We hear on the news about all the wonderful money MaineCare has saved in services. But no one knows better than the people trying to receive medical services through MaineCare what the truth is behind this savings.

Yes, we are blessed with medical coverage, but, what good is coverage if you cannot get your medical needs taken care of? I can comprehend the need for prior authorizations to run things more efficiently. But if the doctors have a hard time getting all this extra work done so it hinders our medical care, then is it really more effective? Especially when insurers question the doctor about the patient’s competency to know whether something is not right.

Once satisfied that the patient knows when something is wrong with them, then the insurers question whether the doctor knows what he is diagnosing.

The thing I find humorous about this is that the people asking these questions are only insurance adjusters. Who are they to be making major medical decisions about our care? I have been waiting more than four years now for a gastric pacemaker and am still waiting. In all medical care, as anyone can tell you, it is hurry up and wait.

Ellen Beland

Gardiner