Wednesday
Feb172010
This is nothing more than an obnoxious rant, but I had to write it out so it wasn't stewing in my head anymore
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 07:52AM
Switching jobs can be a pain in the ass for many reasons, but the one I hate the most right now is having to switch health insurance coverage. Here's my saga:
- I started the job in early December.
- I filled out a billion kinds of paperwork to get on the company's insurance plan and sign up for a Health Savings Account.
- The new plan is regional and doesn't include places near my home (I commute over an hour now), so I asked around at work to find a new doctor.
- Made an appointment for mid-January with Doctor A.
- Doctor A called to reschedule a week in advance because someone broke a foot or something. New appointment was made for mid-February.
- I told them my birth control would run out before then, so I really needed to get in sooner. They had no earlier appointments.
- I asked if I could get an advance on birth control to get me through the month. Shot down.
- So I called my old doctor's office (Doctor B) to see if they could help.
- Doctor B, plus the two PAs that I usually saw, had left the practice. I had been assigned a new doctor (Doctor C) at some point that I had never met.
- In the meantime, back in November, I had seen Doctor D about a stomach problem. I went to her because she was closer to work than Doctor B was at the time. And I really liked her. But she didn't prescribe me the birth control, so I couldn't call on her for a refill.
- Finally, after some finagling (begging), Doctor C, the one I never met, agreed to give me one more refill on my birth control.
- At the beginning of February, I learned that there's some partnership that allows me to see certain doctors near home. One of them happened to be Doctor D, the one I saw once and liked.
- I made an appointment with Doctor D for early February.
- That same day, Doctor A, who had already rescheduled once, called to reschedule again! I said forget it, cancel the appointment because I'm going to Doctor D!
- Appointment with Doctor D last Thursday was fine. She wrote me a prescription for birth control and Ambien.
- Friday I tried to pick up my prescriptions. TRIED! Keyword.
- I picked out a cute stuffed giraffe (Maury) to give The Giraffe for Valentine's Day and brought it to the pharmacy counter with me.
- Employee Z rang me up, but just after I swiped my Health Savings Account card, I realized I couldn't pay for Maury with the HSA.
- Employee Z said to fear not, the card would reject anything not medical-related. Except not. It totally rang up the whole order.
- I didn't want to deal with the paperwork it would take get Maury off my account, so I asked her to void the transaction. She did.
- She rang me up again with just the prescriptions. This time it only covered $50.
- I figured the the other transaction was still pending, so it showed as money spent. No biggie, void the transaction and I'll come back in a couple days.
-Went back on Sunday and Employee Y rang me up. Rejected. I explained the whole thing to her, but she said there was nothing she could do. I left.
- I tried to check my HSA account online when I got home, but it demanded I give it a username.
- I was never assigned a username, and I couldn't find anything in my paperwork that described how I might find or get one.
- I called customer service, which was of course closed.
- Monday I called customer service again. She told me my username as if it was supposed to be common knowledge. Like no big deal, we never gave this to you, but YOU SHOULD KNOW IT!
- I managed to log in, and oh look, $249 available. Excellent!
- I stopped at the pharmacy Tuesday (yesterday) and tried again. Employee X rang me up.
- Card declined. I begged him to help me figure out why. He said call the bank. I said call the manager.
- Manger comes and tells me the same thing. Call the bank.
- But I charmed her with sappy kindness and a loooong explanation of my journey so far, and she said she'd take a look.
- Eventually she was able to tell me that it was one of three things: 1) No approved items were purchased [not true since it was all prescriptions], 2) No pre-authorization was available [this wasn't necessary], or 3) No funds available on card [my online account said I had plenty available].
- I need to start a new pack of birth control Friday morning, and I'll be out of town from Thursday morning until Friday night, so things are getting dire.
- I called the HSA customer service this morning. Explained the whole story.
- The HSA employee explained that I had a ZERO BALANCE! in my account because of two transacation from last Friday. The two transaction that were voided at the pharmacy.
- She explained that it takes about 7 days for voided transactions to go through, meaning I have no access to my money until Friday or Saturday, which is too late.
- I asked her why my online account shows $250, but she sees $0.
- Oh, they're just having a little problem with their website right now.
- Great.
- I asked how I will know when the money is back in my account (since the website clearly has no idea) because I am NOT going back to that damn pharmacy just to get shot down again damn it.
- She had no good suggestions.
