warning…..rant inside
Ok, so I rarely go to the Doctor.
The recommended once a year is really about every four years.
But month after month after month the company I work for pays a premium for insurance for me and I pay my portion every other week that totals about sixty bucks a month. I would be considered profit for the insurance company.
So this year I went for the quadrennial blood pressure, stirrups, look in all the orifices, draw blood to test for cholesterol and whatever else they test for; the works.
I fasted the night before so that when she gave me to slip to fast and come back for blood work I could just go down to the lab and get it all over in the same day.
One trip, good to go for a few more years. I even got all the results back and every thing is “normal”. That was on April 26th.
Today June 20th I get from the hospital a note saying that my insurance company has not paid in over 50 days and my assistance in prompting them to pay is appreciated followed by a not so veiled threat in all capital letters that if prompt payment is not received they will look to me for payment.
Great so now its my job to figure out the billing issues. I phoned Blue Cross, talked to a nice lady named Elaine who says they received a bill for $291 on May 3rd and payed $202 on May 5th. I phoned the medical billing department back and they did receive that payment but that was for the clinic, not for the lab. The lab bill is $275, I tell them the clinic bill is the only one that the insurance has received and so they are going to re-bill the insurance company for the lab work.
So my guess is I still have a bill coming for the balances that the insurance company does not approve and pay and I also need to follow up with the insurance company that they get the lab bill. So besides paying for the service I also get to help figure out the billing issues.
The thing is just my portion of my insurance premium for 1 year is more then total of these bills. I get to pay the co-pay when I go in and what the insurance company doesn’t deem payable. Now I realize insurance is needed, in case I need to go to the hospital, or throw out my back, or break a leg, arm, neck or something else. Heaven forbid I get some horrible disease and need treatment or medication I will be thankful that I have poured money into insurance for all these years that covers a portion of my Dr bill every four years. But today I’m just annoyed.
