On the eve of major healthcare reform in this country, many of us are at the edge of our seats wondering what to make of all the reform bluster coming from Washington. Will my Medicare be compromised? What is a death panel anyway? Will Congress solve the problem of providing affordable healthcare for all? Whatever the outcome, one thing we know for sure, insurance companies and their plans are here to stay.

This blog will be about one medical biller's journey into the twisty and tangled up world of insurance, billing, medical costs and health reform. We will begin by exploring the world of relationships. The first part of the blog series will explore the relationship between you, the one insured and the main character in this whole saga, and your insurer. Next, the relationship between you and the doctor's and hospital's medical billing staff (that's me), and last but not least, you'll get an inside look into the somewhat tormented relationship between the medical billing staff (me again) and your insurance company. And if I can last this long, you'll get some much needed information about what your state and federal programs do currently to protect the consumer from all the relationships listed above.

This journey is not for the faint of heart..or mind for that matter. And I promise you this, whether you are in fact insured or one of the many un-insured, this trip will not be boring. It's time to rev up your mental engines, because I offer you an opportunity to get even more educated about your relationship to health insurance and reform in ways you have never dreamed! So, go ahead and read on! This ride will be worth every moment-and possibly the headache you avoid, and the penny you save, etc., etc.

Next week's blog topic will begin with the relationship between you and your insurer. We will start with a bird's eye view of the many facets of your insurance relationship:

1. Your Insurance Summary Plan - the manual that answers ALL questions and explains every medical mystery you have ever been perplexed about, except maybe the mystery of how the universe began. In any case, this is truly heady stuff. Bring some chocolate or your favorite comfort food along for the ride.

2. How to read your insurance 'explanation of benefits' - and you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's that interesting piece of paper you receive in the mail that you tend to throw in the, 'I'll look at it later when I have more time to concentrate' pile, the one from your insurer that explains all matters related to your doctor visit, and most importantly what you owe people, or well, even more importantly, what you don't owe people.

3. The right questions to ask when shopping around for insurance - in other words, how to sound like you know something so you don't get duped into buying something that is useless for you.

So you may be asking yourself at this point, why would any sane person want to spend oodles of their time taking folks on a ride to all things tense, stressful and somewhat mundane as health insurance and reform? Well, for one, I am a little loopy I admit. And two, for far too long I've seen folks confused, dismayed, and somewhat complacent about their healthcare and insurance woes. Many of our extinguished- oops, typo - distinguished members of Congress talk about controlling costs and giving people a hand. While they continue to figure out a way to work out a plan that is fair for all parties, I decided to take on one of the areas that does seem very neglected - educating individuals. No really, I mean seriously educating people on insurance plans and doctor's office billing to give them ammunition to be their own advocates in controlling runaway healthcare costs. In other words, I'd like to be proactive and create some competition in the marketplace by empowering you, the individual, the people. Oh, that reminds me of a phrase. What was it, 'by the people' I think, or something like that. In any case, you're going to get quite a bit of information. Can't wait.

I'm excited about taking this journey with you. Tune in next week!!

Melissa Whitaker Dalloul
your (hopefully) humble servant in all things health reform