A rant from BIOYA.... Just one of those nights folks!

[bioya]

As a former DaVita employee (RN, FA) I am curious if other DaVita employees on this board feel the same way about the company that I do? In my honest opinion, DaVita is all about the dollar and what it can get from insurance companies.

A DAVITA FACT FOR YOU TO DIGEST!!!!!!!   Do you know that DaVita has a thing called "HIPPERS". A Hipper is a private insurance patient. DaVita has said that the clinic will do whatever is necessary to keep a Hipper. If you have to move someone out of a seat or a time or a day who is not a HIPPER in order to keep the insurance patient happy and satisfied, than do it. If you have to keep staff on overtime to accommodate a HIPPER, then do it. They even have special conference calls with each clinic and discuss each HIPPER patient individually to make sure that the FA and the staff are kissing the HIPPER's ass. I hope I do not offend anyone on here who is a dialysis patient who has private insurance, its not meant as a slam to you by any m eans. It just shows how DaVita craves the money!!!!  Now do you think for a moment, for even one second that they would care about a medicare or medicaid patient that way? NOT IN YOUR LIFE!!!!  But yet they qualify every HIPPER comment with the statement "no clinical difference" What a load of bullshit.

So rest assured all of you DaVita patients, if you have private insurance, you will get the best treatment in the world. However, if your like the other 90 percent with medicare or medicaid, you will be treated like a number.

I am so disenchanted with healthcare right now its unbelievable. DaVita preaches family values,  honesty, loyalty, teamwork, etc. But when the truth finally comes out, its all about money. I hope, I pray that in my new role as a RN, I don’t have to deal with the double standards anymore.

I hope you don't mind my rant... I am just thinking about leaving a field that I love and it bothers me. I did not have these problems with Gambro, its just the "DaVita Way"....... Goodnight folks. God bless you!

[Sara]

That is disgusting.   

[Rerun]

I have insurance and by GOD I appreciate being treated with some priority.  I was in a facility where I was private insurance and they didn't give a crap.  All I wanted was the chair against the wall where it was warmer, better light, and my own TV.  They wouldn't give it to me and put some Medicaid patient there who slept the whole damn time.  I was paying twice as much and treated no different.

Sorry, but I'm a tax payer and I pay my share and theirs and dammit I want it my way.  If I am working (which I'm not now) and need the early shift and it is "full."  They you kick some old person who is not paying a dime off the damn chair and put me there. 

AND when I'm on Medicaid then I'll sit at the back of the bus too.  But until then I want priority!  Thank You DaVita!

[bioya]

Its simply not right. There should never be a difference in how a patient is treated based on the type of insurance that they have. I am sorry, but I just can't agree w/ you. I am not saying you are not right, or that you don't have a right to your opinion, but in my humble opinion, no one.... NO ONE.... is better than anyone else.... sorry, DaVitas policy is faulty.

[goofynina]

uh oh,  oh no.........

[Rerun]

Its simply not right. There should never be a difference in how a patient is treated based on the type of insurance that they have. I am sorry, but I just can't agree w/ you. I am not saying you are not right, or that you don't have a right to your opinion, but in my humble opinion, no one.... NO ONE.... is better than anyone else.... sorry, DaVitas policy is faulty.

Then you are for a National Health Care System like Canada.  I'm a Capitalist.  I think that if you are "responsible" and have insurance then you get priority "above" the one who sucks off the system.  Why work, Why try and get ahead, why even HAVE insurance if you get the same treatment?  What is the incentive?

[goofynina]

When i was going to the clinic, those poor techs,  they busted their asses to do what they had to do cuz they couldnt get even 5 minutes of overtime or it was a write up.  It was sad to see them sweat and nervous cuz it was almost time for them to leave and they needed more time.  It was a joke. And of course the next shift didnt want to finish what that tech started.   I would ask certain techs to put me on and they couldnt cuz it was time for them to leave and they couldnt stay over.  So i dont think they give any one person priority over another cuz if that was the case, then these poor techs would be able to stay over and get a little overtime AND help those with private insurance (such as myself) .  But if they did, then it would be a write up, can you believe that??? UGH,,,

[angieskidney]

I just read this now (still catching up) and I have to say that maybe it is just my canadian idealism but I feel everyone should be treated equal to need. If a person is freezing to death .. put them in the warmer side of the room instead of telling them too frickan bad cuz they don't have the dough! That is rediculous! Maybe it is cuz I am poor but I would hate to be treated like my life is worth less just because circumstances have prevented me from being in a position where I could afford nice coverage!

