Medical Mondays
I find it important to share the trials and struggles of dealing with insurance companies and doctor bills. It can become a job in and of itself. For those in chronic pain, we only have so much energy to deal with this crap. I feel like they assume you’re not going to fight them and just give in. While I don’t want to spend endless hours on the phone, I am not going to be taken advantage of or stuck in the red tape. I’m sharing a two-party series on an insurance issue from 2015 that took 10 months to resolve. Just know that you are not the only one who gets bogged down in the bureaucracy.
Keep Reading...Since its inception, I’ve received insurance through the Affordable Care Act. It was enacted almost at the same time the I went on disability and lost coverage under my employer. I was still in the process of applying for Social Security Disability and knew that it could be years before I was eligible for Medicare. During open enrollment in 2016, I knew that I wanted to keep the plan that I had the previous year. This required no action on my part. The plan would just roll over. However, I received in the mail a notice saying that the plan I was currently on would no longer be available in 2016. Therefore my insurance carrier informed me that they were placing me in the next best plan. I didn’t really pay attention (totally unlike me).
Keep Reading...This is the last installment in a 3-part series on dealing with one particular medical bill. Update 9/11/2015 With the last phone call, I forgot to set up a payment plan. In the meantime, I had gotten a collection notice for this bill. Damn it. From previously working in banking, I do know that it will ding your credit score some and making payments as soon as possible helps your score from falling further.
Keep Reading...This is the second post on a 3-Part Series, dealing with one particular medical bill. Called 9/8– I now had the information the last person asked for. It was on their website. I mean, if I can access it via their website, shouldn’t they be able to find it? There were 3 fairly large charges that were getting passed on to me.
Keep Reading...This is the first post of a 3-Part Series on dealing with one particular medical bill. The bill in question is $1,848 for charges during my in-patient hospital stay, which I received on 4/15/2015.
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Katie is a professional patient, writer for Migraine.com, US Pain Ambassador, patient advocate, speaker, and freelance writer.