i was reading the WSJ this morning (print version) & i saw an ad for Aetna: a full page color ad showing a father and his 3-year-old daughter, saying something like "when my daughter had a fever of 103 last night, i'm glad i got to speak to nurse instead of an answering machine".

this, of course, made me totally irate. as if an anxious parent with a sick child in the middle of the night would call their insurance company & speak to some nurse 1000 miles away, instead of either calling their doctor, or bringing the kid to the ER (which is probably what they were advised to do anyway).

I think insurers really have their heads up their a$$es when it comes to knowing what their customers, want / need. These kinds of programs, along with "disease management" programs for e.g. asthma and diabetes, are bunch of crap. If anything, they only serve to further fracture care.

I remember once getting a letter from blue-cross' "diabetes mgmt" nurse a week after my patient was admitted with DKA, telling me she discussed his diabetic management earlier, and her advice was to "follow up with your doctor monday".

I think these programs are really designed to avoid trips to the ER, and ultimately save blue cross money.

care to comment?