Sunday, April 02, 2000
Protest criticizes health system
Managed care accused of imperiling patients
BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Brenda Barrett said she knew something was wrong when doctors wanted to send her 19-year-old son home a few hours after he'd undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his tailbone.
Doctors told the Cincinnati woman once she took her son home she would be responsible for removing the packing from his open wound. In the past, this “same day” surgical procedure would have routinely included an inpatient hospital stay.
But because Mrs. Barrett's insurance company wouldn't pay for the additional hospital time, she was left with no choice but to take him home.
“Our doctor told us his hands were tied,” said Mrs. Barrett, recalling how frantic and angry she felt then.
When Mrs. Barrett removed the packing from the wound the next day, her son began to bleed uncontrollably. He spent the next five days in the critical care unit and has undergone five surgeries since.
“I almost lost my son to managed health care,” she said. “My son is a viable, valuable, human being. My son is not a statistic.”
Mrs. Barrett's experience was one of many horror stories shared with a crowd of nearly a hundred people at a rally to promote health care reform Saturday on Fountain Square.
The “Blow the Whistle on Managed Care” event, organized by Physicians Who Care and the National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, was one of 32 similar protests held in cities nationwide.
Doctors, other health professionals and consumers told stories about service cuts and coverage denials they say have been caused by managed health care. Supporters of health care reform stood in the middle of Fountain Square displaying signs that read “Lack of Choice = HMO,” “Managed Care is Mangled Care” and “Who Gave HMO's a Medical Degree.”
To kick off the rally, Vice Mayor Minette Cooper presented a proclamation to Howard Glazer, vice president of Physicians Who Care, acknowledging the city's support for the cause.
“If we don't unite to get health care back in the hands of the physicians, we are going to continue to have problems,” Ms. Cooper told the crowd.
After the proclamation, a parade of speakers made its way to the podium to share tales of how managed health care has changed their lives.
Dr. Linda Peeno of Louisville, Ky., a former managed-care company doctor, said she quit her job in protest of the current health care system.
“As a managed care company doctor, I denied thousands of patients care,” Ms. Peeno said. “Then one day I realized I wasn't making decisions that improved my patients quality of life. In fact, I was doing the absolute worst by increasing their suffering and in some cases causing death.”
Other speakers examined how mental health and substance abuse fields have felt the sting of managed care even more intensely that the rest of medicine. They said cost-cutting pressure and benefit limits that so often come with managed care have made it harder for people with chronic problems — especially substance abuse or mental health problems — to get care.
“Managed care has become a bureaucratic cancer that puts paperwork and profits over people,” said Richard Grant, a clinical psychologist.
U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lucasville, added: “A quality system of health care delivery ought to be a right of every citizen in this country. It is unconscionable that senior citizens in this country should have to choose between buying food and buying necessary medication.”
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