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This dateline show was such a piece of propaganda and another attempt to once again demonize the insurance companies in attempt to manipulate the masses....and they keep doing it because it obviously works. I am appalled that Dateline would manipulate and exploit these families who were obviously under great emotional stress about their loved ones. NOW let's state some FACTS that Dateline purposely decided to leave out.
The first story: Insurance companies are bad because they refused ACUTE REHABILITATION for their son, who would have otherwise would have been able to lead a normal life, walk, and be functional. But because the evil insurance company refused his Rehabilitation, he now will never have a normal life. Of course there were heart wrenching photos of him getting rehabilitation in the hospital "almost walking" and standing, and moving etc...
Fact #1- This man had severe ANOXIC BRAIN INJURY. There is not one case in any medical journals or in any medical history of a severe anoxic regaining "normal life" They typically have huge cognitive and physical limitations. The longer the anoxic episode, the greater the brain damage, the greater the debility.
Fact #2- Dateline so promptly says "he was standing and learning how to walk" as they point to pictures of him in therapy which appears to be just that. WRONG. He was "standing" on a tilt table, which is a table that holds a person dependently as a means to decreasing conditions of orthostatic hypotension (blood pressure dropping too fast, commonly use for bedridden patients) as well as to decrease the likely hood of contracture. He was not "standing", he was being held up by a table. He was also not "walking". In the picture shown with him in it he was being held up by 3 people in parelle bars as one person was manually moving his feet. Again, this is not walking, nor did this man ever have the possibility of walking in any functional sense. The best he could have hoped for was the ability to make things better for his caregivers during transfers. And for someone with the severity of brain damage this man has, it would have been a realistic goal to ease caregiver burden during transfers.
Fact #3- Dateline stated that acute rehabilitation was the only way he was going to "recover" from his illness as recommended by the "staff" at the hospital..but instead, he was relegated to goto a skilled nursing and rehabilitation place that offered less of the type of the Rehabilitation that he needed. AGAIN THIS IS A CROCK!!! In an Acute rehabilitation facility a patient has to be able to tolerate 3 hours of aggressive therapy. It could, and likely was, given the severity of his brain injury and his poor prognosis for functional outcomes, Acute Rehabilitation was not appropriate for him. That is not to say that the rehabilitation at the nursing facility was some how inferior or he would have not gotten appropriate treatment time compared to what he would have gotten at the Acute rehabilitation. Many therapists and health care providers would disagree to the "higher" more "superior pedigree" of "acute rehabilitation". He still got OT/PT/and Speech therapy, that didn't change his prognosis. He was never going to be a functional ambulator, he was never going to be able to dress himself, never gong to be able to verbalize in complete formated sentences. Quality of life and decreased caregiver burden was always going to be the goal weather at the Acute rehab or at the nursing facility. To make this comparison with Acute rehabilitation was "needed" verses the skilled nursing rehabilitation is similar to saying that you need the Limo to get you to work verses a Toyota, no matter what you drive, the outcome is going to be the same, you will eventually get to work.
Fact #4- Dateline proceeded to show how destitute the family was because they had to sell their home, liquidate their retirement in order to bring their handicapped, brain injured son home to take care of....evil insurance companies once again causing people to loose their homes. AGAIN THIS IS A CROCK!! The family was given the option to have their son's taken care of in a long term care facility which would have been covered by the state. However they CHOOSE to bring him home. This is a personal decision that needs to be made by people with someone with the multitude of needs their son has. However, this is a choice. Most people the age of these parents will ultimately no longer be able to take care of their son because of their own ailing health and debilities, and he will eventually have to goto a long term care facility. If they had sent their son to a skilled facility, they would still have their home, their retirement, and be able to provide a future for their grandchild that they are caring for now. I can not imagine the horrible grief and pain they are feeling from this situation because of the unfortunate event that occurred to their son. But the insurance company is not obligated to pay for every device, every perceived need this family has. THEY STILL THINK HE WAS GOING TO WALK. Because of their attachment and love for their son, they have sacrificed everything..again..not the insurance company's fault, it is just an unfortunate situation.
Fact #5- Dateline assumed that he did not received adequate health care coverage because he was denied "Acute Rehabilitation". What about all the other life saving measures, tests, procedures, doctors, nurses, therapists respiratory therapist, and technology that he received in the hospital that the insurance company paid for with out question? Under a government run health care system, the likely hood of him getting the extent of life saving treatment would have been "rationed" and some "board" would have been pressuring doctors to rethink the extent of treatment they were providing, as evidenced by other government run health care systems. HE GOT ALL THAT CARE BECAUSE HE HAD INSURANCE not because of the lack of it. He is alive because the government did not decided to ration his care because of an attempt to cut costs.
I have gone on waaaaaayy to long...I don't even have time to talk about the second story and what a buch of manipulated garble that was...but just know it was a CROCK! But if anyone actualyl takes the time to read this tirade, I will be impressed.
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