Millions of Americans are suffering from it. And you may be suffering from it too. It’s a condition brought on after spending countless hours on the phone, arguing and pleading with the customer rep on the line when you’ve been denied treatment. It occurs after your bank account has been drained of your life savings. Or after seeing a loved one maimed or die from an otherwise manageable illness.

What is it? It’s PIISD: Private Insurance Induced Stress Disorder. Coined by Dr. Carol Paris on her blog in Psychiatric Times, this aggravating malady can be indicated by several symptoms following an insurance-induced traumatic event:

Traumatic events include, but are not limited to, recission of health insurance after developing a costly illness, denial of health insurance due to a pre-existing condition such as being female and fertile or delay of needed treatment or medication due to requirements for pre-authorization. In the case of physicians, traumatic events include witnessing the deterioration of patients due to financial ruin resulting from uncovered costs of care. Similar to some forms of PTSD, this disorder is prone to be severe because the stressor is of human/corporate design. Note: this diagnosis is not currently reimbursed by health insurance carriers.

If you meet all of the criteria Dr. Paris outlines on her blog, it’s pretty clear you’ve got PIISD. So what’s the cure? A single payer system that replaces private health insurance with a publicly financed healthcare system, ensuring that you and your loved ones will never suffer from PIISD again.

Sylvia@californiaonecare.org