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| - 10-24-17 UPDATE: I really like Dr. B but Lord help me on the staff and insurance issues! Dr. B's scheduler is at least being more pleasant but here I am a few days before surgery that was scheduled a long time ago & I called to follow up with my health insurance to see if prior authorization was complete. This was my 3rd call to insurance and still no progress. It just so happens the prior authorization was sent less than two hours before I decided to check (Yes, I DO have ESP!)
I'm pretty sure I don't need to explain to anyone that when you schedule surgery you have a lot of "life" things that need to be scheduled along with it including time off work, other appointments, recovery time, things at home and the list goes on. I have other health issues besides a large colon polyp and I had to bump a bunch of other appointments to make sure I have time to recover and am able get about.
Worse yet, I was clear as can be that my health insurance coverage is up at the end of November so I really needed to get through the surgery and recovery before then. I may or may not have insurance, the same insurance, the same level of coverage. I just don't know. I am NOT a gambler. I only go with sure things. The sure thing is I have insurance now. I had a very honest conversation about this with Dr. B and his insurance specialist and I'm pretty sure they both understood that had to be a factor in the decision on what procedure to get.
I realize the doc isn't any more thrilled about having to do this surgery than me when there's a non-surgical option not covered by my insurance... but waiting isn't the solution. Another unknown is if that procedure will be covered if I change insurance!
It's taken so long that here I am with another unknown.. will I have insurance and what will it be by the time I actually get surgery?
I've been out of work a year now due to another injury and have been aggressively looking for work I can do with the impairment I have. I just got called for an interview about a job that's a very good match for my background and now I have to say "gee, I don't know when I'll be able to interview because I'm having surgery but don't know when"
I could have told them "Thank you. I would be happy to meet with you but won't be available from this time to that time. Can we find something wht works for both of us?"
I have only one word to describe the whole situation.
"cluster"
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8-17-17 If you have anything close to a complex medical problem, you already know the insurance issues are most of the problems!
After fighting primary care & insurance to do what my doctor recommended (see a particular type of specialist) I was able to schedule an appointment with about a 3 week wait. They were running a bit late but nothing extreme but unfortunately had not received my medical records. SIGH They were able to get them while I was there but it did take a while.
The doctor was friendly and informative and told me exactly what to expect. When I was done with the doc I talked to the prior authorization person who told me she would call once insurance was done. Nearly a month later I followed up. It seems prior authorization had not even been submitted. Based on past experience I know that authorization can be a struggle and if approved, it's usually a week or two.
Had I not followed up, I would probably never have the potentially cancerous tumor removed.
It's mid August. Tumor was discovered Mid-June. Fortunately, it's in an area of my body where cancer develops slowly. Unfortunately I still have a tumor that needs to be removed!
I would give fewer stars but I know doctors have way too many patients and the insurance issue is just a giant cluster so I'm cutting the slack.
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