Newport Daily News - Senator Hears Stories of Health-care Struggles

Newport Daily News - Senator Hears Stories of Health-care Struggles

By Sean Flynn

Anne Devaney of Portsmouth is a 14-year cancer survivor who periodically undergoes tests to make sure the cancer does not come back and the areas where she had surgery remain healthy.

Her insurance company refused to pay for the most recent test because she had it done in Massachusetts without obtaining a pre-authorization form.

"How much time did it take insurance company staff to deny the claim and how much time did hospital staff spend trying to get the money?" Devaney asked. That, she said, is a waste of resources multiplied many times over around the country - resources that instead should be used for actual health care.

Devaney was one of five people Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, met with at the Corner Cafe in Newport on Tuesday morn­ing to discuss their experiences with the health-care system. Whitehouse was inter­ested in hearing from Devaney because she administers a health-care plan for her firm, IDS. If she had trouble navigating the sys­tem, it demonstrates how much more dif­ficult it is for the average person without that type of experience, he said.

As a temporary member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Whitehouse is involved in draft­ing a national health-care reform bill. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the acting chairman of the committee, asked White­house to serve on the committee until the legislation is completed.

Whitehouse now is asking constituents around the state for their ideas on health­care reform.

Tonight, he will host a community din­ner at the Vasco da Gama Hall on Fenner Avenue in Newport to hear more personal stories about the crisis in the nation's health-care system. He has invited people from Jamestown, Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Little Compton, Tiverton, Bris­tol and North Kingstown.

People from around the state have posted their stories on the "Health Care Storyboard" that White­house has on his Web site, whitehouse.senate.gov. Since the page was launched in February, hundreds of people have written to Whitehouse to share their frustration and concern with skyrocketing health­care costs and difficulties with the system, he said. At the Corner Cafe on Tuesday morning, Shirley Lally of Middletown told Whitehouse she and her husband were self-employed and carried a health­insurance plan for themselves and their employ­ees until the mid-1990s, "when the cost of health insurance became prohibitive." She and her hus­band dropped their health insurance at a time when they might have needed it most and went without health insurance until they qualified for Medicare at age 65. They appreciate that coverage, Lally said - with an exception.

"Medicare Part D that covers prescription drugs is the result of one horrible piece of legislation, because it was written by the drug companies," she said. "If the drug you need is not on their formu­lary list of approved drugs, you have to fight tooth and nail to get it."

The need to constantly fight with insurers for needed health care was a consistent theme dur­ing the discussion Whitehouse had with the small group.

Marcela Burke of Newport told of how she had to act as an advocate for her mother, who required care in a nursing home.

Norma and Wally Stimson of Portsmouth also were guests at the breakfast table. Norma Stimson said she and her husband pay more than one-third of their income for health care for themselves and their son, who must be privately insured.

Whitehouse discussed the role private insurers play in the health-care system.

"As soon as they become risk carriers, they don't want to cover you if are sick and they try to get rid of you if you get sick," he said. "If they can't get rid of you, they try to delay your treatment as long as possible. It's a terrible business plan."

Lally asked Whitehouse if there is any chance a public health plan could pass in Congress, with talk-show hosts regularly condemning such ideas as "socialized medicine."

"We've been messing about with this for so long, and things have gotten so bad, people's opinions have changed," Whitehouse said. "Even if there is a greatly expanded role for government in health­care administration, people are in favor of it by more than 60 percent."

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