The current healthcare system in the US is just as bad for service providers as it is for service recipients, maybe even worse.
My girlfriend has worked with children with special needs for around 20 years, mostly children with autism. A few years ago, the field began migrating from almost entirely state-funded to funding from private insurance (California, not sure about other states). The problems with private insurance funding began almost immediately and couldn't be clearer. Under the state-funded program that existed for decades, her company met monthly with the state funding agency, discussed individual cases, and got funded. Easy, efficient. With private insurance, well, the best way to describe it is that her small company had to hire a full-time person just to manage the billing/funding with the insurance companies. And this is not a do-nothing position. This position is responsible for much of the company's revenue, which is inherently important. Also, understanding all the different processes/procedures/BS of each insurance company is highly skilled. That might sound ridiculous, but it's totally true. I hear the stories about fighting with insurance companies, trying to get paid for services rendered months prior. Quick example: one private insurance company (a big one, you've heard of them) only accepts payment requests via fax. Yes, fax. But it gets better. The fax line is only "active" during regular business hours, and the line is almost always busy, because as you might expect, other companies are trying to get paid, too.
My girlfriend has worked with children with special needs for around 20 years, mostly children with autism. A few years ago, the field began migrating from almost entirely state-funded to funding from private insurance (California, not sure about other states). The problems with private insurance funding began almost immediately and couldn't be clearer. Under the state-funded program that existed for decades, her company met monthly with the state funding agency, discussed individual cases, and got funded. Easy, efficient. With private insurance, well, the best way to describe it is that her small company had to hire a full-time person just to manage the billing/funding with the insurance companies. And this is not a do-nothing position. This position is responsible for much of the company's revenue, which is inherently important. Also, understanding all the different processes/procedures/BS of each insurance company is highly skilled. That might sound ridiculous, but it's totally true. I hear the stories about fighting with insurance companies, trying to get paid for services rendered months prior. Quick example: one private insurance company (a big one, you've heard of them) only accepts payment requests via fax. Yes, fax. But it gets better. The fax line is only "active" during regular business hours, and the line is almost always busy, because as you might expect, other companies are trying to get paid, too.
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