Aetna. Really?

[madamesilverspurs]

The President says that Aetna is one of the insurance companies 'cooperating' with efforts to reform health care.

Not that I doubt the President's intent to reform, but I absolutely DO NOT trust Aetna. It was Aetna who leaned on an employer to fire a manager whose child had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and the employer complied with their wishes. The fired employee was unable to find work, running into the insurance barrier wherever he applied. His family's home went into foreclosure because he couldn't find work. He wound up going back into the service in order to have some coverage for his toddler.

So, yeah, I'm having just a little trouble believing that Aetna has suddenly developed any degree of altruistic inclination. If it's the likes of Aetna that are "advising" Baucus, we're in deep shit.

[glowing]

1. Our Aetna HMO sucks. We pray every day neither of us really needs to use

the shitty service other than to cover a cold or my hubby's back issues.

[MercutioATC]

14. My Aetna HMO (through FEHBP) is pretty good.

They gave me the runaround ONCE over a Nexium prescription, but have authorized EVERYTHING my doctor has ever ordered.

[NightWatcher]

2. Aetna's evil, they all are evil, they all make money by denying claims.

Did Obama have a meeting with them like he did Big Pharma and now "they're cool"?

[ejpoeta]

3. why couldn't the employee sue??? can you get fired for that reason???? oh yeah, it must be one of

those states that you can be fired for no reason???

[FLDCVADem]

4. I hadn't heard about that

We've had Aetna for going on 5 years, and we've never had even an inkling of a problem. No deductible, low co-pay, and they've covered two different trips to the ER (including ambulance for one trip) with never a peep or question.

[TheDebbieDee]

5. I don't understand. How does having a child that is uninsurable because

of a pre-existing condition prevent someone from finding a job or keeping the job once they find it?

[Cleita]

6. If they said that they were getting out of the business because they know

that the insurance model doesn't work for health care, then I would be impressed. Until then.........Obama needs to stop enabling these parasites.

[madmax]

7. Yes, and they try to screw me every chance they get.

Either denying a test or proceedure. Sending me forms multiple times asking the same fucking questions. I finally wrote on the 5th form that this was the absolute LAST time I would play their fucking game and asked how much of a bonus did the CEO get this year?

Now, they just torture my Dr.

[haele]

8. Aetna HMO is different that Aetna PPO. The HMO is Evil incarnate from what I have heard...

The PPO is actually pretty decent, and their pharmacy services are good. However, that might be the deal my employer made with them for the benefits package. On our plan, some of the services are carried by CIGNA - primarily mental health and obstetrics.

Haele

[Zywiec]

9. We've had Aetna for years and never had any problems

I had tennis elbow surgery last year that cost me only $30.

[marmar]

10. Agree......

Aetna is my provider thru my employer's plan and I wouldn't trust them to bring me a cup of water if I was dying of thirst.

[Taverner]

11. If they said Kaiser Permanente, I wouldn't have a problem. Suck as they may, they are not for profit

Aetna is - and as a result I am weary of any "help" they give

[paulsby]

12. my aetna policy is excellent. i have posted on this before

i posted on this a week or two ago. i just got of major surgery, that was sheduled about 1 1/2 weeks after my serious (sports related) injury. i was able to get in for an MRI on the first weekday after the accident (it happened on a saturday), and in with an orthopedic surgeon a couple of days later. they have covered EVERYTHING. so far, the only cost to me has been my copay for drugs (i have no copay for medical treatment), and the drugs are under a different plan anyway. the medical care is aetna.

i've already had my first PT session (yesterday). my aetna policy covers 60 massages per year, 30 chiro visits per year, and 60 physical therapy visits per year.

i've already had a couple of dozen massages and about 20 chiro appointments. the billing goes through promptly, and i can check the website to see the status of various stuff, search for dr's in my area, etc. it's awesome.

granted, my employer pays almost 1k a month for my coverage.

within a couple of weeks, i will start on disability (under my union disability insurance). im interested to see how smooth that process is. due to the severity of the injury, i can't do full duty probably for 3-5 months, so im going to go on disability. my union rep said that with the way the tax structure works, disability pay works out to be usually between 90-95% of my normal base pay. of course no overtime opp's while on disability :)

i am for universal healthcare. but i am amazed at how good my insurance is. the benefits are phenomenal, response is quick, the e website is informative, the customer service reps are responsive (100 times more than any software company i've dealt with).

as a competitive athlete, it drives me NUTS not to be able to be doing the sport i love, but at least i HAVE excellent insurance coverage. without this coverage, between drugs and treatment and diagnostics (MRI, x-ray, doctor meeting, surgery, etc.),- i;d probably be out about 20-30k by now. my meds cost me about $7 a refill, and those have been my only expense.

i would also like to note that oxycontin works!

[FLDCVADem]

13. Heal fast!

And I'm an Aetna fan as well. Their website is the best I've ever dealt with, claims are handled quickly, and are handled by provider and Aetna. The only time I've had to get involved was when I happened to notice, on the Aetna site, that a claim had been denied. I called Aetna, it was an issue of transposed digits, and it was fixed instantly.

[paulsby]

15. thx nt

[ConnorMarc]

16. They Are ALL Evil

Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Sheild, United Health Care...same difference.

They are the BORG.