Money makes the world go round

I have skin cancer. I need to see a specialist, that the military can't provide for me.

I also have Tricare. Tricare is govt. run health care at it's finest. It's like medicaid in that it only pays doctors a fraction of what they ask for and takes forever to pay out.

Tricare sends this authorization saying yes, we approve for you to go see this specialist. You get * many visits, you get to have * procedures done, and * lab work done. Anything over those limits, I could end up having to pay for (so Dear Doc, please only do what the govt. approved).

I call this specialist in downtown Anchorage. They happen to be some of the best in the state and are right at the best hospital in town (where our son was born and in the ICU). I am asked what I need to come in for, I tell her. I am asked if I am a new patient and say yes. Then the big question, who is your insurance provider, I tell her. She THEN tells me they are only allowed to take on so many new Tricare patients at a time (and I already know why because of an incident at a peds. office which I will also get to). She says I can't come in until December!! I about have a heart attack!! If this is a severe cancer, I want it off of my body NOW!!! Yeah well, that's not an option....... I have govt. run health care and they can only AFFORD to take on so many of their patients at a time, I'll have to wait my turn. She said once I get in, they will take care of things right away (I wont have to wait months to remove the spots or anything). So it's all a matter of affordability to them, and they can't afford to take me on right now. Three months could mean the difference between chemo and just having the spots removed. But the doctor can't afford to take me on at the moment.

Although she briefly touched on the I have Tricare and they can't afford it, I know a lot behind it. A friend of mine worked at the peds. office I wanted to take my son to when he was first born (he ended up needing to be in Anchorage and not in the village we lived in, so that didn't matter). She said they don't take Tricare usually because they never pay and when they do finally cough up the money, it isn't nearly enough. She was able to talk one of the doctors there into seeing me because I was her friend.

So there you have it. When you have govt. run health insurance and doctors, you can't get in to see the specialist you need to or they refuse to see you all together!! I know this for a fact because I've lived through it.