I detest my insurance company.
1. I broke my arm (duh) and went to the ER (no shit). I was a little freaked out by what this would cost. I'm working and doing fine and stuff (though I should be doing better, but that's neither here nor there for this story). But I didn't wanna get nailed by this huge deductible. Then I learned I have a $600 accident forgiveness rider. Which I promptly deployed. But as I was looking over my paperwork, I saw that applied my $600 to a visit to my orthopedic surgeon - a visit which I had paid for with my copay. When I called to explain that I would prefer they NOT use my benefit for something I'd already paid for, they told me "well, it all costs the same." I went blue in the face trying to explain no, it does not cost the same - when I use my copay I get $5 of doctor time for every $1 i put in. Therefore, I'd rather my $600 forgiveness benefit go to shit NOT covered in my copay. Their moronic insistence on not doing it this way makes me cry. I also pushed them on what I DID get for my copay, and they explained I'll get my $30 refunded. Oh yippee.
2. I got a HUGE bill from the ER visit. I was literally freaking out, so I called AGAIN to complain/follow up. There I learned "they had made a mistake" and more should have been covered. They claimed "the form the hospital uses for ER visits is different, so we got confused." What. The. Fuck. I mean, isn't this all they DO all day - file claims and shit?
3. I also learned that my ER copay covers nothing sensible. In my description of benefits, it says I get to visit the ER for $50 a pop - but that "producedures and tests (like x-rays and bloodwork") are applied to deductible. OK. So when I got billed for the x-rays and shit, I expected that. Then I get a bill for the doctor's time that night. I'm like, say wha? Apparently, having your arm diagnosed and set counts as "procedure." What my copay buys me (pre-deductible) is the right to sit in the ER and get doped up. Which isn't a bad deal, but hardly what is implied by my description of benefits.
And I realize, by the way, that I have reasonably OK insurance. And I'm still getting fucked. How can anyone NOT say this system isn't broken?
(Also today is the MIsses's birthday. I feel like a heel being here when she's there. C'est la vie.)
1. I broke my arm (duh) and went to the ER (no shit). I was a little freaked out by what this would cost. I'm working and doing fine and stuff (though I should be doing better, but that's neither here nor there for this story). But I didn't wanna get nailed by this huge deductible. Then I learned I have a $600 accident forgiveness rider. Which I promptly deployed. But as I was looking over my paperwork, I saw that applied my $600 to a visit to my orthopedic surgeon - a visit which I had paid for with my copay. When I called to explain that I would prefer they NOT use my benefit for something I'd already paid for, they told me "well, it all costs the same." I went blue in the face trying to explain no, it does not cost the same - when I use my copay I get $5 of doctor time for every $1 i put in. Therefore, I'd rather my $600 forgiveness benefit go to shit NOT covered in my copay. Their moronic insistence on not doing it this way makes me cry. I also pushed them on what I DID get for my copay, and they explained I'll get my $30 refunded. Oh yippee.
2. I got a HUGE bill from the ER visit. I was literally freaking out, so I called AGAIN to complain/follow up. There I learned "they had made a mistake" and more should have been covered. They claimed "the form the hospital uses for ER visits is different, so we got confused." What. The. Fuck. I mean, isn't this all they DO all day - file claims and shit?
3. I also learned that my ER copay covers nothing sensible. In my description of benefits, it says I get to visit the ER for $50 a pop - but that "producedures and tests (like x-rays and bloodwork") are applied to deductible. OK. So when I got billed for the x-rays and shit, I expected that. Then I get a bill for the doctor's time that night. I'm like, say wha? Apparently, having your arm diagnosed and set counts as "procedure." What my copay buys me (pre-deductible) is the right to sit in the ER and get doped up. Which isn't a bad deal, but hardly what is implied by my description of benefits.
And I realize, by the way, that I have reasonably OK insurance. And I'm still getting fucked. How can anyone NOT say this system isn't broken?
(Also today is the MIsses's birthday. I feel like a heel being here when she's there. C'est la vie.)
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Don't forget you can deduct all of those medical bills from your taxes next year. They have to make up 7% of your income I think in order to do that. Luckily, a lot of my 2008 bills came and were paid in 2009. I easily met the bills/income criteria!