Seriously?! This was my phrase today... ALL. Day. Long. I think, maybe because it's Monday, or maybe because it's the warmest day we've had this year, or maybe because the sun was too bright, but whatever the reason, I think people lost their brains today. Seriously.
The day started out with a call from Shriners. We're STILL waiting on Kennedy's surgery date so my heart skipped a beat as I answered my phone. Turns out the anesthesiologist is scared to sedate her. Seriously?! Haven't we been through this routine before?! SO he wanted us to come up there so he could examine her. Seriously?! Let's think about this... that requires a plane trip and moving my other 3 kids to my mom's house and changing everything around for NOTHING! The nurse I talked to (thankfully) agreed with me and said that the anesthesiologist would need copies of some of her records. He needs ALL her gastric studies, ALL her anesthesia reports and ALL her hemonc files. Seriously?! Do you REALIZE how much PAPER that is? We could kill 10 trees just with those portions of her files! I couldn't afford to pay the $1.00 per page to ask for them myself, so I called our most amazing pediatrician and left her a message... which shockingly they did NOT try to put through to the advice nurse first. Hallelujah!
After the big kids went to school, Keeghan and I headed to Vanderbilt to get his ears rechecked with ENT. They wanted to do a follow up hearing test since he failed the first one. Well, wouldn't you know it, he failed again. Seriously. *sigh* His ENT looked in his ears and said there is all kinds of goo and junk in there so I got some drops to try to clear them up. But he doesn't want to see him again for NINE months! Seriously?! My kid could be deaf by then. Thank God for our pediatrician. She'll stay on top of it. So on the way out I scheduled his follow up appointment... for January 2009. Seriously. WHY they even schedule out that far is just beyond me! They asked me if I would be available on January 10th. I said, "Hmmm, let me check my calendar..." oh wait, it's still 2008! How the heck would I know?! Seriously, I'm sure that date is fine.
On the way home I got a call from Kennedy's wonderful speech therapist telling me that our insurance denied her services. Seriously?! What the HECK is wrong with these people?! SO I called them... our conversation went a little bit like this:
Me: (trying to be calm, trying to be nice) I seriously need to know WHY my daughter's services were denied.
TriCare: The school system didn't fax over the information we requested.
Me: Yes, as a matter of fact they did.
TriCare: No, we don't have anything from them.
Me: Well, I'm sorry if you lost it, but it was faxed over a couple weeks ago.
TriCare: We don't have it so it was NOT sent over.
Me: *sigh* OK fine, what do I do now?
TriCare: Well you can file for an appeal... all the information on how to do that is in the letter we sent you last week.
Me: I never got a letter.
TriCare: We sent it so you must have it.
Me: But I don't have it, I never got it.
TriCare: Well, that's not our problem. We sent it.
Me: (Not so patient anymore) SERIOUSLY?! SO it's MY problem that you SAY you never got the paperwork from the school system even though I KNOW it was sent... AND it's MY problem that I never got the letter that you SAY you sent... How are BOTH of these things MY problem?! Could it BE just MAYBE that you misplaced the paperwork sent by the school system... or could it BE just MAYBE that you never sent me the letter?
TriCare: No. The paperwork was NEVER sent from the school system and we DID mail you the letter so if you didn't get it, you'll have to contact your post office because that means they didn't deliver it.
Me: SERIOUSLY?! SO NONE of this can be your fault?!
TriCare: No Ma'am.
Me: (REALLY not being nice now) SO HOW can I file for an appeal since you never sent me the paperwork?!
TriCare: We DID send you...
Me: OK just tell me what to do! Can I just have her ped submit another referral?
TriCare: No, the nurse who reviewed it denied the claim so you HAVE to appeal.
Me: A nurse?! I want to talk to that nurse.
TriCare: That's not possible.
Me: They don't have PHONES? They don't have EARS? They can't TALK?
TriCare: Not to you.
GRRRRRRRRR At this point I hung up. Seriously.
So then I get a call from the pediatrician's office and as much as they would LIKE to help me, they only have access to Kennedy's last few appointments in each speciality. They're apologetic and sympathetic and I'm back at square one. So I call Vandy and get the records department and they say that I just need to have Shriners fax them a note with Kennedy's name, birth date, social security number and the records they want and they will fax them her records! Seriously! GREAT! SO I call Shriners and they say (seriously) "ohhhh no we can't do that... YOU have to request the records!" I tell them I CAN'T or I have to pay... so we go round in circles, I finally call BACK to Vandy who is now mailing me a release to sign and they will mail the records to Shriners. In the meantime until they get those records and the anesthesiologist decides if he needs to see her or not... no surgery date. Seriously.
Next I get a call back from Kennedy's speech therapist who tells me that the nurse DID get the letter from the school system and they even TALKED to this nurse afterwards and she said everything was fine. SO I call TriCare back again... it went a little like this:
Me: I called earlier about my daughter's referral for Speech therapy that was denied. You said you didn't get the letter and I now know for SURE that the nurse by this name (insert nurse's name here) GOT that letter and told the speech therapist that it was all FINE. Seriously!
TriCare: Well that same nurse is saying she never got it... I guess I'll have to have her call you.
Me: Hmmm... Seriously? I thought they didn't have phones?! (UGH!!!!!!)
SO we went to dinner with my mom, went back to her house for a bit and my phone rings... it's the nurse from TriCare... "I'm so sorry for the confusion. Kennedy's speech therapy has been approved. I did get the letter." Seriously?! Imagine that. I STILL don't have the letter they said they mailed to me! (Not that I even WANT it now!)
SEE? Brains out the window. Why is it that people have to make things WAY more difficult than they need to be? Like seriously, anesthesia couldn't have met with us when we were in Philly FOUR WEEKS ago? Or they couldn't have called for these records like 3 1/2 weeks ago?! Seriously?! At this rate she won't be having surgery until August! And seriously, I understand mistakes happen and papers get misplaced... both of my kids' teachers can tell you I do it ALL the time, but my goodness, at least ADMIT that just MAYBE you could be to blame! Seriously. I'll have to go right ahead and call my post office and accuse them of holding my mail. haha I'm sure that would go over well.
OK I'm off to wind down... no one call me and ask me for paperwork for the next week or so. I don't have it. It was lost in the mail. Seriously.
Monday, April 7, 2008
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25 comments:
Your day was WAY worse than mine. SERIOUSLY!!!!! I bought some Calgon and sent it to you. No...really...check with your post office because I KNOW I SENT IT!
You like seriously only used seriously 25 times! You coulda done better than that! Seriously!
I was banging my head against the wall about a third of the way through your post...
Oops...it was 26 times!
What a bummer of a day - I absolutely HATE conversations with insurance companies - for that very reason!!! Big Hugs!!!
Aw Tricare, one time I called to make an appointment and they informed me that I had been dropped. Dropped?! I'm a dependent, unmarried, in school, etc I know I have coverage. They were unapologetic and uncaring. I finally got it straightned out, but I feel ya about the rudeness. I always dreaded even calling to schedule an appt. I hope u get this straightned out soon.
Wow...that's a day and a half. It might not help much, but be sure to check the WINNERS list for the BL giveaway. Seriously!
I cannot tell you how happy I am to not ever have to deal with TriCare again!! They will lie and make up stuff just so they don't have to deal with you! SERIOUSLY, they suck.
Seriously... getting a Social Security number for a child born at home. "He needs two forms of identification" (I have a birth certificate) "He wasn't born in the hospital?" (No, they told me I wasn't in labor, I went home) "You didn't have any professionals there?" (Isn't that the definition of an unassisted birth?)"You will need to get a health insurance card for him then." (Health insurance will not give out cards without a social security number)
He still doesn't have a Social Security Card... Seriously!!!
I am SO sorry you dealt with so many difficult people!!!
Oh ugh... insurance...*shudder*
I'm still trying to process how they said that the school never faxed over the information - um, how did they know that? They're omniscient? And the same nurse who called you didn't get the letter... she did... she didn't... she called you, she did.
Oh yeah... makes perfect sense.
That's way too much for before coffee... have a better day today, please!!
Oh how frustrating!
Here is what you do:
Imagine you are in this field with green grass and trees all around, you can hear the bird and the sky is all blue and the sun is warm and you can see white clouds drifting in the sky. You sit next to a stream and the you can look into the water and as you look into the water you can clearly see the face of this person as you hold them under water... :-)
This is surely the last thing you need.
Hang in there. Keeping you in my prayers and thoughts.
Lea White
Mum of Bianca
Wellington, New Zealand
http://whitesinnz.blogspot.com
http://bravefighters.blogspot.com
You sound shopworn. Praying for you today and for all those people we unfortunately have to deal with all the time at insurance companies and medical offices. May God soften their hearts to struggling families with real problems.
You sound shopworn. Praying for you today and for all those people we unfortunately have to deal with all the time at insurance companies and medical offices. May God soften their hearts to struggling families with real problems.
That sounds terrible :( Seriously.
Renee,
Not that you haven't tried this already but have you tried to see if there is a Crippled Children's in Tennessee? When my oldest was a baby, she was put on a monitor. Whatever Shriner's didn't Cover they did since CHAMPUS didn't tell me to go on any military base for the same equipment and it only covered I think 50% of the charges, I admit its been almost 21 years now. But worth a shot, if you haven't tried it already.
Yup, you really are Super Mom...I'm more convinced everytime I read your page!
Oh I'm so sorry you had such a long day! :(
Anna is a picky little eater, too. Maybe that was it? She woke up just fine today, so hopefully if it was a bug then it is gone now.
Renee: I commented on your CP too. Just wanted to let you know I keep praying for all the details that seem to be taking a very long time to work out. I know this is hard to hear sometimes, but it's all in God's timing and I know waiting is "seriously" tough. Take care, Dear! Blessings, Shari
Ugh I hate Tricare, what a bunch of idiots. I hope you hear from Shriners about Kennedy's surgery soon. Let me know if there is anything I can do from down here.
Yikes! I can't believe all the frustrating stuff you had to handle - and all in one day!!
God Bless and hope things get settled sooner than later.
I am seriously frustrated for you!
BUT when the surgery is over and Kennedy can be a kid again, you have to come back and read it again, because those insurance conversations are some SERIOUS on stage comedienne routines.
I love your sarcasm...it reminds me of mine, lol!
And what's the story behind your baked potato rolling away :o)
Man, I hate days like that! I'm frustrated just reading it, so I can feel your pain. Seriously. I'm convinced there is a special place in hell for all this red tape!
What a day!! I hope today was better!
OMGosh! This was the ONLY thing my ex was good at. Chewing out the insurance companies on the phone and getting them to do things.
How freaking fustrating!
Ugh tricare! I do, for the most part, appreciate our insurance because we have no out of pocket expenses and they cover pretty much everything. I've been trying to get Kayla a referral for speech therapy but her ped told me it'll be hard since she gets it through school (long story, but I want her to have some outside ST), Tricare requeted her IEP and now I'm still waiting on whether it's approved or not. Sorry you got such a run around with a rude cust. service rep!
You gotta hum it to yourself, girl. Or just sing it out loud. On the phone. Or in the shower.
http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/whipass/whipass.m3u
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