This week was supposed to be a happy, yet complicated time for me. I was supposed to have my last phase of reconstructive surgery done this Thursday and spend some time off work healing and resting. But noooooooooo - that's not happening.
So I had my pre-op on 10/04/16 and everything went fine. My exam went great. I went over what I had to do and what to expect. I paid the surgeon and the anesthesiologist their part. I walked out of there feeling so victorious and anxious at the same time. But today I get a call from the lady that schedules the procedures and checks insurance and etc. Let's call her E. So E. calls and fusses that my insurance is in the grace period - time out.
I have Marketplace insurance right now. It's due on the first of every month, but if you don't pay on time you get a 'grace period' of time to pay it an your insurance is still active. It's like getting a final notice on your electric bill - you have to pay it by this date or they're cutting it off. And I admit I got behind on my insurance premiums over the summer when I was out of work. But when I started working again, I started paying down my past due premiums and worked to make sure that as each month passed, they may still be in grace period but they would not be cut off.
So E. proceeds to tell me that she is uncomfortable going forward with my surgery since my premiums are in the grace period. She claims she is worried that if I don't pay my insurance on time that my insurance will lapse and I'll be stuck with a huge bill. Oh, and not to mention the doctors will too and she hints how they have to look out for their bottom line too. I tried to tell her that I've been working to get my premiums current and that my insurance is still valid. I also stress to her that I would NEVER stiff Dr. A or any of his staff on something this huge and would never run off without making sure they get paid. She kept repeating that it would be best to reschedule and that she didn't feel like the DR would be comfortable continuing either. Go figure that as soon as I mentioned my new insurance kicking in at my new job soon, she immediately started pressuring me to reschedule - oh but only after I got my new insurance cards in my hand. I then asked her if I could just push it back a few weeks to try and catch up my premiums - in which she told me no because the doctor was booked for the rest of the year. E. then told me he would consult with the doctor and see what 'he thinks would be best' and call me back. An hour later she calls me back and says that he thinks I need to reschedule until I get my new insurance cards. She didn't say much else and then hung up when I stopped talking and just started crying.
First of all - I was pumped up for this surgery! My hype level was through the roof! Was was over the moon to have this done! I was even risking taking non-paid time off and recuperating alone just to see this through. And here she comes just snatching it away from me - just days before it was supposed to happen. She didn't talk to me during my pre-op. She didn't call me last week. Three days before!
Secondly - she made me feel like the lowest piece of crap they have ever scheduled with. So just because I got behind on my insurance premiums you guys won't operate on me? Do you think I'm going to get the surgery done and then stiff the doctors on the bill? What kind of a person do you think I am??
Dr. A has always shown me that he cares about more than just money and has always worked with me regarding bills or expenses. While he may have concerns about me affording the surgery, I don't believe for 2 seconds he suddenly became concerned that I'm going to skip out on my insurance bills and leave him in the lurch. I refuse to believe that man thinks so little of me and told E. to cancel my surgery because of money.
So I cried through most of work today and came home and pouted. I even ugly cried. I just didn't care.
I don't want to hear that everything happens for a reason. I don't care if you think this is part of some grander plan that I have to follow. I got excited. I was ready. Then you popped my balloon and I sunk to the floor. I'm so depressed, I may just stay there a while...
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