I suppose I am lucky to have health insurance--perhaps even one that might be one of those 'Cadillac' health plans we hear so much about. I happen to work for a college and while nearly every year I've been there (about 7 years or so) the premiums have gone up while the coverage amounts have declined. In all, I've also been blessed with good health until recently.
Basically, after suffering a really bad reaction from a seasonal flu shot I came down with some unpleasant and scary neurological problems. I went to go see a neurologist who in the course of a thorough exam found some troubling things and ordered up an MRI for my brain and my spine. Based on the symptoms I was having (and still have) these made a lot of sense.
Yesterday the clinic (a very famous and well-known one in the Cleveland area) called me to say that my insurance company denied the one for my spine as being not considered medically necessary but they approved the one for my brain. After a a long series of phone calls to all sorts of clinic departments and the insurance company I was told that a 'review panel' at the medical insurance company (a well-known local one) decided that they knew more about my situation than my doctor.
The woman at the insurance company got surly with me when I asked her who was on this panel and how they could make this decision since they had not examined me. Admittedly she was probably just the 'messenger' but I see no value-added services these social parasites provide beyond stealing the premiums that my employer and I paid over the last few years for just this type of event. I guess I should feel thankful that they at least approved the brain one but given that I have trouble feeling my left foot and a host of other neurological problems that my doctor told me might be originating in my upper spine region I'll just probably have to see if my neurologist can convince this 'death panel' to change their mind. The doctor's secretary has told me that my insurance company happens to be one of those that are increasingly denying spinal MRI's wholesale. Go figure. Nice racket.