Rant: Health Care

Okay - so somehow my birthdate is listed wrong in my account for all my new healthcare. This means that if I call with a question, or in my case today, to have a prescription filled, I keep getting told that since I can' t verify my birthdate, by law none of the details of my account can be discussed with me. I've known about this for at least a week, and I've asked my contact at the company to have it updated in the systems - and it doesn't really matter what I say, I can't seem to convey that I can't get medical service until this is taken care of. I'm paying for a service that's unavailable to me.

Today the lady on the phone went as far as to tell me about people's wallets being stolen and prescriptions being purchased with stolen insurance cards. Fine. Oh wait. My birthdate is listed on my drivers license, so if my wallet were stolen someone would have my birthdate as well as my insurance card. Such a great law.

This is a service that I'm paying for - but it seems like I have no say in the whole works. I wonder if it really does save me money to get my insurance through my employer or, if I would be better off to take the payout from the company and invest in my own insurance that I made the desicions for, that the insurance company would be able to change my birthdate if I told it to, and that I wouldn't have to talk to someone who had to talk to someone who had to talk to someone to get a small change that affects me directly made.

Admittedly this is not a life or death prescription - but it could be. What if I needed my insulin, or heart medication, or any number of vital prescriptions? I would be in a life or death situation right now - instead of a it'll be a couple of weeks before I'm healthy situation.