I have not heard of that program, however things are changing in the medical arena. No signing, yet, but I understand that my MD will now be a member of a "team" consisting of 3 MD's, a couple of PA's, several nurses. Sorta assume that this 'team' will be my "caregivers" on an available basis. So far, I have only seen my MD, but I have been introduced to a young woman MD, who was visiting and did most of the examining. We will see!

This happened to me too, although I was never asked to sign anything. I had two surgeries last December and one day a nurse called from United Healthcare (phone number was in another state)and kept me on the phone 45 minutes asking tons of questions about the details of my surgery and telling me that if I had any questions etc. to call them. Well, she called again about a month later with the same questions all over again about the details of my surgery that she has asked in the previous phone call. I told her I had already discussed this with her and apparently her memory was then jogged.

A friend at work, who was a former nurse, told me to not answer the calls or participate in this. She says they're gathering info. I don't know what for. I continued to get constant phone calls from them and just never answered. The calls finally stopped about a month ago.

Joanie, you can still call your doctor and get a copy of what you signed. I hate when this happens!

My husband was in a program like that for his heart before he got cancer. I don't think they really look at your records. He had pancreatic cancer for 4 months. The day we went to the Dr to arrange for hospice care for him a nurse from Blue Cross called and wanted to talk to him about diet and exercise after we got home. I started crying and said he was in hospice for cancer. She had no idea.

When my DH had back surgery last year, he was on short term leave from work. Our health insurance is through BC/BS. We were asked if we wanted a nurse through BC/BC to check in on him via phone calls. We agreed not knowing anything more. Basically, we learned that she acted as liaison between the surgeon's office and my DH in regard to issues, questions, etc. She called numerous times, and frankly, she was a waste of our time (had to answer some of the same questions each time she called...). This was the first time we were offered this kind of "help" through this insurance (though it was the first time one of us had surgery through this insurance). I won't accept the "help" again. She did nothing for us that I couldn't do myself with a phone call.

OP, I highly doubt your car insurance co. can use or obtain any of this info especially with the HIPAA law. And, no, people from your office can not gain access to your info. Again, the HIPAA law protects you.

That's interesting - I've only encountered something similar where I used to work. Our insurance policy would give us a discount if we did their wellness programs, facilitated through work. They would have people come and take blood, check weight, give us diet and exercise plans, check in monthly, things like that. I never participated but I think they offered a pretty hefty discount on the monthly premiums for people who participated.

Some of it is cost shifting in the practice itself.
For insurance reasons simply follow the money.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2012/07/30/be-not-fooled-insurance-companies-still-gaming-system

Watchme, that linked piece is hardly a balanced assessment.

There's far too much insurance fraud and unnecessary costs caused by both patients and providers. These costs make coverage more expensive for everyone. I'd be the last person to suggest that insurance companies don't do ham-fisted things, but they do need to do things to try to keep costs down. The author of that piece would do more good by suggesting better alternatives they should follow instead of just carping about it.

After a brief illness with hospital stay a few years ago, Lifewise (my insurance at the time) had a nurse begin calling me. About once a month, somewhat simplistic questions...did I understand any medication I had been prescribed, was I having any side effects. General nutrition and exercise questions. We never had any new or helpful information for each other as far as I could tell - the calls were a bit of a nuisance as they never seemed to come at a convenient time. 'What is your blood pressure'...good, just like its been all my life. 'How about your cholesterol'...same answer, never has been high. 'What do you weigh this month'....same as I did in 7th grade plus about 8 pounds ;) She was trying hard to find something helpful to do for me or explain to me, there never was anything....

I no longer have Lifewise coverage so I don't know who she's calling now ;) My rate increases during those years were the same across board increases applied to everyone.

Snidely It is an opinion piece. It doesn't have to be balanced. It is an opinion of why they are pushing this new wellness thing. If it's not factual what is not factual about it? Is it partly true, a bunch of lies? If so comment on it. But simply saying it's unbalanced isn't helpful. It's the flip side of "carping". ;-)

"The author of that piece would do more good by suggesting better alternatives they should follow instead of just carping about it."

The first step in dealing with problems is identifying them. If an entire approach is required before we can even talk, we might as well give up.

I totally agree with the opinion piece and that health care is driven by money.

I would neither sign nor participate in these programs.

I also caution that what is shared and what employers know and what they may use in their employment decisions is extremely difficult to prove. Are their laws? Sure. Does everyone obey the law, particularly when it is very difficult to prove wrongdoing?

Joaniepoanie,

You should be able to get a form where by your signature you retract the permission you have given. Do not, of course, rely on a phone call, the retraction must be in writing, and you can ask that you receive in writing a verification of your retraction.

Also, ask for a copy of the document you signed.

Unfortunately, for some older people , medical appointments have become a way to pass the time. Since my SIL retired, there are now multiple things that need attending to on a regular basis.

She sees a nutritionist because it's free! Yea, right.

Doctors aren't much better. Come back in three months etc. when it's not necessary.

