An Education

Yesterday was my first acupuncture appointment since November 24th. Not because I didn't want to go I just couldn't seem to fit it in. One thing that people don't realize is its HARD to be chronically sick. On top of not feeling well and sometimes feeling so badly you can barely function you have to deal with the doctors appointments and bills and insurance associated with those appointments. When I got sick I didn't just gain an illness I was forced to also get an education.

I work in a medical office specifically handling insurance and even I have moments where I get confused. I had to call my insurance carrier yesterday for a few reasons 1) to notify them I was going to have acupuncture this year 2) resolve an EOB (explination of benefit) that they paid the doctor incorrectly 3) get them to have a previous provider that they paid take me out of collections because somehow they didn't recieve the check for $2.94.

I started with the incorrect payment. We hit our deductible last year on January 3rd. (ER visit) We hit our out of pocket max in March. So everything since has been paid at 100%. So I talk to customer care. I spend 15 minutes on the phone while she verifies what I'm saying. Then she transfers me to a "Rapid Resolution Specialist" who then reads me the notes which of course are wrong. It said that I had an issue with teh payment because my deductible was met. No I had an issue with the payment because my out of pocket was met. And I wonder what happens when people who don't know or understand the difference call. No wonder people are mystified by their insurance. No wonder I explain to at least 2 people daily how their insurance works. So the RRS puts me on hold for 5-7 minutes and comes back 10 minutes later to tell me she agrees with me. Repeat this scenario for the collections issue. Then I call back to get the notification line. Who try to tell me I have to complete another process called a GAP exception. Which I don't because my doctor is willing to accept what they pay him out of network. (That is when they pay him because my claims have been held up in Medical Review for the last 4 months.)

And all this just to GO to the appointment. For a while there I was seeing up to 3 doctors a week. All specialists. Do you know anything about specialists? I do because I work for one. Your appointment time isn't EVER going to be your appointment time. They do surgery they get called by the hospital, they have to give patients results, they see elderly patients who want to discuss their 80 years of medical issues in a 15 minute time slot. And they are going to take their time with the patients who need it - and trust me you want to be afforded the same courtesy. You could spend HOURS waiting to be seen for 5 minutes.

My personal take is to chill. I bring a book. I relish the various magazine options. I people watch. I gauge how I compare to the other patients. And I try to stay plesant with the staff because as someone who has sat at the Front Desk - they have no control over the pace of the appointments. I read the informational posters to bone up on the medical terminology I may need while in this office. Its hard for to say how much I've learned from being a patient vs working in the medical field but I do know that my personal experiences have helped my patients. I know pretty much what every medical imaging test is like because I've had them. So when patients strat to freak out because we've ordered a CT scan I can explain its not the same as an MRI.

I also have become very open since I've gained all this knowledge. Open to different kinds of treatment. Trusting in my doctors. Researching information so that I can understand it. Open to forgiving the insurance companies their mistakes. Because at the end of the day I'm going to still have to deal with them and its just easier if I'm not angry at all aspects of the illness.

So after my particularly challenging day. In a very challenging week* I walked over to my acupuncture office and waited patiently for Dr. A to be ready for me. And he took me back to the treatment room and stuck me with 14 needles (twice as many as normal) and I laid there for an hour in total bliss. Then he cracked my neck and I was a totally new woman...ready to come in to work today with a new patience for illness.

*My Grandmother's brother passed away on Saturday. We will be driving to Iowa tomorrow to honor his memory. Tomorrow is my Grandmother's birthday. Yesterday was also the anniversary of my Dad's father's passing. And the grief just seems so overwhelming at times.