In 1976, before they banned smoking there, while working for a radio station I got up from the broadcast board to riffle through the records and the rubber tip of my forearm crutch landed on a piece of cellophane from a cigarette package that someone had carelessly dropped on the floor instead of putting it in the waste basket. I slipped, landed on the floor, and came up with a very sore knee. The knee swelled up real good, and the following day I had to go to my quack and have about 20 ccs. of fluid drained from the joint. Very sore, and I had to stay off of it for several days.

My doctor submitted the bill to my insurance company (Blue Cross at the time). Blue Cross responded very quickly. "Sorry, we don't cover things like that." So I asked myself, "Then why am I paying them $90.00 a month?" [Remember, this was back in 1976.] I asked Bob MacDonald, the station's program director, if the station had insurance for accidents that happen on the premises. He said they did, so no problem. But he went on to say that in his dealings with Blue Cross, he had found that they customarily send out a form letter saying "We don't cover that," even when it is clearly stated in the policy that they do. Under the hope that, like so many people, you haven't actually read the policy, they just run it up the flag pole, and if you salute, they're off the hook. "Go out to their office," he said, "and in their reception room where people can hear you, politely raise a little hell. I think you'll see a quick change of tune."

I did as he suggested. There were several people waiting in the reception room, so I walked up to the desk and presented the lady there with the letter, then said, not overly loud, but loud enough so everyone in the reception room could hear me, "If you folks don't cover things like this, then why am I paying you $90.00 a month?" She turned pale, looked around shifty-eyed, and hustled me down the hall and into a small cubicle. A few moments later, another woman came in. I showed her the letter and asked the same question. She said, "Oh! This is a mistake! A clerical error. Of course this is covered. My sincere apologies, Mr. Firth. We'll get a check off to your doctor immediately. Again, my apologies, and I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

The following day when I went to the station, I told Bob what had happened. "I thought so," he said. "You've got to watch the bastards every minute or they'll screw you right, left, and center."

A single payer system with full coverage would end all this nonsense. And it would be one helluva lot less expensive for everyone. But to some, that smacks of socialism, and they'd rather you simply curl up and die than even look in that direction.

Don Firth