This happened quite often in the group home where I used to work. The nurse at the home had to follow the doctors orders even though she knew such frequent visits were not necessary.

Honesty seems to be out the window.

chi

my ex participated in such a program, and the only thing he got out of it was a reduction in his part of the cost for his insurance. The "nurse" could not actually tell Jerry anything he didn't already know. But the reduction was nice.

Moni

OK, I'll be more specific.

To say "follow the money" is a non-sequitur. Many health insurers are for profit businesses, though not all are. If you said 'follow the money" when talking about Ford Motor Company, or Banana Republic, or Sony, or HP (other for-profit businesses), does that convey an insight or a meaningful sentiment? I don't think so. No more or less so with a health insurer.

She's venting and frustrated about her own experience. I'm not convinced she understands her own coverage. Does she have a PPO or an HMO? Has she encountered a stop-loss limit or is something else going on? Does she know and understand her policy and what to expect? Has she spoken to a representative (not the nurse calling her) for clarification?

It reads like it could be a script for a Roseann Roseannadanna scene. Maybe one little misunderstanding has lead to her massive confusion. Does she have the right information? Has she politely investigated what's going one? Who knows?

In one paragraph she uses her personal experience as an example. That said, she is an activist for health care reform. Whether one agrees with her politics regarding health care or not is moot. To dismiss her as simply a disgruntled patient is using the tactic of minimization to shut her down her efforts to educate the masses as she sees it. Putting her down doesn't change the valid points she has in her article.

What most of the public doesn't seem to get is that the insurance companies are not bound by HIPAA, they see copies of our treatment records ALL THE TIME, they don't need some nurse practitioner to disclose to them. All they have to do is request the records and if they aren't produced, they will send someone to copy them themselves. Lots of people, especially more and more of the seniors participate in the wellness programs, if for no other reason than to qualify for the discounts in insurance.

I'm not minimizing her comments at all. She sounds like a confused patient with a limited understanding of the issues.

I'm not sure what an "activist" really is. Is she a lobbyist? Normally, those who advocate particular points of view are most effective when they're experts in the subject matter they deal with and can talk authoritatively around all sides of a question. She doesn't seem to be very well versed in what she's talking about, she resorts to disparaging comments about insurance companies without (again as mentioned before) suggesting what can be done to improve a problem she's talking about. If it is a problem, I'm not sure I understand what her beef is.

Assuming her interest involves healthcare and health insurance, I'm going to guess she's not very effective in winning new supporters to her point of view.

My limited experience with this "call a nurse" was years ago. As outlined, it was useless to me -- and I suspect to most people with a normal IQ and functioning brain. The main benefit I could see was to the provider's bottom line.

Thank you all for your input. I am going tomorrow to try and retrieve the form since I tried messaging my dr but the portal is down.

In addition to my concerns, since last September I have had one unrelated health issue after another culminating in knee surgery in April ( fortunately everything turned out to be relatively minor). Since January I have pretty much been housebound except for trips to the dr. In the last few weeks I am now getting back to normal....finally able to shop, go to the grocery, etc..

I was really looking forward to being free of the medical profession for awhile and that is what I am going to tell her. I need a break from Drs, lab work, etc. and I just don't want to deal with a weekly call from a nurse either!

I will see my dr again in 3 months and will talk to her about it again then when I have done some research and am better prepared with questions. Thanks again every one...I really appreciate it.

One thought if I missed it? You can ALWAYS get copies of any medical forms you sign. So don't worry!

I signed up for the Nurse to Call from Anthem Blue Cross. She called once a month, and was pretty useless. I canceled the program.

I am on a BC/BS health care program.. By being a part of this program a nurse...ie a dietitian or a RN will call once a month and just talk with me about any issues I might have..exercise or diet..Nothing major, only takes 10- 15 minutes...and best of all it saves me money.. They never know about any of my health issues..

Here we go again! No idea what is going on yet people are making absolute statements of "fact" and not knowing what they're talking about.

Unfortunately you asked the wrong people. What you need to do first is find out what you signed. Short of advice to find out what you signed, forget all advice that is given under presumption and guess. I'm glad to hear you're going to check on what you signed. KUDOS! I'm sure you learned your lesson to sign NOTHING without getting a copy. No copy? No signature. Period. Hospitals and clinics are amazed and angered often when I won't even sign until a duplicate is out. Also, don't take their word that they'll get you a copy afterward. I made that mistake once. Cynic Rule #4: No copy? No signature!

And saying "...the HIPAA law protects you" is an ignorant statement in this case. HIPAA does not protect you if you sign a waiver, which is often the first thing you have to sign for medical care. For anyone to make absolute statements of what is happening or can happen is naive since we don't know what was involved. I would doubt that it's a scam since it's through the Dr's office and given their liability in the event of a scam, they're not likely to take a chance. However, they might think something is good for you that you don't think is good for you.

You're doing the right thing by finding out what you signed. Then you can start asking intelligent questions and stand a chance of getting some at least somewhat educated answers. Good luck!

Cynic, you don't know what people know and what they don't. Who the heck are you to question other peoples responses?