I returned on Thursday from California to a stack of mail. One letter was from my medical insurer. The company started a program to monitor clients with chronic medical conditions. Because I have asthma they enrolled me in the plan without any permission. Here's why I bailed out of their little monitoring experiment.
The letter spelled out that this plan was not intended to replace my physician's care, and that they would mail my physician with the same materials I was to receive. They also stated the program was voluntary, and provided an opt-out phone number.
I'm testy about these mailings. I had one arrive several years ago from a former medical insurer with much the same terms. Quite frankly I mistrust medical insurers and their medical advice. I feel that medical insurers have no business in direct patient care. If an insurer wants to improve handling of chronic conditions among their client population, I'd rather have them create a program to work through existing physicians, not to set up their own competing medical service. The whole business smacks of insurers wanting increasing control over patient care and of interfering with the work of competent physicians. My current doctor is board-certified in allergy and immunology; I'd rather take his word over that of an insurance company nurse.
In both cases the insurers automatically opted me into their plan. I had to call them to opt out; at least I could do that. At the very least insurers should send mailings to clients allowing them to opt into such plans.
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