I am liking Canada more and more every day .. sorry to my American boyfriend but damn .. I got it good here!!

[kitkatz]

I currently have three insurances covering me.  My hubby's work has Kaiser,  My work has Blue Shield, then Medicare is the primary insurance.  They love me  everywhere I go.  The transplant center said it was great I had three different insurances they could bill when I saw them.  I had to laugh. Greedy little bastards.  After I signed over my Medicare to Kaiser they are the primary caregivers for me. I asked if and when my hubby retires do I get kicked off of Kaiser, hopefully the answer I got was no because I had signed my Medicare to them.  We shall see.

Katherine

[sandman]

I am liking Canada more and more every day .. sorry to my American boyfriend but damn .. I got it good here!!

Well, as far as your free Canadian medical coverage goes, you have it pretty well.  Unfortunately, you are limited from other choices and options like alternative doctors, financial assistance and near by hospitals with trained medical staff to handle your situation.  Sure, the US may have a greedy medical perfession but still, the US does have more choices and options to cater to your needs.

[angieskidney]

I am liking Canada more and more every day .. sorry to my American boyfriend but damn .. I got it good here!!

Well, as far as your free Canadian medical coverage goes, you have it pretty well.  Unfortunately, you are limited from other choices and options like alternative doctors, financial assistance and near by hospitals with trained medical staff to handle your situation.  Sure, the US may have a greedy medical perfession but still, the US does have more choices and options to cater to your needs.

I can go to any doctor I choose when it comes to family doctors but when it comes to nephrologists my city is too small to have a huge choice. I have 3 as it is.  And only one hospital in my city of 200,000 has dialysis when has 22 chairs and the 2nd unit which I go to that has 12 chairs.

I don't have the problems that exsist with the US units so I don't have a need to look for alternatives. Everything is great where I live.

[rablrowsr]

even if you have ten insurance coverage policies, if your Medicare is primary, you're still considered a low reimbursement by healthcare as they don't pay as much.  as for having private health insurance, if you get to a point you can't work, and many patients do get to that point, (I think employment of dialysis patients is <20%), you can only keep you health insurance for 30 months as a primary-then you have to go medicare and you'll be in the majority of the dialysis patients.  the private insurance pays so well in fact that one patient with private insurance can pretty much carry a whole clinic financially.     that is why the company will move mountains to make sure the patient keeps his private policy.  I think it is shameful.  what about the person who worked their whole life, started dialysis after retirement, should a commercial insurance person be treated better?

[Treasure]

Ouch! I never knew I was a "HIPPER."  Hmmm, I was wondering why the center, which I absolutely love, btw... was jumping through hoops to get me re-settled into the center, after my transplant failed two months ago.  And I was thinking they changed my Thanksgiving dialysis to Wednesday because they LOVED me, hehehe. I did realize that I was probably paying the bill for many, many patients...especially since I don't qualify for Medicare and my private insurance carrier seems willing to do or pay anything to keep me happy. I have tried to look at it  as if my insurance is making things a little easier for the non-Hipper patients-- I hope I'm not just being naive.

I really don't want to be treated differently. I do ask for changes on occasion, but I usually can take "no" as an answer, especially if my request would put someone else out.  Maybe I need to let the center know that I don't want preferential treatment.

Now I'm bummed...*sniffle*

Michelle ~ Treasure

[Inara]

What I've read here is just confirming everything I've heard about Davita, both good and bad.  I work for Fresenius in an area where Davita is just starting to buy out a lot of units around us.  I've had a couple of co-workers leave us to go work for Davita because they couldn't turn down the money, but they didn't stay long!  My biggest concern is that FMC has already started taking a page out of Davita's book and put a centralized technical department in place.  Our nearest tech is over an hour away, so if there's a problem with the water, bicarb, etc, we're up sh*t creek.  Hopefully, it will stop there with the "copycat" changes. 

