Friday, May 26, 2017

The Where's a Brick Wall Weekly Link Round-Up




I told you all a few weeks ago that I had a suspicious spot on my latest mammogram and needed to have a biopsy. I wish I could tell you that I'd had the procedure done and everything is hunky dory, but I can't.

This is thanks in large part to my insurance company, a company that has seemed to go out of its way to hire unhelpful people for their customer service line. I was told that the facility that performed the mammogram wasn't covered under my insurance to perform the biopsy (which makes absolutely no sense to me). My attempt to find a facility that can perform the biopsy and is covered under my insurance has had me looking for that brick wall to slam my head against. Many times.

[Cutting out a lot here.] The last phone call I made to the insurance company had me asking the person on the other end if she was positive that the facility she'd given me the address and phone number to was a facility that performed biopsies. I asked her that three times. By this time I had someone at my oncologist's office giving me a hand, so I left a message for her with the facility's name, address, and phone number. She called me back, telling me that the place did blood draws, not biopsies. 

Where's that wall?

Bless Jamie's pea-pickin' heart, she's taken over trying to find some place that can get the job done. When I talked with her today, I could tell she felt my pain. Like me, she'd even spoken to a manager, and the manager could not help her. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, I'm happy to say-- thanks to Jamie.

Before I start searching for an insurance company who hires people who know what they're doing, I'm going to head on out to the corral; those links are mighty restless.  Head 'em up! Moooooooove 'em out!
 

►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
  • Salt River Project employees rescued a baby otter from the Arizona Canal. Bet you thought we didn't have otters in Arizona....

►The Happy Wanderer◄

►I ♥ Lists◄


That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!


20 comments:

  1. Oh, I feel for you in this maze of insurance coverage. I hope that you have success soon. I know of so many stories about this. A relative of mine ended up having to pay for an MRI because the insurance company didn't pre-approve it, even though the person had cancer years before and only an MRI detected it.

    And friends are going through problems with their insurers, too.

    Medicare is good, I'll say. That and a Medigap have covered everything I needed, included surgeries and hospitalizations for which I paid nary a penny. So, I hope the current administration does not meddle with Medicare.

    Meanwhile, I read some of the links here (always appreciated), and one that is so true is that reading is good for one's mental health. It really is.

    And do not bang your head on a wall. Yell at the insurance company instead is my motto. And pick up a good book and get immersed in 18th century England or current-day Scotland. Or wherever.

    Best of wishes in your pursuit of health care.

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  2. Good luck with dealing with insurance 'helpers' and I hope your oncologist's office can help you figure it out. What a mess! I find that 'customer service' people are becoming more and more irritating. Not sure if they are deliberately unhelpful, if they don't listen properly or if they are just not very skilled - maybe a bit of all three. I always figure that they are likely looking at their phones and sending texts. LOL

    Seriously, hoping all goes well and keep us in the loop.

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    1. What drives me up the tree is that they're so afraid of getting in trouble that the only thing they can do is read from their scripts. They cannot or will not deviate from those scripts.

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  3. Oh, I'm so sorry to hear you're having to go through this, Cathy!! Ugh! Insurance companies can be so, so hard to deal with. I hope this'll get all figured out. I'll be pulling for you!

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  4. Best of luck with the biopsy. This is ridiculous that you're dealing with this insurance company run-around when you're already stressed. Sending hugs your way.

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  5. I wouldn't wait for my insurance to cover my biopsy, I'd have it done where the doctor recommends and deal with the financial side later and in fact that's what I did a number of years ago. My biopsy was fine and I had it don within a week of finding the lump, but having it done quickly bought me peace of mind that was priceless.

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  6. One other idea: When you get "customer service," ask for the supervisor. Keep asking for the higher-ups.

    I've done this with things I've needed to be straightened out.

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    1. As I said up at the top, the person helping me at my oncologist's office and I both talked to supervisors, and they were as unhelpful as the people they supervise.

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  7. I went through the exact same thing after my doctor told me to get a bone density test. AS IF these insurance people even knew what it was to help me find a place that was covered! I eventually solved the problem when I switched insurance companies, LOL. I agree with you - would love to know their hiring criteria! (I suspect the bar is VERY low!)

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    Replies
    1. I'm in the process of looking for a different insurance company.

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  8. There are also policies the insurance company higher-ups insist on to avoid paying for servies.
    I had this problem once with a major insurer. Every time I called I got someone else who told me certain procedures wouldn't be paid for if done in my doctor's office or that the charges were not submitted.
    Yet customer service supervisors told me they would be covered.
    When I called the insurer with the dates and check numbers of reimbursements they had sent to the doctor's office -- and I had evidence -- then they got reimbursed for my six procedures.

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    1. There is only one group that has more lobbyists in Washington, DC than insurance companies: pharmaceutical companies. And we wonder why the average person has so much trouble with health care. The wealthy have gotten used to padding their portfolios!

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  9. Yes. Pharmaceutical companies have more lobbyists than any industry and what they get away with in costs to consumers is absurd. And then insurance companies insist on high deductibles for life-saving medications or have quantity limited. They have it all figured out. (Also, pharmaceutical and insurance companies were involved in crafting the Part D Medicare Drug Plan.)

    Switching insurance companies is a good idea. Otherwise, I don't know; maybe having a lawyer friend call the insurance company or send them a registered letter requesting the name of a labor of facility where you can get a biopsy which is covered.

    Do you have Medicare? They cover most of these procedures. I love Medicare but have to pay for a Medigap but it just saved me thousands of dollars for lab tests.

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    1. No, I don't have Medicare yet. All this talk is ruining the buzz from our week in Santa Fe. I think I'll go read now! ;-)

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  10. Yes, read. It's a good diversion from all of this medical insurance talk. That's what I do, break out the waffles with berries, tea and later frozen yogurt. Or a good movie.

    How do you get The Coroner -- is it just on your local PBS station?

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    Replies
    1. The Coroner was first recommended to me on Amazon UK's website, and I came very close to buying it. For some unknown reason, I kept putting it off, and then I got a notification email from my local PBS station that they were going to be broadcasting it.

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