ETCETERA
NIGHTCAP
By Harry Kirsbaum
n January's Nightcap column, my
wife and I were suffering through
the last days of our Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Michigan's (BCBSM) mis-
taken HMO and were patiently wait-
ing to get the PPO we had originally
thought we purchased.
I had spent hours on the phone
trying to straighten the problem out
with both BCBSM and the Obamacare
"Marketplace,"who kept blaming
each other for my grief.
Since Feb. 1, when the new PPO
went into effect, I thought that my
problems were over.
The number of expletives that I
would like to insert into this column
to express my "dismay"would use up
too much room, so use your imagina-
tion or just insert your own expletive
after every word.
The frequency of calls to BCBSM
actually increased for one week when
we got a letter stating we were past
due two months on our February
bill for the HMO that we canceled in
January. That resulted in a flurry of
calls, first to the BCBSM HMO number,
then to the BCBSM PPO number, then
to three-way phone calls among all
of us.
And the result? As of March 7, I
am still past due on the HMO we
canceled on Feb. 1, with payment ap-
propriately due on April Fool's Day.
But what irks me even more is the
prescription plan/debacle. Although
we have the PPO Gold plan, some
of the medications that were on the
generic list before Jan. 1, 2014, have
magically disappeared, and are now
only available at full price.
For example, the generic Sodium
Sulfacetamide and Sulfur face wash
that cost $5, is now unlisted and sell-
ing for almost $35.
When I called my dermatologist's
office, they appealed, and I received
a letter from BCBSM that read in part,
"As the Prior Authorization and Step
Therapy guidelines indicate for your
Custom Select Drug List:The re-
quested medication is excluded from
coverage under your prescription
drug plan. Covered alternatives are:
blah, blah, blah."
According to the BCBSM Custom
Select Drug List (http://ittybittyurl.
com/1n1T), "Drugs subject to step
therapy may require previous treat-
ment with one or more preferred
drugs before coverage is approved."
Which means that a faceless health
insurance provider knows what's best
for the patient, not the doctor.
The dermatologist's office said they
would appeal again, so I guess the
Supreme Court is involved now.
There hasn't been a week that's
gone by that we haven't had some
issue with our health care plan,
whether it's to make an appointment
to see a doctor, fill a prescription or
pay a bill.
And I'm sure navigating this time-
sucking, anger-inducing, mental-pot-
hole creating medical insurance land-
scape isn't affecting just patients.
I can't imagine the number of
horror stories coming out of the
average doctor's office or phar-
macy. And I almost feel sorry for
the poor BCBSM or Obamacare
"Marketplace" helpline em-
ployee who has to pick up the
phone after a patient or doctor's
office or pharmacy has already been
on hold for 30 minutes.
And I'm also sure that I'm not the
only one with a medical insurance
horror story, I'm just lucky enough
to vent in a column. If you want
to share a horror story, send it to
letters@thejewishnews.com , and
we'll post the really ugly ones on our
website.
ommunity
Twin Survivors To Share
Their Holocaust Story
y
oung Israel of Oak Park (YIOP)
and Akiva Hebrew Day School
in Southfield present a pro-
gram, "The Holocaust Between Two
Worlds," featuring Bernard and Henry
Schanzer, twins who survived the
Holocaust as young children.
Their talk, open to the community, is
at 8 p.m. Sunday, March 30, at YIOP.
The Schanzer brothers were born
in 1935 to Bruno and Bella Schanzer
in Liege, Belgium. They survived the
Holocaust because of the efforts of their
mother, the magnanimity of two Christian
women and remarkable good fortune.
When the Germans invaded Belgium
in 1940, Bruno and Bella fled with
Henry, Bernard and their sister Anna to
St. Etienne, France.
In August 1942, Bruno and several
members of his extended family were
arrested by the French police and turned
over to the Germans. They were deported
to Auschwitz, where they were murdered.
Bella Schanzer escaped and went
underground. Prior to his arrest, Bruno
Ha ppy Passover!
*10 . ,
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Bernard and Henry Schanzer
had arranged for a non-Jewish friend to
take care of the children. However, the
friend handed the twins over to the police
when hiding Jews became dangerous.
Miraculously, Bernard and Henry were
KM
rescued with some outside help.
In the spring of 1943, Bella, met
Jeanne Bonhomme, "Tatan Janot," who
found places for her to hide. Tatan Janot
took Anna under her wing. She placed
Bernard and Henry with her own mother,
Adolphine D'Orel, "La Meme." Bella and
the children survived the war with the
help of these two extraordinary women.
In 1980, they were honored as Righteous
Gentiles at Yad Vashem.
On Monday, March 31, Akiva students
in eighth-grade and high school will listen
to Bernard and Henry Schanzer, grand-
father and great-uncle of Akiva elemen-
tary students Jeremy, Ellen, Hailey and
Matthew Morgan.
❑
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1906150
38 April 2014 1RED
THREAD
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