How often do you make a call on the phone only to receive a recorded message, a voicemail or no option to find and talk to a live person!
Well, as I reminisced about "the old days" - wow, now I really am dating myself - the landline, attached to the wall, was the only way to make a phone call. And if it was difficult to reach someone, the operator was always there to be of assistance. I began to think of my Dad and how challenged he is with modern technology and also began to think about how many hours I have spent on the phone over these many months regarding health insurance issues for my daughter and myself.
Life has become so "advanced" or shall we say, removed, that talking to a human being is now foreign. I felt a pang of sadness, not only for me, but for humanity - how we've become buffered from one another, enslaved to systems that often are broken, such as the healthcare system in our country.
While I could talk about many facets of the system, I will focus on the element of follow through and taking personal responsibility within one's domain. It is just a year ago this month when I was in the hospital and preparing for surgery on July 25 and our health insurance had been eroneously cancelled when Lindsay turned 26. I had been with my insurance for many years and know both sides of the insurance - as patient and provider. I had thoughtfully chosen my insurance based on our unique needs as a family, and as my being sole provider and self-employed.
What a fiasco! I was navigating insurance while in a hospital bed and when I came home to convalesce, I spent hours on the phone, often in tears because no-one could/would help me! I finally contacted my state representative, who in turn, starting the ball rolling. It did take an additional 7 months to fix the situation and as a result, I chose to use the Health Connector this year.
While I have had caring and kind customer service representatives, our insurance once again, was cancelled, I was double-billed and have spent hours on the phone only to drain my battery from being on hold for so long! One day while Ashley was home helping me to do the Spring cleaning - another task that really dates me! - I was on the phone between departments for five hours. I was in tears, unable to stay connected to my meditation mentor's advice that this is not reality, because it sure felt real!
What I have learned in this process and hear in other situations across the board is that one computer system does not talk to another. Also one department or entity does not have the authority to talk to another. In the end, we are powerless on both sides - the consumer side and the service side.
It seems to me that this buffering has created disempowerment - a lack of being able to "own" our work, to be invested in our work and to feel that we indeed, make a difference. Technology is amazing and provides tools for enhancing the world we live in, but what is just as important is the importance of the human connection. A computer cannot listen to one's story, cannot feel empathy, cannot completely solve the troubles of our society. Let's take a step back and integrate the best of both worlds!
In balance,
Julie
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