What does it say about my experiences with the healthcare industry that when I see this:
I read this:Why do we want to know more about you?
In order to personalize the site to you, we need to know certain things about you. For instance:
- We need to know your age and gender to remind you of the check-ups you need.
- We've got a great pregnancy program so if you're pregnant, tell us and we'll help guide you through a healthy pregnancy.
- Your email and zip code helps validate that you signed up for the site and no one at our organization did it for you.
- And so on..
Cynical and unfair? Yes. But when you've lived the life I've lived, in the body I've lived, with the experiences I've lived, you'll understand why I'm not so eager to provide my employers' insurance "discount" company* with any of this information.Why do we want to know more about you?
In order to increase our profit margins, we need to know certain things about you. For instance:
- We need to know your age and gender so that we can "adjust" your premium and care accordingly.
- We've got a great pregnancy program so if you're pregnant, tell us so that your employer has the option to discriminate against you based on it.
- Your email and zip code helps us earn money by selling it off to spammers, both "legitimate" and il-.
- And so on..
*I'm required to have this insurance in order to be listed on my husband's insurance, and I have to have a denial from my employers' insurance before his employers' insurance will consider any claim at all. Which is kind of easy, considering the former doesn't cover anything anyway. Throw soon-to-expire Medicare and on-going tertiary Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities into the mix, and I've got a headache-inducing full-time job on my hands juggling all of the above.
