Dr. George Woodbury and his wife run a dermatology and rheumatology clinic in Memphis. They've helped countless patients access the care they need and are passionate about their work. Unfortunately, over the last few decades, an increasing amount of time is being spent fighting insurance companies.
For instance, Dr. Woodbury often sees patients with blistering disorders, which are autoimmune conditions where the skin starts to break down. This can be a fatal disorder, and often the cure requires an expensive medication. But when he prescribes this medicine, insurance companies first want to put patients on a cheaper medication, even though it can often cause serious negative side effects and doesn't treat the blistering disorder as effectively.
Every time an insurance company denies the medication, Dr. Woodbury has to go through the process of appealing the decision and working with the insurance company to help them understand the issue. On a typical workday, Dr. Woodbury spends about two hours on the phone with insurance companies.
"I just want to see my patients get what they need," Dr. Woodbury said. "That's what's important. But it's a major issue that we have to go through this. It eats up providers' time, so we can't deliver as much care."
Not only does Dr. Woodbury spend hours a day advocating for his patients over the phone, he has also made about 100 trips from Memphis to Nashville to talk to legislators about these and other issues. "It's for a good cause," he said. "Some of these issues have been resolved in other states, and we hope to see that happen here, too."
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