My Healthcare is Killing Me! » Reviews

Great, but what about the role of prevention?

Cheryl Milson — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:58:18 +0000

I thought the publication was easy to read and very informative, but wish there had been a chapter on “Doing Everything in Your Power to Stay Healthy so that you can use less Healthcare!” Once people are on the treatment side of the model, costs can only be controlled and renegotiated so much. The more Americans improve their lifestyle habits and stay healthier, the less we will be at the mercy of these institutions and their outrageous costs.

Disappointed with Perspective on Dental Insurance

Margie — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:02:19 +0000

I was loving everything I was reading until I reached the page that talked about how dental coverage works on page 78. I was disgusted by the discouraging words. Research has shown that group dental insurance greatly encourages people to go see the dentist. I also wondered where you base your comment on “the coverage is generally priced at the actual cost of the benefit plus an administrative charge, and is not considered very cost-effective”?

On my dental plan I got two fillings and deep cleanings done in two visits, after having a previous office visit where I got x-rays and an initial cleaning. I got away with paying a total of $100. A filling can easily cost $86 where I live and yet I got away with paying only $100 for all the services I received. You do the math and tell me if having dental insurance is worth it.

Margie
A person with employer-sponsored dental coverage

Amazing Healthcare learning

Dharmesh — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:01:29 +0000

one of the best books i have read as regards to clarity with which every aspect of healthcare has been explained.Concepts have been explained very well and now it has put me in a good position the next time in delaing with insurance company and providers

At last – this is what I need!

Ronda — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:58:42 +0000

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!

I looked for something like this about a year and half ago when I started sourcing Healthcare/Benefits, etc. and could not find anything that told me what I wanted or felt I needed to know! (I thought I needed to be at least a little smarter than your average consumer since I was now sourcing the stuff, you know.) I went to Barnes and Nobles, DB Dalton, Walden, and every other Mom-and-Pop bookstore I could find. Nothing! At most, some of the books would have two or three pages dedicated to definitions and that was about it. I even said to one of the workers at Barnes and Nobles: “No, what I am looking for is A Guide to Healthcare for Dummies”. He said, “I’m not showing that one exists.” Well, now it does, and under a different title!

Thanks so much for the book.
Ronda

Bravo

Brandt Williamson — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:34:53 +0000

This is quite an achievement. I am an emergency physician, a father to child with cystic fibrosis and have observed the healthcare system from many vantage points. When my daughter was diagnosed I would have rejoiced to have found a resource like your book. After learning the ropes myself I attempted to write a similar quide but did not take it to this level. I am impressed. I have started a small business, Polaris Healthcare Advocates, to help patients understand health matters and being efficient consumers of health care and I find this book will be indispensible, I would like to share with you my work, Surviving Health Insurance, at some point if you have any interest. I have been using Quicken Medical Expense Manager and have always found the biggest problem involved data input. This seem a bit cumbersome with change:healthcare as well and was wondering if you have considered alternatives such as scanning bills and EOBs with Abbyy word recognition software? Also, have you considered allowing us to upload quicken data to your database? Oh, one last thing, thanks for the Christmas card.

Brandt Williamson MD

Great tool for patients and families!

Lisa Norris — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:48:17 +0000

Thank you for creating this very readable guide. It is one of the many sins of our present system that patients and their families find themselves drowing in confusing papework at a time when they are least able to cope. Your book and website arm healthcare consumers with information so they can avoid problems where possible and more effectively advocate for themselves when problems do arise.

Great Primer for Consumers

Zach Evans — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:41:04 +0000

For consumers fed up with the healthcare insurance shell-game or are looking for a way to become better informed consumers, My Healthcare is Killing Me is a great place to start. Filled with easy-to-understand definitions and great anecdotal examples, this is a book all interested consumers should have on their bookshelves.

I love it

Zane Safrit — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:19:52 +0000

Well-done. Thank you. Thank you both for writing it, sharing it as a PDF and creating this whole site around it.

I’ve blogged twice about your book already and I’m only on page 6. I’m sure I’ll blog again about your book.

Thanks, again.

MY HEALTHCARE IS KILLING ME

Allen — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:05:18 +0000

To paraphrase a current tagline, “So easy, even a caveman can understand it!” In a mere hour, I was whisked away from the Stone Age into the Age of Enlightenment. This simple-minded troglodyte has had all his preconceptions and misconceptions of insurance and healthcare totally shattered. I, like countless millions of other knuckle draggers, have utterly abused the insurance system, albeit unknowingly. Not once in all my years of coverage have I realized or understood the impact that MY insurance choices and decisions have upon the overall cost and quality of healthcare for EVERYONE! Through a straightforward and easily understood narrative, the authors take naive neophytes on a step by step journey through the quagmire most policy holders associate with insurance. “My Healthcare is Killing Me” is rife with helpful hints designed to assist the uninformed consumers in making more intelligent and more cost efficient decisions regarding their healthcare. Easily read and just as easily understood, this book is a must reading for all employers and employees alike. Any consumer or business that wants to reduce healthcare costs, most certainly needs to read and heed the message that this team of authors is extoling.
Oh yes, as an aside, don’t let the size of this book (approx. 100 pages)fool you. Good things REALLY do come in small packages and this package is LOADED with goodies!