The last thing they say before they leave
This will get briefly technical: hold tight for two sentences.
In a recent article on Becker’s Payer Issues, they reported that Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Michigan would no longer pay for GLP-1s for weight loss. You know, drugs like Ozempic.
The spokesperson cited concerns over safety, effectiveness and cost as the reasons for the decision.
It’s funny how cost was listed last. The first two concerns are, by almost any reckoning, unworthy of concern as compared with other common medications.
When I was training as a chaplain, we were told to observe how parishioners, clients, or patients (depending on how you were taught to refer to them) would often talk about very little until they had actually gotten up to leave (or you had gotten up to leave). Sometimes, their hands would be on the doorknobmight notice the slowne. Then, they would reveal the real reason for the visit or conversation.
In both the quote from the BCBS Michigan spokesperson and what we see in our most important conversations, we often wait until the last possible moment to say what we really want and need to say. It’s hard to speak up when what we have to say is hard to say.
But, if you trust the person/s to whom you are speaking, try to speak honestly and forthrightly. The sooner you speak, the sooner we can get down to solving what hurts. Don’t assume they can read your mind: they can’t.
The bigger question is this: do you trust the person you’re talking to. If you don’t, they pay attention to your doubts. In that case, go ahead - wait until you’re turning the door knob. If they are listening carefully, and they actually care, they might notice the slowness with which you turn the knob. Hey, wait a minute. Was there something else on your mind?