moment we leave our homes until we get back home.

Workman's Comp also initially decided that I didn't need to see a Doctor today. Well, they weren't sure that I needed to. Since the claim was just filed, they didn't have time to review it. They decided that they weren't going to approve the visit. Since it's now Workman's comp, I can't pay with my insurance, and they Doctor won't take me if I'm paying cash. In the end, it all got worked out, but it was a lot harder than it needed to be. Mike who I work with texted me after I told him the story "Government managed Healthcare. If you think it's bad now, just wait."

I truly hope that he's wrong, but I fear he's right. I think that while the intention of correct with the Healthcare Bill, I'm afraid the execution of it is going to get screwed up. My being allowed to go to the Doctor today basically came down to a financial decision. Was it cheaper for WC to pay for the appointment or to have to pay whatever fraction of my Salary for the week I would get if I wasn't cleared to work. Healthcare shouldn't be a financial thing. It should be a care based thing, and everyone knows that. Unfortunately those currently in control of healthcare are business people, not medical professionals.

The Doctor (who MIGHT be a year older than me) said that I do indeed have show classic symptoms of someone dealing with an impingement of the S1 nerve on the left side. Typically they try and let these things heal themselves, and that takes 4-6 weeks. They try to manage the pain as best they can while the body heals. The fact that the pain is going away shows that steroids are working and he says that's a good thing. The bad news is the course of steroids will start to wear off, and the pain may come back. If it gets unbearable, I can go to a Pain Management specialist and essentially get epidurals right in the spot where the pain is. This would be a higher dose, right at the disc. There would be 3 shots over 3 weeks. I'm currently scheduled to go back and see him in 3 weeks to see where it is going. I'm to call him if the pain gets worse again. As for the tingling, that's a sign that there is never damage, either chemically from the stuff that was in the disc, or physically from when the disc ruptured.

I get to work still, just not lifting anything over 10lbs. I leave for Philly in the morning.