100 signatures reached
To: Gavin Newsome
Black Women Are Dying In California Due To Racial Bias In Healthcare!
I am a 39 year old educated female with health insurance. I am currently slowly dying of two medical conditions that can be terminal, only if left untreated. I am being denied access to appropriate medical care and treatment for no legitimate reason. I have already suffered multiple injuries that usually require surgical intervention, most of which are never even evaluated. When an injury is verified by imaging or diagnoses, I am still denied access to treatment. I will have been a patient of HOAG Medical Group in Newport Beach for two years in August and have seen zero specialists that treat or evaluate either condition through them. I have been informed by more than one physician that they have several patients that HOAG has helped get care when it cannot be provided in network, yet in my case the medical group reps have been caught doing unscrupulous acts in order to prevent me from getting care. They are arguing with my primary doctor (according to her and pressuring her to say that I am getting the care I need there when she disagrees). They are being involved in discussions with my doctors that may have violated my HIPPAA rights. They have contacted specialists in advance of appointments causing them to cancel or reschedule because they received incorrect information after scheduling from a medical group rep, about the reason for the appointment. They have contacted specialists and asked them to speak on things outside of their purview to prevent me from being referred elsewhere. This has happened more than once, and has caused repeated injury, trauma, and permanent damage. You can visibly see the damage now, and I have highly documented the rapid deterioration in images. Some pictures were taken the same day that doctors claimed not to see the symptoms. Every specialists they send me to in network says I require outside care yet they refuse to give it. I have very serious auto-immune and chronic conditions but have been denied access to even pain management. It took over a year to get a therapist, requiring me to file complaints with several different agencies, and then pay out of pocket. I was immediately diagnosed with trauma and PTSD related to my treatment by doctors and relating damage. We need to expose them for their mistreatment of certain patients so that they can be held accountable, watched in the future, and the patients they have hurt be compensated for their injuries. I have already contacted both local and state representatives and filed a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services. I either got no response in the case of representatives, or in the case of DHHS, I was told that my rights (for which they have jurisdiction) were not being violated. It said if you have questions to contact this number. Then no one can be reached to find out what type, if any, investigation was done, or who they spoke to. I thought that the right against racial discrimination fell distinctly under rights that they managed, but there is no way to get in contact with a live human in the office for any reason; unless you need gender confirmation surgery. I have tried everything I can on my own to get care, so now I am reaching out for help while I still can.
Why is this important?
These are the types of situations that make black women feel like our lives are less valuable in this country. The agencies that are supposed to be specifically dedicated to these issues, and keeping us safe, have either failed us, or perhaps that was never their purpose or intention. The fact that they all fall short in even properly, acknowledging or investigating these instances that are putting our lives in danger, is something we need to speak on, and bring into the forefront of the conversation. We need to put pressure on those in charge with the ability to make change. The best way to do that these days is to expose the truth, and shame them into action. There is so much concern and outrage in this country about mistreatment of specific groups. It doesn't seem like much of this is ever concerned with black women specifically. There are a number of struggles and challenges that we are statistically more likely to encounter. Though racial bias in medicine affects both men and women, studies have shown that black women are disproportionately affected by it. We are always assumed to be strong and unbreakable and capable of fixing or surviving everything on our own, and never in need of help. It is time we start helping black women and talk about all the groups affected, and not just the most camera worthy. We need to take action before our loved ones are filing a wrongful death suit. We are still dying here, in our own country, with insurance, with education; just being denied to death, and no one is even talking about it. More of us are killed by doctors than police, and we need to do something.
How it will be delivered
I plan to email the petition and deliver it in person if successful.