Insurance Insanity

The doctor told me if I hadn't heard from the bone scan people by Tuesday, to call and remind them to follow through. So, being in the neighborhood, I stopped in. My doctor actually came to speak to me about the situation.

Remember when the insurance company denied us the contrast for the MRI you had done? Well, now that we are requesting a bone biopsy, they are claiming you can't get it approved unless you have an MRI with contrast first! A plain MRI won't do.

She was so angry I thought she would spit nails. She assured me that she was in conversation with the insurance company and would sort it out and let me know.

I personally think they have flagged my account because I have so many tests done and they routinely deny everything. So the philosophy is that if you are sick and need treatments and tests, you will have to fight to get them because you might abuse the system and you will definitely be costing them money.

I have been told that sometimes when the patient deals directly with the insurance company they get better service. But I had such bad experiences with insurance companies when Michael was sick that I bristle at the very mention of their name. I went round and round with them about getting bills paid.

They kicked everything out of the system and questioned and delayed until the expiration date for submitting had passed and then refused to pay because it was past the date even though they had pushed it there.

I suspect these sorts of issues will simply continue especially given this economy. Meanwhile, I am grateful to have insurance and will let the oncology department sort it all out.