An Open Letter to Insurance Companies

Dear Insurance Companies,

I’m going to keep this brief. Have you seen a day in the life of a clinician? Everyone from the peer reviewers all the way up through administration? Have you observed it? Do you know what it feels like? Do you know how productive we are expected to be? 

I know why you’re contacting me, you want to make sure I’m not being wasteful. But sometimes I need to spend time getting to know a child and a family and building trust. I don’t think you can put a price on that. Our clients have good days and bad. 

As occupational therapists, we are looking at them from all angles and see a lot of ways we can help. A lot of time one change in their environment like equipment can be the difference between not being independent and being independent. 

I wish you would trust me enough to know that I am picking the number of visits I think will give that person the best care. I wish you did not dictate that for me. I wish I did not have to alter my plans based on what results I get from your review and that I have to squeeze 6 months’ worth of patient education, habit formation, and skill-building into 8 weeks. 

I understand how many people you have to serve and financially support. I don’t think this system is the most effective. But even so, can you trust us to know what we are recommending and that we are serving our clients to the best of our ability?

I guess at the end of the day, I’m asking for solidarity, compassion, and respect for the expertise of the therapist over monetary gain. As a business owner, I understand the need to make money to continue to support people. However, quality healthcare should not have a price on it. 

I am asking for respect for our decisions and understanding that we do everything we can to help our clients thrive as quickly as possible. They are humans and humans are messy and not linear in their progression. 

Will you join me in working together and advocating for what is best for the patient first?

Sincerely,

A struggling occupational therapist