Oregon's Peace Harbor Hospital in Florence Oregon, has incorporated a supervision of all pain patients. To some, this comes as a step to stop abuse of legal medications. Real pain patients feel they are now paying for drug testing and supervision of their medications, not health care.
Once interviewed by the primary care physician or Nurse Practitioner the pain patient is given a hard script to hand carry to his or her pharmacy. A paper is set in front of said pain patient referred to as a "monitoring agreement".
Once signed, these one page documents are scanned into the respective health care file. On the next visit the pain patient is asked for urine sample. It is immediately tested for narcotics and whatever else the Doctor or medical assistant checks. Your name may be added to the national and state registry to monitor your narcotics usage. No HIPPA violations here because you have signed away your right to privacy.
If the test is positive, the sample is forwarded to the laboratory for further screening. The sample may be negative and sent any way.
Later, you receive a bill. Insurance may or may not cover the cost of these tests. Many patients are finding the additional charges unwarranted and costly.
Recently a lab bill was received with charges of nearly eight hundred dollars. If insurance pays, you may be left with a couple hundred to cover. If you have no insurance. The Peace harbor Hospital offers a one time charge of "ninety nine dollars', and they say this covers the cost in full.
There seems to be no cost containment in place since the Affordable Care Act. Calculate one hundred people by the nearly eight hundred dollars billed to insurance. Any one can quickly see why insurance premiums are so high and out of control.
DEA, The Drug Enforcement Agency of the United States has changed the classes of certain medications. Tramadol is a class IV drug now. Which means that if you wanted a non narcotic medication for pain, Tramadol is no longer available. The DEA justified the change referring to the thousands of overdoses and adverse side effects reported from hospitals nation wide.
Why all this change?
Reports that medication abuse in the United States has gone unchecked for years. Physicians, who treat pain patients are finding the very system they once relied upon, now more studious than previously experienced.
What will people do who experience true physical pain?
Certain hospitals have become nothing more than another enhanced security force for the public to contend with. Why all this concern and effort?
With the Affordable care act which ought to be called the National Rip Off legislation. We all have been forced to buy health insurance. Staggering costs for everyone with basic premiums no less than $200.00 from each paycheck and in some case's as much as $6000.00 a month. Unless you can prove you are utterly poor then your medical may be free.
The lab at Peace Harbor Hospital is just one example of possible insurance fraud. With over inflated lab fees. The average drug screening costs around the United States range from $40.00 to $80.00 depending on labs used.
Pain patients, may be at wits end. When dealing with Doctors and hospitals under new rules to police everyone. The war on narcotics seems to be costing consumers more money.
Once interviewed by the primary care physician or Nurse Practitioner the pain patient is given a hard script to hand carry to his or her pharmacy. A paper is set in front of said pain patient referred to as a "monitoring agreement".
Once signed, these one page documents are scanned into the respective health care file. On the next visit the pain patient is asked for urine sample. It is immediately tested for narcotics and whatever else the Doctor or medical assistant checks. Your name may be added to the national and state registry to monitor your narcotics usage. No HIPPA violations here because you have signed away your right to privacy.
If the test is positive, the sample is forwarded to the laboratory for further screening. The sample may be negative and sent any way.
Later, you receive a bill. Insurance may or may not cover the cost of these tests. Many patients are finding the additional charges unwarranted and costly.
Recently a lab bill was received with charges of nearly eight hundred dollars. If insurance pays, you may be left with a couple hundred to cover. If you have no insurance. The Peace harbor Hospital offers a one time charge of "ninety nine dollars', and they say this covers the cost in full.
There seems to be no cost containment in place since the Affordable Care Act. Calculate one hundred people by the nearly eight hundred dollars billed to insurance. Any one can quickly see why insurance premiums are so high and out of control.
DEA, The Drug Enforcement Agency of the United States has changed the classes of certain medications. Tramadol is a class IV drug now. Which means that if you wanted a non narcotic medication for pain, Tramadol is no longer available. The DEA justified the change referring to the thousands of overdoses and adverse side effects reported from hospitals nation wide.
Why all this change?
Reports that medication abuse in the United States has gone unchecked for years. Physicians, who treat pain patients are finding the very system they once relied upon, now more studious than previously experienced.
What will people do who experience true physical pain?
Certain hospitals have become nothing more than another enhanced security force for the public to contend with. Why all this concern and effort?
With the Affordable care act which ought to be called the National Rip Off legislation. We all have been forced to buy health insurance. Staggering costs for everyone with basic premiums no less than $200.00 from each paycheck and in some case's as much as $6000.00 a month. Unless you can prove you are utterly poor then your medical may be free.
The lab at Peace Harbor Hospital is just one example of possible insurance fraud. With over inflated lab fees. The average drug screening costs around the United States range from $40.00 to $80.00 depending on labs used.
Pain patients, may be at wits end. When dealing with Doctors and hospitals under new rules to police everyone. The war on narcotics seems to be costing consumers more money.
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