The Failure of our Healthcare

 We live in a world full of opportunities. 

By which I mean there are many things wrong, and so the options before you of what to fix are plenteous. Think of all the good we can do, fixing all the bad that there is! What luck!

As such, I am delighted to present to you my complaints with my healthcare insurance company UnitedHealthcare.

For context, I suffer from migraines. My first migraine happened in the middle of the night when I was still in elementary school. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. As far as I can recall, I did not have major stressors as a primary school student. And that was before puberty hormones complicated things, you know, so the odds of my migraines spontaneously disappearing--outside of divine miracles--are pretty slim. I have had MRIs, massages, physical therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic adjustments. I avoid caffeine, have cut down sugar consumption, and increased salt and water intake. Under the guidance of a neurologist, I have tried butterbur and magnesium supplements. I’ve been on propranolol—which doesn’t work because my blood pressure drops too low. I’ve tried lidocaine patches, which don’t alleviate any of the pain. I’ve discussed tricyclic antidepressants with my provider—which aren’t appropriate because of side effects on heart rate and blood pressure. I’ve tried nerve stimulation devices both prescribed [Nerivio] and over-the-counter [TENS units].  I’ve been to an urgent care or ER for migraines 3 or 4 times because of unrelenting pain from migraines that do not respond to my abortive medications [aborting the migraine, not a fetus. nobody's dying here, except my brain cells].

At the moment, I use a combination of antiemetics, ginger, peppermint oil, triptans, Excedrin, muscle relaxants, Salonpas, daily hormone pills, ice packs, heating pads, yoga, and a CGRP maintenance medication. These all make my migraines more bearable and less frequent, but I am still having migraines.

A year-and-a-half ago, my insurance company UnitedHealthcare sent me a letter denying coverage for the CGRP drug and suggested I use triptans. It is an understatement to say I was ticked. Did they forget that I already was on triptans, which they should know because they are my insurance company? I appealed, they denied, and so I appealed again, writing them a long letter that pointed out it is in their interest to keep me functional and contributing to society. In response, they gave temporary approval, but asked that I switch to a different CGRP drug. 

Well, it turns out they have short-term memory problems, because when I tried to pick up my monthly CGRP a couple months ago, I found out the insurance company was denying coverage. The listed reason that was given to my pharmacy was that I needed to try triptans. 😖

After doing some deep breathing, I called UnitedHealthcare to ask what exactly were they thinking, and I guess they were anticipating that I would be cured, because they told me I need to get a new Prior Authorization for the CGRP every year. Every year. For a very-long-standing chronic problem. I suppose the reasoning is that if a lot of paperwork is involved, few people will fight the system, and thus the insurance company will spend fewer dollars covering the disputed medication. That may be a great game-plan for the complaint department of an HOA, but as a health plan, it's unethical, needlessly complicated, and just plain sucks.

After months of phone calls and emails, I was able to jump through the required hoops to get my medicine covered again, but that doesn't change my extreme disappointment in corporate America [or at least certain American corporations. looking at you, UnitedHealthcare].

And no amount of watching kids rescuing a drowning fawn is going to restore my faith in humanity, much less the healthcare system.