On the very same day I saw in the Facebook this message :
"I am a subscriber to an Insurance policy called Red Carpet
as I am a senior citizen. I had to undergo a surgery for replacement of my hip
a few days ago. I was admitted and got the surgery done in a corporate
hospital. The doctors and the whole treatment excellent and I was very much
satisfied. As I was getting discharged and as I was waiting for my insurance
money and I was a shocked to realise that I had to pay an equal amount of money as hospital expenses. Further I was held up for
nearly 9 hours in the hospital after my discharge. Though I was eligible for
87% of my hospital expenses, I was awarded only 50%, how it is calculated and
why I had to pay the other 50% I am not able to understand. I only realized
that I was cheated. Who cheated me? Is it the Insurance company or the
corporate hospital or both?"
This message was from one of my close relative who underwent the
surgery recently.
As a reply to him I would
vouch "My dear friend this is never personal and all of us who
enter into a corporate medical establishment undergo the stress in one form or
other!"
In those early days,
three decades back, the medical insurance system was different. The hospitals gave the bills
to the patient which was submitted to the insurance company through the
organisation and the insurance company in turn made a cheque in the name of the concerned
employee.
Once the hospital came to know that the patient was under the
insurance scheme the charges became exorbitant as faced by my relative. I was HR
General Manager of a multinational company during that time. We wondered how we
could circumvent this situation in favour of the employees. We devised a
method by which any one going for
hospitalisation should not reveal that
he/she was under insurance cover but the organisation where he worked
might give a part of the expense. An advance would be provided for the employee towards the expense. The
important condition in this method was that
the family should make sure that
all the bills were meticulously
collected and submitted to the HR department which in turn would forward it to
the insurance company and when the payment was made in the name of the employee
the advance amount was returned to the organisation. With this little bit of
hoodwinking we created a win-win situation which made both the employer and the
employee happy!
But the methodology is
very different now where our system is no more relevant .
Years back we had a chance meeting with a reputed family in
Chennai, This relationship, though it
began on a business level, blossomed into a friendship over the years. The
family was well connected in the elite social
circle to the extent that one of our
major streets in our city proudly bears the
name of one of its forefathers.
A major surgery to the
head of the family took place in a
corporate hospital and after an interval we went home to visit him . Their story at a renowned city hospital indeed shook us beyond belief. This
was their horrific narration:
The operation went off
smoothly and after days of monitoring and medical care, he was ready to
be discharged. The necessary forms were filled up and the payments duly made. Since
there was a major accident in that area,
the ambulances were in heavy demand on
that particular day and the doctor
advised that the patient could go home
early next morning. Settling all the
dues the family members left for the day leaving him in the care of his
personal assistant.
But the morning dawned differently for the patient. All of a
sudden the hospital administration found
out that there was a pending amount and wanted the settlement before the
patient could be discharged. The personal assistant neither had the needed amount
nor a credit card. These were the days before the availability of mobile
phones. He informed the account section
that he would go home settle the account. However much he tried to convince
them including the status of the family there was no budging from their stand.
Though the assistant made innumerable phone calls, courtesy of
the hospital, to the house proved futile. In the meanwhile the
convalescing patient who had been
brought to the airless verandah waiting for his ambulance was restless and
hungry and wanted to know the reason for the delay and the assistant had no
other go but to tell him the truth. This statement infuriated him. When a man of his status could not expect a
humane treatment he couldn't envisage the condition of ordinary citizens in this
notorious place!! His pressure shot up and he refused even an emergency treatment in that nasty place! After a lot of uproar and commotion he was discharged. But the man who had to
enjoy his rest and recuperation in his house was again readmitted into another
hospital thanks to the mean and uncompassionate corporate hospital!!
Another incident was even more pathetic. A famous and prolific Tamil writer living in
our street (I was fortunate to be gifted with some of his books) got into an
accident while driving his car and became unconscious and bleeding. In the
commotion his valet was lost before the
police could sort out things. He was sent to a nearby corporate hospital.
Without proper identification he was left to lie down like a poor orphan!! It
was too late when the family members got the news and rushed to the hospital
and the precious life was lost. His
children had a stiff fight with the
management and their stoic reply was "We didn't know who would pay for the
operation!!
"Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world"
Must be funny
In the rich man's world"
A precious life was indeed assigned to a value in cash in
that rich and worthless hospital!!
My sister was admitted in a hospital and her son who had a
fat insurance policy made sure that she got the best of treatment. He called me
up one day to tell that a particular medicine which she had to take thrice
daily was not available in the hospital pharmacy and could I be kind enough to
get it from outside. After some 'no
stock' replies I got the needed numbers. The boy thanked me and said " You should have paid through
your nose for these tablets."
" Not at all. " I said "It is not that expensive." Saying so I showed him the bill. The boy was bewildered and flabbergasted! Each tablet
cost triple the amount in his bill! The hospital and the insurance company were
indeed hand in glove in looting the common man!
But what I am going to
narrate takes the cake!
The patient was terminally ill with his blood oxygen level
very much below the survival level for someone with multiple organ failure. But
still he continued to be under ventilation. The doctors with their sophisticated medical
terms were convincingly giving the near and ones the hope that was not there.
He was a guinea pig for all the high machines in which the hospital had
invested in. Actually it was a planned deed that he would continue to be in the
ventilator till the insurance amount was
fully utilised! I got this confidential
information from a very reliable source within the system!!
After reading my blog many of you I am sure would come out with even more
horrible experiences from your personal level than mine!!
But in spite of all
our Indian tribulations and ordeals with the medical field English people envy
our medical system and say " Never ever think that the grass is greener on the our side of the fence."
NHS which provides free medical care for all the citizens has its own drawbacks.
Unless it is an emergency the queuing system for different operation could take
months. For example, in India, if you want to do a knee replacement operation
it can happen at your own convenience but not in the UK. You have to bear with the knee pain on one
side and the anticipation of when it
will get relieved is indeed a double edged mental torture.
In India we probably get the best medical care with all its minor
monetary aberrations.
Let us be thankful for small mercies!
