Pts without insurance getting d/c on insulin

lovinglife2015 · Mar 17, 2015

I thought it was now illegal to not have health insurance?

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Mar 17, 2015

I thought it was now illegal to not have health insurance?

Illegal or not, some still cannot find a way to pay for it, others refuse to. I would say each dept. has their own job requirements. I would hope that the case manager and social worker to work together to meet the needs of the patient.

Lâ™¡vER · Mar 17, 2015

We live in area that is highly medically indigent and encounter this frequently. It is sad and frustrating. Case management intervenes for us, but many many times these are bounce back patients until they finally expire. Many times I find that we go out of our way to help and make it easier, but the patient doesn't do their part. That you just can't fix.

sassyann85 · Mar 17, 2015

same with where I work. I am newer there, so I havent encountered this situation yet, but wasn't sure if this was considered a "nursing responsibility" or not....I didn't think it would be, as I have no idea how to go about helping them get assistance, but I'm sure our social workers and care managers and more knowledgable on how to help/get them assistance. thanks for your reply!

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Mar 18, 2015

same with where I work. I am newer there, so I havent encountered this situation yet, but wasn't sure if this was considered a "nursing responsibility" or not....I didn't think it would be, as I have no idea how to go about helping them get assistance, but I'm sure our social workers and care managers and more knowledgable on how to help/get them assistance. thanks for your reply!

Perhaps talk to your social workers and case managers. Get educated and involved. There is no reason why you can't help as well.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Mar 18, 2015

It would be either a CM/SW duty, or maybe a collaborative duty. It's not the expectation of the floor nurse, although I'm sure CM/SW would welcome any input you may have.

@lovinglife2015, the difficulty may not be because of an absolute lack of health insurance, but by specific coverage. I had gestational DM with my last baby, and I have two insurance plans; I'm on my husband's family plan, and I have a single plan through my work since employees don't pay any premium for single plans. Glucometer strips were not covered. I had to shell out over $100 each time I needed new strips; that was for two of those little canisters. I tested 4x a day. I imagine for someone on subsistence budget, it might be difficult to test as often as they're supposed to.

blondy2061h, MSN, RN · Mar 18, 2015

Our social workers seem to be miracle workers in this department as far as I can tell. My hospital attracts a lot of donations, too, and our social work department has a fund set up to provide assistance for cases such as this.

SassyTachyRN · Mar 18, 2015

Case management did those types if things at my hospital.. Anything that had to do with meds at home whether paying for lovenox, getting IV abx, or getting medical supplies, that went through CM. SW dealt more with placements at d/c, cps/aps, community resources, etc.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Mar 18, 2015

It could be either, depending on how your floor functions. It would have been a Case Management duty on my former floor but if housing was needed or the patient needed help applying for food stamps or disability, that would be a social work issue.