CQC Shares Personal Stories of Texans in #HealthCareFail Series

By Consumers For Quality Care, on September 13, 2019

New Campaign Highlights Americans’ Frustrations with Health Care

TEXAS – Consumers for Quality Care (CQC) is highlighting the roadblocks Texans are encountering in the health care system – from emergency room denials and surprise medical bills to difficulties at hospitals and at the pharmacy counter.

One Texas consumer’s insurer suddenly stopped covering her Lupus medication. As Amber worked alongside her doctor to appeal her insurer’s decision, her disease flared up and she still feels the effects a year later.

After her father was diagnosed with cancer, another Texan – Aundria –
had him move in with her, her husband and their young daughters. She has been taking care of him, juggling multiple doctor appointments, treatments and calls with insurers, but has been frustrated by the lack of clear communication between the insurer and physicians.

Another Texas consumer – Monica – received surprise bills for a treatment for her husband’s autoimmune disease her family was told was covered by their insurance.

Tara confirmed that the facility and provider were in-network with her insurance when she went in to have a post-miscarriage procedure. She shared her frustrating story of then receiving a $3,000 surprise bill because the anesthesiologist was out-of-network and how dealing with this unexpected financial hardship made the healing process that much harder for her and her family.

The #HealthCareFail campaign spotlights the real life issues being experienced within the system and calls on policy makers to address these challenges. As part of this effort, CQC encourages consumers to share their own stories on social media through the use of hashtags like #insurancefail, #hospitalfail, #rxfail, and #medicalbillingfail.

“Our health care system has made strides in recent years, with more Americans insured than ever before. But more must still be done. Texans, including Amber, Aundria, Monica and Tara, are continuing to experience challenges when they try to access the care they need,” said CQC board member Jim Manley. “Americans across the country are facing similar difficulties – from surprise costs and billing complexity to a lack of transparency, and more. The goal of the #HealthCareFail campaign is to spotlight these consumer issues for policy makers to take note and help inform solutions, particularly as health care continues to dominate the 2020 election cycle.”

CQC mapped the consumer stories collected as part of the #HealthCareFail campaign, revealing that too many Americans, no matter their ZIP code, still struggle as a result of the unpredictable costs and lack of transparency within the health care system.

The experiences of consumers like Amber, Aundria, Monica and Tara further support the findings of a recent Ipsos/CQC survey which showed that a majority of Americans – regardless of their income level, age, gender, race or political identification – are worried about the cost of health care. The survey also found that Americans overwhelmingly want lawmakers to take real steps to alleviate these concerns instead of paying lip service to the issue.

CQC launched the #HealthCareFail campaign earlier this summer to mark its second anniversary. For a list of #HealthCareFail stories shared with CQC and other consumer stories from around the country, visit https://consumers4qualitycare.org/healthcarefail/

From commissioning research into Americans’ issues in the health care system and highlighting the costs in need of fixing as part of the Cut Consumer Costs campaign to fighting harmful Medicaid work requirements and working to defeat anti-consumer emergency room policies, CQC works with a coalition of 15 partner organizations to ensure that consumers are at the front and center of the health care debate.

ABOUT

Consumers for Quality Care (CQC) is a coalition of advocates and former policy makers working to provide a voice for patients in the health care debate as they demand better care. CQC is led by a board of directors that includes the Honorable Donna Christensen, physician and former Member of Congress; Jim Manley, former senior advisor to Senators Edward Kennedy and Harry Reid; Scott Mulhauser, founder of Aperture Strategies and former senior advisor to the Senate Finance Committee and Vice President Joe Biden; and Jason Resendez, community advocate and Executive Director of the LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s Coalition.

To learn more about Consumers for Quality Care and the issues consumers are experiencing, visit www.consumers4qualitycare.org.