Health insurance rules force people to travel too far for care

I was not surprised by the Cape Cod Times newspaper article “Elderly Cape Cod veterans forced to travel long distances for qualifying exams for benefits.” (4/29) Unfortunately, this is an issue for many people who live in Massachusetts, and not just military veterans.

Last month, I had to travel from Hyannis to Taunton, which is an hour car ride each way, just to have a dental surgeon give me a second X-ray of my teeth to confirm my dentist’s initial X-rays confirming me to have seven of my teeth pulled out in order to get dentures for my bottom teeth. The office visit took about 10 minutes.

I needed to travel this far because I wanted to be put under anesthetics to avoid feeling pain during this hour-long procedure, and apparently, no local oral surgeon closer to Hyannis would accept Medicaid for insurance so I would not have to be fully awake while having my teeth pulled out.

A few months ago, my sister, who has skin cancer, had to travel 54 miles from Pittsfield to Chicopee. My sister was told there are no local dermatologists who would accept her insurance. That was why she was forced to make the long drive to see a doctor for 20 minutes in order to make sure she had no cancerous moles on her body.