Let’s face it. Planning for the unthinkable isn’t fun.
Healthcare benefits are important and they are complex. Choosing health benefits is challenging and making an informed decision requires focused effort to understand how the benefits are changing or understand all the intricacies of your insurance service and how any of the changes will affect you. A daunting task to say the least.
In addition, it’s been a year since President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but many of us don’t know enough about the basic law let alone understand the fine print.
Speaking of the president, back in October I blogged about Obama visiting Oregon to stump for now Governor Kitzhaber and with his visit occurring in the middle of rush-hour traffic it triggered an accident on I-84 when eastbound traffic slowed to watch the president motorcade traveling west from the Portland Air National Guard Base. A motorcyclist and northeast Portland man (Peter Kendall Gunderson, age 59) may have failed to see traffic ahead of him was slowing down for the presidential motorcade and as a result of the injuries sustained in the accident died at the hospital.
A couple weeks ago, Steve Duin, of The Oregonian published a compelling follow up report about the incident and the story reads like an old fashion motorcycle club “beat-down” by a privately held, for-profit company — Lifewise.
The Lifewise mission is: “To provide peace of mind to our members about their health-care coverage.” But five months later, Mr. Gunderson’s wife, Ellen, is still held captive to all the gray areas of the cost of trauma services; the imprecise terms of insurance policies; and the ethical dilemmas that arise over the exact moment when a donor’s death is certain and his organs become available. I suspect like many of us, Mr. Gunderson never anticipated there would be so much uncertainty in the wake of a personal tragedy.
I suggest you read the story. Then take action to review your beneficiary designations, understand your medical rights and responsibilities and plan for the unthinkable. Mr. Gunderson organs probably saved three lives but, the process for his family of navigating the billing intricacies, months of lien notices, collection threats and double billings has certainly been painful.
Lifewise has a reputation for trying to get out of their responsibilities to pay for the cost of medical care, but it’s important to note that according to the BBB there have been 3 complaints closed in last 3 years with no significant government actions involving the LifeWise Health Plan of Oregon.
Photo courtesy of Lifewise.
Northwest Harley Blog 
This is an excellent article. Insurance is something most people don’t think about. It’s complicated and for the most part, it’s hard to know when the person selling the coverage is honest or not. While there are laws in every state governing the ethical practices of the sales and representatives of the companies, that sure don’t keep some of the sales people from omitting facts or just plain lying to you regarding the package you are buying.
Do your homework before you buy. Read as much as you can regarding the company you are interested in buying from. Check the reputation of the representative who is presenting the package. With the Internet now at our disposal, it’s much easier to find out what people think of the folks they are dealing with. Not all of the information is factual, but if there are more complaints than compliments, run like hell!
Have I told you lately how much I enjoy reading your work? You are a guy who really THINKS, and you get your readers thinking too! Thanks!
@ Chessie – appreciate the feedback, but more important thanks for reading the blog posts. -mac
I am Peter’s wife. Thank you for your comments. I am still dealing with LIfewise. The donor bank has not made this easy either. Everyone is right to do your homework on the health insurance you purchase but this is what Peter was offered at work so we didn’t have any say on the matter. Thank you to everyone that commented to you. Take care.