What I can tell you from my own current experience is this.
Being fat, and diabetic, I suffer from Sleep Apnea (most people who snore do as well). My diagnosis from a sleep study (a miserable experience) was "borderline critical" with me literally stopping breathing about 41 times per hour -- which causes the loud snoring.
There is a surgery available which normally alleviates the problem by removing the tonsils and trimming back a bit of the back of the throat to open the airways. I am told that while the surgery is very painful, it is not a silver bullet resolution to the problem. I happen to know at least two people that it did cure completely, but they're supposedly (again, according to the insurance company) in the "vast minority".
I also suffer from what I hesitate to call a phobia about things covering and/or touching my face. This is why -- even if it kills me -- I vastly prefer my half-helmet to the full-face that I reserve for rainy days. I told my doctor that under no circumstances will I be able to tolerate what equates to sleeping in a helmet with a face hugger attached to my face. This is known as a CPAP mask.
That being said, the glorious insurance company -- in their infinite stupidity -- has stated however that I *must* go the CPAP route for at least 6 months if not longer before they would even consider the surgery route.
So.. Being forced by the corrupt machine to go out and spend $2000 ($400 out of pocket) on a CPAP machine (that I was not given a choice of models, or prices, or pretty much anything but a mask), I have literally not slept for the past two days until about 6am when I apparently rip the mask off and fall asleep...
I asked the ENT doctor about the surgery, she said that if I paid for it, it would be $5000 - $7500. If they had to bill the insurance company, that price goes to $20k-$25k due to what she called "overhead". I also asked my GP about it and he explained that between the 4 doctors sharing his office, each with one RN, there were 31 additional trained professionals whose sole job was to file paperwork for the insurance companies.
Indeed, a few years ago when I didn't have insurance, I sliced the tip off my finger. Office visit? $25. On the 8th of June, I visited the doctor for my quarterly checkup, my co-pay was $15, but the amount billed to the insurance company -- just to walk in the door -- was $85.00...
Like most times, I saw the doctor about 3 minutes and he was off to another patient. I saw the nurse for maybe 4 minutes, and was completely in and out of the office within 15 minutes.
I guess I understand when -- due to insurance -- your overhead is about $1200 per hour (presuming $20 x 31 + $40 for the RN and $100 for the doctor himself plus the office space and materials). At the rate of $85 per visit and 4 visits per hour, I think they're making an absolute killing.
At this point, I can firmly state that anyone who approaches me with the blind Republican viewpoint against public health care can suck my schvanstika (sic).
It CANNOT get worse than it already is. The health care system in America is fucked up folks. In no other supposedly industrialized country on EARTH can a human being be lowered into poverty and bankruptcy by getting sick.. Sorry folks, but if you believe it can (short of collapse), then you're deluding yourself bought by ads placed by the very source of the problem (the medical and prescription lobbies).
Wayne
