Sunday, January 27, 2013

Jobs, Doctor's Notes and Modern Reality

I've been sick; real sick.  It started when my wife and I were awoken about 2:30 AM one morning by our 14 year old son who was vomiting.  It is never the morning greeting that starts the day well.  By about 4:00 PM that day, I started my bout.  I had been experiencing a flair up of my diverticulitis a couple days prior and had upped my dosage of fiber.  I believe this may have compounded the impact of this stomach bug as the retching definitely exacerbated the stomach pain of the diverticulitis and I believe the fiber helped to set me up for uncontrollable diarrhea in addition to multiple episodes of vomiting.  I have no doubt that I became severely dehydrated and it was a huge struggle just to make my way from my chair to the bathroom.

Unfortunately, my employer has one of those arcane policies whereby if you are out sick for 3 days, you need to return with a doctor's note.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

HIPAA - That bill is private, but pay it anyway!

Over the past several years, I have watched as HIPAA - the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, has been rolled out.  It is good to see more emphasis on keeping your health information private.  Many months ago, I first encountered the down side of privacy - that is, lack of information.  I had received a bill and after contacting the health care provider was essentially informed that 1.  No, they could not provide me information about the service (due to HIPAA) and 2. Yes, I was responsible for payment.  I found this provider's conclusion very interesting and their logic flowed something like this:
1.  The family member who had been treated was of legal age, thus they could not disclose medical information without their consent AND
2.  The "guarantor" is the primary holder of the insurance who is ultimately responsible for ensuring payment.
In contrast, my logic flows something like this: