Monday, February 11, 2008

DOH!

(I can't remember how to spell the famous Homer Simpson exclamation, but oh well.)

I am all set for one of those medical procedures that you are supposed to have once you turn fifty. It is to happen Wed am. I had to forgo all fruits and veggies today, horrible on a Weight Watchers Flex plan, and have nothing but clear liquids tomorrow. At 4 pm I'm supposed to start drinking that vile stuff which clears the way for the doctor's scope.

I'm all set except for one thing: My insurance company has not processed the referral for the procedure.

This could be a problem.

The referral was submitted later than I would have liked. However, the pleasant woman who works for my insurance company that I spoke to last Tuesday (whose name I did not get) reassured me that since a referral only takes 3-5 business days to process, I didn't need to reschedule my appointment. I should have listened to the nagging voice deep inside that said "Reschedule anyway."

I have a phone call into the surgeon concerning my situation and will call the insurance company again tomorrow to see if the referral was processed. I really don't want to reschedule at this time for several reasons, one being that at this time the surgeon can't schedule anyone else into that slot now since the prep takes days and so probably would charge us anyway. Oy vey!

Taciturn says he will probably die of a preventable disease since he will not put himself through insurance company hell. And I continue to think of those who have no insurance and must forego these tests. If the referral does not go through, I could go as a Point of Service patient, which means my out of pocket cost would increase 1000%. Not a great option.

In the best of all possible worlds, the referral will be processed tomorrow and all will be well. Meanwhile, my stomach is churning!

4 comments:

Fran said...

Praying for you always...

Paul (A.) said...

As charming as the prep for that is, it is so much more fun for those of us on warfarin blood thinner. In order to prepare for the possible surgery these things involve, you have to go off the regular blood thinner and substitute it with a heparin version, which in my case involved injecting it into myself for two days before the colonoscopy and starting again the day after and continuing daily until the warfarin got back to a therepeutic level, which in my case was a week, finishing yesterday.

I wish you all the best for your procedure and hope that the insurance thing worked out.

Lauralew said...

Hi Paul, welcome to my blog!

What you cite is the reason my father has declined to have this procedure. His warfarin level is difficult at best to maintain in the therapeutic range due to his extreme obesity, plus he refuses to inject himself (and he's a pharmacist!).

What a nightmare for you. I trust all worked out well. Thanks for your best wishes!

Diane M. Roth said...

oh, I just had this in November, and everything came out ok. praying for you.

MP made no never mind about me...
hope the insurance thing works out.