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| Need a new Insurance Company? |
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| Written by Haylee Landford |
| Monday, 16 March 2009 11:00 |
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Nothing compares to having your first child and sharing in all the joy that comes with it, that is nothing except starting your dealings with the insurance company. In the cases of premature babies, the last thing on your mind in the payment of medical bills. Regardless, let me share with you what comedy has occurred since we have began our relationship with our insurance policy. My son had to be quickly taken to another hospital when he was born that had an equipped NICU, and the bill to make this little drive was the first to arrive. The insurance had denied payment on this $1,000 because they didn't see it as a medical necessity. The only thing I could think of was that they expected us to try and plug the incubator in our car's cigarette lighter. We wrote an appeal, that has now made it covered. It is sad really because we are only college students paying for the campus health insurance, which is pretty low budget, and they expect all our health needs to first be seen at the on campus health center. When my son was born, we happened to be in a different state, so going to their health center was a little out of the question. Since we cannot afford to take our son on a plane to their on campus health center every time he needs to go to the doctor, which was quite a bit, we are being held responsible for these kinds of bills. Especially in the topic of immunizations, we needed to get them at the pediatrician's office. Then we were told they weren't covered because they weren't given at the on campus health center. So, now we have moved back on campus and I took my son to the school health center for him to get updated on his shots. Would you believe that they don't even give immunizations at the health center? So, the insurance company obviously writes their policies without ever communicating with the health center. We are held responsible for not going to the health center for services that they don't even offer. Is this as funny to you and it is to me? Good. The mother of all our bills came from the doctors at the NICU that daily visited my son in the hospital. Let me first clarify that when my son was first admitted into the hospital, we called the insurance to make sure that this was ok and everything would be taken cared for. Regardless of their reassurance, the bill came stating our insurance's lack of coverage. It seems that the doctors that worked in the hospital weren't covered, even though the hospital is covered. I forgot that it wasn't important to see a doctor while you were in the hospital and should have opted for my son to not be seen by them. What's the point of going to the hospital without seeing a doctor? I don't see how this works. Of course, we are appealing this bill since it is mindless, and we really had very limited control with what went on with our son in the hospital anyway. I was still in the hospital myself when my son was admitted to the NICU. The safety devices they use in the NICU consist of a small band around his ankle that alerts security to come and arrest us if we even take him to the elevator. Most of all, what parent would say, please don't assist my three pound baby with his breathing, because I'm not sure the insurance is going to come through here. I'm assuming that there is a man somewhere in the depths of the insurance company who makes his living out of writing confusing no nonsense policies about receiving medical treatment when he himself has probably never been to the doctor. Apparently when you work with insurance you are miraculous free from any kind of medical attention, or else they would be most astute at making it easier to use their policies. I wonder why it was such a topic of debate at the last election? Luckily, the insurance company has people in it that also see the problems in the system and are trying to help. The key is to find those people and ask if they will personally help you in all your claims for the future. Get their personal extensions and emails so that you don't have to deal with the phone center customer service know-nothings that will just hand you the standardized statements of policy. I have found this to be useful. Their is always an appeals process to anything going on that you know is incorrect, so don't be intimidated to use your rights as their client. Before you pay a bill, contact the insurance so they can check the system and insure they have done all they are required to do for that particular claim. Then, check again with the doctor's bills to keep them from charging you over the agreed rate they made with your insurance, without you knowing it. Make note of things the insurance company tells you so that if it comes to a misunderstanding, you have a clear recollection of what you were told. All in all, they are trying to do their job and we can help them make better policies if they know what is wrong. Unfortunately we have to deal with this in order to get our healthcare, so take a deep breath and don't get too frustrated. If you really want to avoid this, just be healthy and you'll be fine. About the Author: Haylee Landford is the mother of a premature baby with another on the way. She frequently writes articles for Land For Sale as a guest author. Kindly provided by LJ-Marketing.dk You are welcome to use this article on your own website, if you include the link just before this text. |
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