Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Be Freed of Injury. I Will Reject Them at the Doctor's Door.

I have never felt much passion for changing U.S. health insurance. Yes, I have rambled about the plight of millions of uninsured Americans. But have I ever made much effort to enact change? No. I come from an upper middle class family. Until the end of college, I will be covered by both of my parents' extensive health insurance plans. What do I have to worry about? As I discovered this week: plenty.

Last Wednesday, I broke my ankle at my summer job in Massachusetts. Early this week, I set about finding an orthopedist to monitor my care near my mother's home in New Jersey. Normally, I am able to call the doctor who has the best referral and quickly receive an appointment that does not even require a copay. This time was different.

(Please note that this was not our verbatim conversation.)

Receptionist: Do you have insurance?
Antigone: Yes. It's a Massachusetts Worker's Compensation case (since the injury happened at work, it is not covered at all by my personal health insurance).
Receptionist: Sorry. We do not handle Worker's Comp.

I tried another orthopedist. The second office was less elitist. They accepted Worker's Comp claims, but not from other states. I called office after office. Each receptionist gave me the same reply: they were not willing to treat a patient covered by Massachusetts Worker's Compensation. I called my insurance adjuster and asked for her advice. Her best recommendation: drive to Massachusetts for weekly x-rays and appointments.

In the end, I found care. My mother called in a favor from a friend who works at a major hospital. The same day, a pediatric orthopedist returned a message that I had left, saying that he might be able to help me. Even though I found a doctor, I am outraged. My ability to receive care from an orthopedist who has been trained to treat adult bones should not depend on who my mommy and daddy know. We really live in a country where it is the norm for doctors to refuse to treat major injuries on the basis of bureaucratic red tape.