Cheney Dropped By White House HMO

September 7, 2005 | Issue 41•36

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Those close to Cheney report that the vice president has long complained about having to see doctors within the HMO network, rather than choosing his own specialist. In 2003, Cheney wrote a letter of complaint when, instead of being admitted to the Bethesda Naval Hospital for treatment of his angina, he was directed to an HMO-approved urgent-care clinic in Clarendon, VA. According to the vice president, he sat in a crowded lobby between a mother with a colicky baby and a drunken Georgetown student with a broken nose for several hours, and both were examined before him.

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The vice president waits to see his primary-care physician at a Washington-area clinic.

Last February, Cheney received a bill for $2,000 for a coronary procedure that was only partially covered by his HMO. In a call that was recorded for quality-assurance purposes, Cheney argued for nearly 20 minutes with an associate customer-service representative identified only as "Heather." Cheney grew progressively more belligerent on the phone, until Heather said, "Sir, if you continue to use that type of language, I will have to end this call."

White House sources say that, while Cheney received his letter early this month, he was unaware of the cancellation on Aug. 23, when he visited the hospital following a possible heart attack and was told that he was "not in the computer."

Although the vice president was admitted to the hospital and learned that he had only been suffering acid reflux, he received a bill Monday for $1,500.

"This is a complete and total outrage," Cheney said. "AmeriHealth cannot possibly expect me to pay that kind of money out of pocket."

Cheney said he is unsure what action he will take if his HMO membership is not reinstated.

"I'm still too young for Medicare, and I'll simply run into the same pre-existing-condition clause if I purchase a health-insurance policy on my own," Cheney said. "Sometimes I just feel hopeless. There are very few health-care options available to someone like me."