by Katherine Adams

Created on: June 11, 2009

What a wonderful idea - having someone who's paid by the very industry that's contributed to the decline in top-notch health care, working as a liaison between my doctor and me.

Let's see: Who would I rather discuss my health with? On the one hand, there's my physician - he's been pretty busy filling out unnecessary paperwork to fulfill insurance company guidelines. Still, he knows me as an individual, he understands why my asthma needs a bit more care because he's studied my chart over and over for several years, and there's the little issue of his medical degree. He has one. He actually studied medicine, did a residency and learned how to develop a bedside manner (though he's always seemed pretty nice, in my opinion).

On the other hand, maybe an insurance company intermediary should enter the picture. This person, I assume, will be highly trained in some sort of medical terminolgy. Mr. or Ms. Insurance Intermediary would certainly understand the fine points of making those health care dollars stretch. And that's a good thing - we don't want people overusing insurance, if they're fortunate enough to have it. And after all, an insurance intermediary might even have letters like CPA on his or her resumein addition to some hard-core human resources courses. That experience would guarantee financial objectivenesss; a crucial point when considering which medicines I need.

But I've already experienced the intermediary effect; last year, a faceless, title-less person sent a letter to my physician about a particular medication that I take for high cholesterol. My doctor had already tried two types of pills to help control my problem, (which in my case, is primarily genetic). I can exercise like an Olympian in training, but my cholesterol numbers barely dip. But someone, or perhaps a committee of someones, felt it might be better if I tried something different, which was coincidentally cheaper than what my physician wanted me to take. I suppose it's possible that my doctor didn't score well in the cholesterol-prescribing pill portion of his studies, but my blood tests seemed to back him up.

When I tried the cheaper prescription suggested by the medical geniuses at the insurance company, my cholesterol numbers got worse. I'm certainly not a financial expert, but I got to thinking that my doctor's approach makes a lot more sense. Here's how I figured it out - if insurance firms spent a few more dollars to help me maintain good health, wouldn't it be cheaper for

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