I separated the curtains from my bed. From the 46th floor, I watched the rain drizzle down the window, winced, and rolled back into one of several comfortable positions. My body hurts. I spiritually hurt. I am mentally hurt. No longer able to pray kneeling, I offered today’s queloque from a fetal position. “God, will I die before my health insurance cancels me?”
My prayer went unanswered. The fatigue has been more pronounced since November 1st, and the pain and stiffness have been stifling. Tremors have been a concerto—of what is up for debate. Propping myself up, I downed medication. And though the bottle of Jim Beam I bought last year looked enticing, I longingly stated, “Saving you for another day.” (I am always saving it for another day.)
The Keruig was unbearably difficult to operate today. Or maybe it was me. Yeah, probably me. Rather than bundle up for a quick Starbucks just outside 875 North Michigan Avenue, I went to the Potash Market on the 44th. “A black coffee and pre-cut fruit.” I stumbled over to a chair overlooking Chicago. The thick fog enveloped the city; it was hard to peer through it. I returned to my prayer.
“God, will I die before my health insurance cancels me?”
Like millions across the world, UnitedHealth has been on my mind. I don’t have UnitedHealth coverage. I am a BlueCross BlueShield guy, at least today and 2025. 2026 is a whole different story. However, the shocking assassination is not far from my mind. (What happened to Brian Thompson should not have occurred). We all question the validity of EviCore’s system (ProPublica, October 23rd), an algorithm backed by artificial intelligence, which some insiders call “the dial,” but arbitrarily shooting someone is wrong. Still, after spending years walking hospitals as a consultant and an employee of a large medical operation, I wonder when my health insurance will say ‘no.’ “Dude, your time’s up.”
In 2023, ProPublica reported insurers deny between 10% and 20% of health care claims they receive. About 1 in 5 adults said their insurer denied a claim in the past year, according to a separate 2023 report from Kaiser Family Foundation. Health insurers are at the center of the system, deciding how medicine’s practiced, what’s covered, what’s not covered, what a standardized blueprint treatment looks like,” said Christy Ford Chapin, an associate professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and author of the book “Ensuring America’s Health. Most denied care for treatable and preventable conditions that kill, and that’s harder to track and prove. “Not medically necessary,” an insurer often states.
Looking past Chicago’s fogged-in skyline, I conclude, “Soon, I, too, will no longer be necessary.” It seems only the rich are necessary.