@cookierockwell, I do wish filing a grievance could alleviate the problem. Unfortunately, filing a grievance with Medicare is next to impossible these days of robot voice mail and press this number and press that number and no one is available to take your call. Heaven forbid a real person would be available to take your call. And leaving messages for return calls which never happen is a waste of time. Recently I spent nearly three days trying to get through to care providers on the phone to see what to do and because I am disabled with extremely limited access to public transportation I wound up going to the ER in an ambulance! It would have been much less expensive in the long run to fix a broken communication system and actually allow patients to contact care providers but then those monetary profits via insurance might be reduced - oh, no!

If it were just one doc or clinic or hospital to file a grievance against, it might be simpler to "move on" but the cover-your-rear-and-grab-those-insurance-dollars are more desirable goals in today's medical world than treating illness.

It's a systemic problem and I feel it cannot be resolved unless we reduce the profit motive to a more humane and appropriate level.