When I was 14 years old, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, organs, and tissues it’s meant to protect. That diagnosis marked the start of a lifelong battle not just against disease, but against a system designed to deny me the treatment I...
“You can’t come in for your steroid injections without scheduling an extra appointment because your insurance isn’t paying us enough.” That’s what I was told at my most recent visit to an orthopedic surgeon I’ve seen for years. I expected relief from my pain, not a surprise medical bill—or as I learned later, “cost-shifting.” My...
I prescribed EpiPens yesterday, knowing they are overpriced. But I was shocked by how much. This EpiPen I prescribed is for a mother who watched her 11-year-old son break out in hives from an insect bite on his arm. The hives then spread over his body. This time, fortunately, the hives did not spread to...