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| - I called after 1pm but the phone was answered in an impatient rush with one word, "DrZeiglersOffice." No greeting, no introduction by whomever was answering the phone. I asked if Dr. Zeigler was accepting new patients and the cigarette-voiced woman responded with "Depends on what for, dear." I was not only taken aback by the patronizing familiarity from a female speaking to me for the first time, but also by.the statement designed to make me figure out the rest of the interaction in order to proceed further. Very odd. I simply replied, "My arm," whereupon she replied "Hold on," and put me on hold to listen to a very loud rap-reggae song (after the second song, I figured it out to be a local radio rap-rock station.). After several minutes, another lady picked up and again hurriedly responded with the "DrZeiglersOffice." Again I asked the same question, received a "what for?" (without the endearment this time) whereupon I replied, "my arm" again. After asking for more detail about my arm, she apparently deemed me fit for the doctor's examination and asked me about my insurance coverage. I replied "Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Card PPO", to which she immediately replied "he doesn't accept Blue Cross."
Now I am sure she didn't hear or care to hear the BLUE CARD PPO, but instead lumped me into the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that BCBS must also provide under Obamacare. I am a UNION welder-pipefitter that pays $10 out of every HOUR I work into the union's health insurance fund and I have built 20K in a union reserve fund for those times I am not actively working. In other words: it's STELLAR health insurance. This doctor's office stood everything to gain by taking me and any fellow union brothers/sisters I might have referred to him.
By this time, what with the apparent too-busyness of the office to be polite, the medical intake questions and the uninformed insurance office policy, I gathered the gist of this office and was no longer interested in engaging in further or future conversation with this office staff.
I politely said, "Okay, thank you. By the way, why does everyone ask "what for? when inquiring if the doctor is accepting new patients?" She replied, "He doesn't do primary care."
So there you have it, folks. Good luck.
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