All this happened to us. That's why my book and website contains documents for patients to complete and place in their HMO medical files. State laws exist to force HMOs and HMO doctors to produce records. Enforcing these laws is virtually impossible, because HMOs often co-opt regulatory agencies that by law are supposed to protect patients. Federal and state regulators follow the money and leave government to go to work for HMOs.
Consumer advocates do the same thing.
Sounds Fair, Seems Fair, Isn't Fair . HMOs produce warm, fuzzy ads to lull patients into a false sense of security to discourage logical thinking. At least one court has found that these fraudulent representations aren't fraud at all. Patients must wake up. They must understand that the standard for honesty in what is represented to be the best healthcare system in the world is the same as that which prevails in used car advertising.