Thoughts

As I am sure many know I have had a fight for over 3 years with Untied Healthcare and the ACN (American Chiropractic Network) of denying me chiropractic care. They will give me about 10 if that many and then in April they will deny me until about November or the last week of December and then give me all my allowed chiropractic visits of which we are paying to have 24 but so far have not recieved them.

 The ACA (American Chiropractic Association) has picked up my case and are working with me on how to get my treatments. to help keep the pain down and to keep my spinal cord from being any more damaged and to keep me out of a wheel chair. So now I need to start what is called an apeal proccess all over again. I did this in 06 with writting letters for 6 months and kept adding names to send letters to with each time.

The problem I have is the ACN claim that my chiropractic treatments is maintence care. If keeping my spinal cord from being damaged and keeping me out of a wheelchair maintence then why wouldn’t high blood presure medicine and diabetes medicine be maintence?

Here is my letter

February 8, 2008

United Healthcare

P.O. Box 30432

Salt Lake City, Utah 84130-0432

 APPEAL LETTER 

Dear Sirs

This is an appeal letter to reinstate my 24 visits a year chiropractic visits. I have sent in 3 times since the denial by Joseph Carpino on December 10 2007 through my chiropractor stating the seriousness of my condition and the new MRI results. My Chiropractor has also sent in a complete and new evalutation of my condiction.

I have heard nothing as in approval or denial of these requests and I  feel that the ACN is ignoring these requests even with the new information of degerantion of my condiction.

I was also denied visits in 2006 and 2007 even with my medical doctor having written a prescription for me to have chiropractic treatments.

Last year I paid out of pocket over a thousand dollars for my chiropractic treatments. This then created a hardship for getting medicines for myself and my fiancé which included high blood pressure medicine, diabetic medicine, colon medicine, migraine medicine, pain medicine among others. It also made it so I could not get new medicine my doctor wanted to put me on for the neuropathy and pain caused by the degenerative discs and scoliosis.

 My last MRI on January 9 2008 showed that I have In the Thoracic

Degnerative Disc Disease at C5 with associated end plate osteophytosis. Mild midline to left paracentral posterior protrusion, mildly effacing the anterior epidural space. Minimal degenerative spondylosis involving the thoracic spine, right lower thoracic scoliosis mesuring 23 degrees, a thinning of the spinal cord.

 In the Lumbar

L2-L3 Prominet disc space narrowing with anterior end plate osteophytosis, posterior joint arthrosis, right predominant with associated degenerative spondylolisthesis of L2, disc protrusion extending in to the L2-L3 neural foramen.

L3-L4 Decrease in disc signal intensity, degenerative posterior annular bulge, posterior joint arthrosis, left predominant with minimal neural foraminl stenosis.

L4-L5 Posterior joint arthrosis, left predominant minimal left L4-L5 neural foraminal stenosis.

L5-S1 Posterior joint arthrosis.

The left thoracolumbar scoliosis measuring 31 degrees.

 In the Cervical Spine

C3-C4 decreased disc space height with left sided disc/osteophyte complex producing encroachment of the left anterior thecal sac and mild left foraminal encroachment.

C5-C6 dicreased disc space height with diminished signal intensity of the disc indicating disc desiccation/dehydration with broad based posterior disc protrusion type of disc herniation extending to the left with osteophyte. On measuring approximately 2.0-2.5mm producing encroachment of the anterior thecal sac and mild canal narrowing.

  

The Thoracic Spine and the Lumbar Spine has become worse since the MRI in 07. We believe this to be due to the wrongful practices, neglect and denial of  timely treatments as ordered by my medical doctor,  by ACN, United Healthcare and OCLC for the last 2 years going into 3 now.

The ACN refuses to speak with the patient and refers me to United Healthcare. United Healthcare refers me to ACN.

The ACN states that my treatments are maintenance care. When did it become maintenance care to prevent spinal cord damage or to keep a person out of a wheel chair? If this is so then is not anything we do today in the way of health care considered maintenance? When will it become maintenance to take diabetes medicine, or high blood pressure medicine, have dialysis, or even open heart surgery?

I am now on Ativan, Percocet, and Cymbalta not only for the pain, but also for the depression caused by the worsening of the pain, the worry over financial matters, and the fact that I have not been able to have any kind of a normal life because of the denial of medical treatments which not only helps with the pain by taking pressure off the nerves but also makes it possible for me to function enough to be able to care of myself at this point. I have not been able to do any kind of work since last July.

Sincerely

Attorney General of Ohio    Ohio Department of Insurance

Labor Relations Board

ACN

OCLC

ACA

 

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 9th, 2008 at 12:26 am and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.