Today I am going to rant on my son’s behalf (and everyone else who has to deal with this sort of thing).

My son wrote this letter to Aetna.  I think it speaks for itself.  Those of you in developed countries besides the Untied United States of America don’t have to deal with this kind of BS.  But this is the kind of thing we, who have “the greatest healthcare in the world,” (right, maybe if you’re rich) have to put up with constantly.    From 2009 – 2013, I worked in the health insurance industry processing and adjusting claims, and trust me, it gets a LOT worse than this.  Obama hasn’t made things worse; it’s been this bad for decades.  Of course, things were a little better back in the ’80s and ’90s  when companies actually used to care about their employees and provided decent health coverage at little cost to most full-time employees, regardless of their ranking on the corporate ladder.

NO ONE should have to jump through hoops like this to get mental health or any other kind of healthcare.   This is enough to cause someone to develop a mental disorder!  If we had single-payer healthcare, LIKE EVERY OTHER DEVELOPED NATION,  this probably would not have happened and he would still be able to get psychotherapy in spite of having lost his employment and with a lot less confusion and headaches.  I know single-payer healthcare isn’t perfect and has its own drawbacks, but it sure beats a healthcare system that’s based on profit and exploits those who are physically or mentally ill so a few rich doctors and health insurance executives can buy second or third homes or a new yacht.   Oh, but wait!  We can’t have that because it’s (gasp!) socialism!  The Market is God!

Healthcare shouldn’t be tied up with employment anyway.  If you get sick enough that you can’t work, you will probably lose your job anyway and lose your insurance when you need it most.  Most companies won’t even pay for employee health benefits anymore, or they only give you 39 hours instead of 40, so they don’t have to give you health coverage since anything less than 40 hours is considered “part time.”   Not all states have extended Medicaid to those who don’t earn enough to qualify for Obamacare .

There are free clinics in some urban areas, but trust me, they’re not very good (and some are terrible) and treat you like you’re less than human.  It’s very degrading to have to use one and be treated with condescension by some snotty nurse-practitioner who probably isn’t making enough to feed her own family. I pay for my own counseling out of pocket, even though my earnings are at or below the official poverty level.    I do it because I need to and it’s that important to me, but it leaves little to nothing left for anything else.  I just have to pray I don’t get sick.

Here is the letter he wrote.

Here was the faxed letter he received which is described above.