Rerun, I understand what you're saying about special treatment as I've received it myself after being injured in a drunk driving accident (I wasn't the drunk one!  ).  Yeah, it was nice, but I felt bad when I saw other patients being "bumped" to accommodate me.  Luckily, my center tends to treat all patients equally regardless of insurance.

[Marty1]

I think decisions regarding patients should be based on the patients circumstances and nothing to do with how much they pay.  I would feel just terrible if I received a priviledge that someone else needed more than I did just because I paid more.  I think DaVita better be careful, if they are giving too much to the "insured" they might find themselves without enough Medicare patients to stay afloat.  I'm not in a Davita Center but if I were and saw this going on I'd find another unit and leave.

[thegrammalady]

...especially since I don't qualify for Medicare and my private insurance carrier seems willing to do or pay anything to keep me happy.

once you go back on dialysis (after a transplant fails) you should re qualify for Medicaid.

[renal30yrs]

They've been accidentally billing my private insurance company but whatever the request what I make seems never honored.

[livecam]

Well Bioya this is off topic but a while back I used to work with a guy who used the term BIOYA all the time.  Our office was on the tenth floor of a bank building so we would have to take an elevator to get up there.  The walls of this elevator were covered in a plush carpet that lent itself to being written in with the indentation of a finger.  Well Kent would write the term BIOYA into the carpeted walls of the elevator quite often.  One day curiousity got me so I finally said, "E.K. what does BIOYA mean."  When "Blow it out your ..." came back I was both shocked and amused.  I told you this was off topic but maybe it isn't.  Perhaps you are trying to tell Davita something?

[Rerun]

Well Bioya this is off topic but a while back I used to work with a guy who used the term BIOYA all the time.  Our office was on the tenth floor of a bank building so we would have to take an elevator to get up there.  The walls of this elevator were covered in a plush carpet that lent itself to being written in with the indentation of a finger.  Well Kent would write the term BIOYA into the carpeted walls of the elevator quite often.  One day curiousity got me so I finally said, "E.K. what does BIOYA mean."  When "Blow it out your ..." came back I was both shocked and amused.  I told you this was off topic but maybe it isn't.  Perhaps you are trying to tell Davita something?

This would probably be better presented as a PM to Bioya.

Rerun / Moderator  

[angela515]

lol livecam....

[okarol]

I, for one, am glad to know what it means.
Since BIOYA hasn't posted since October, maybe Davita knows too.

[brenda]

Who told Sandman we have "free" medical coverage? I pay my premiums every month and they are not cheap. Yes, they wouldn't deny me care if I didn't pay it. But I would sure get a bill in the mail. Maybe this is different from province to province but here in Alberta ain't nothing "free". Americans have better access to medications, more choices. Here the type of machine you use is the choice of the regional health care. There's one kind and one kind only. Nocturnal machines are different, but still one choice, one kind. Our access to doctors, ya well try and find one that's taking new patients.
I also pay two other insurance premiums to get my medications covered. I need to move to that "free" province.

[del]

I think everyone has a right to the same treatment no matter what their financial status.  I know people who can't afford to buy their renagel (or other meds) because they don't have any insurance.  I am lucky I have health and drug insurance.  I for one certainly hope things don't change in Canada.  It doesn't seem right for companies to be making big bucks off of sick people.  I sometimes grumble about the taxes I pay but I appreciate our health care system.  I don't think anyone should be given special treatment just because they have more money.  Just my opinion - everybody is entitled to their own.

[bioya]

I spent 26i years in the military. During that time I went to advanced NCO school. It was one of those things you had to do to get your ticket punched. Yes, BIOYA means "blow it out your a$$".  We would shout that in formation when we knew they were messing with us!

[jbeany]

LOL - i had heard of "FUBAR", but not this one.  Thanks for the definition, livecam!  Love the name, bioya.  Can we get a phonetic pronunciation on that?