My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry
An emergency physician shares a personal account of her husband's suicide and the systemic failures of the U.S. health insurance industry. She highlights the disconnect between the care patients need and the coverage provided by commercial plans.
Why it matters
It brings attention to the critical intersection of mental health crises and the limitations of the American healthcare insurance system.
Evers is a board-certified emergency physician, Mayo Medical School graduate, and host of the podcast “Your Doctor Wants to Quit.”
I remember standing outside an exam room, phone vibrating in my breast pocket, when the coroner’s call came through. I hadn’t wanted to believe the neighbor’s frantic text about a body bag removed from my husband’s condo, but the medical examiner’s office on my caller ID was unmistakable. I answered, and sounds fell out of my mouth into the phone: “Hello, this is Dr. Hardison.”
I am an emergency physician living in the U.S., and we had one of the top commercial health insurance plans. When my husband, Randy, became suicidal for the first time in his life, I thought I could find him the best care, our insurance would pay for it, and he would get better. Only one of those three things actually happened.
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