I'm starting a new kind of birth control, and I don't want to start incorrectly, so I'm just going to have to suck it up and pay for the prescription out of pocket in order to get it on time. The problem is that my new insurance is a high-deductible plan, meaning I basically have to pay for everything myself up to a certain amount. The HSA is nice because the company contributes to that, so I'm spending their money, not mine.
So when I buy this birth control on my own dime tonight, it'll be close to $200. Just to not get pregnant.
- I started the job in early December.
- I filled out a billion kinds of paperwork to get on the company's insurance plan and sign up for a Health Savings Account.
- The new plan is regional and doesn't include places near my home (I commute over an hour now), so I asked around at work to find a new doctor.
- Made an appointment for mid-January with Doctor A.
- Doctor A called to reschedule a week in advance because someone broke a foot or something. New appointment was made for mid-February.
- I told them my birth control would run out before then, so I really needed to get in sooner. They had no earlier appointments.
- I asked if I could get an advance on birth control to get me through the month. Shot down.
- So I called my old doctor's office (Doctor B) to see if they could help.
- Doctor B, plus the two PAs that I usually saw, had left the practice. I had been assigned a new doctor (Doctor C) at some point that I had never met.
- In the meantime, back in November, I had seen Doctor D about a stomach problem. I went to her because she was closer to work than Doctor B was at the time. And I really liked her. But she didn't prescribe me the birth control, so I couldn't call on her for a refill.
- Finally, after some finagling (begging), Doctor C, the one I never met, agreed to give me one more refill on my birth control.
- At the beginning of February, I learned that there's some partnership that allows me to see certain doctors near home. One of them happened to be Doctor D, the one I saw once and liked.
- I made an appointment with Doctor D for early February.
- That same day, Doctor A, who had already rescheduled once, called to reschedule again! I said forget it, cancel the appointment because I'm going to Doctor D!
- Appointment with Doctor D last Thursday was fine. She wrote me a prescription for birth control and Ambien.
- Friday I tried to pick up my prescriptions. TRIED! Keyword.
- I picked out a cute stuffed giraffe (Maury) to give The Giraffe for Valentine's Day and brought it to the pharmacy counter with me.
- Employee Z rang me up, but just after I swiped my Health Savings Account card, I realized I couldn't pay for Maury with the HSA.
- Employee Z said to fear not, the card would reject anything not medical-related. Except not. It totally rang up the whole order.
- I didn't want to deal with the paperwork it would take get Maury off my account, so I asked her to void the transaction. She did.
- She rang me up again with just the prescriptions. This time it only covered $50.
- I figured the the other transaction was still pending, so it showed as money spent. No biggie, void the transaction and I'll come back in a couple days.
-Went back on Sunday and Employee Y rang me up. Rejected. I explained the whole thing to her, but she said there was nothing she could do. I left.
- I tried to check my HSA account online when I got home, but it demanded I give it a username.
- I was never assigned a username, and I couldn't find anything in my paperwork that described how I might find or get one.
- I called customer service, which was of course closed.
- Monday I called customer service again. She told me my username as if it was supposed to be common knowledge. Like no big deal, we never gave this to you, but YOU SHOULD KNOW IT!
- I managed to log in, and oh look, $249 available. Excellent!
- I stopped at the pharmacy Tuesday (yesterday) and tried again. Employee X rang me up.
- Card declined. I begged him to help me figure out why. He said call the bank. I said call the manager.
- Manger comes and tells me the same thing. Call the bank.
- But I charmed her with sappy kindness and a loooong explanation of my journey so far, and she said she'd take a look.
- Eventually she was able to tell me that it was one of three things: 1) No approved items were purchased [not true since it was all prescriptions], 2) No pre-authorization was available [this wasn't necessary], or 3) No funds available on card [my online account said I had plenty available].
- I need to start a new pack of birth control Friday morning, and I'll be out of town from Thursday morning until Friday night, so things are getting dire.
- I called the HSA customer service this morning. Explained the whole story.
- The HSA employee explained that I had a ZERO BALANCE! in my account because of two transacation from last Friday. The two transaction that were voided at the pharmacy.
- She explained that it takes about 7 days for voided transactions to go through, meaning I have no access to my money until Friday or Saturday, which is too late.
- I asked her why my online account shows $250, but she sees $0.
- Oh, they're just having a little problem with their website right now.
- Great.
- I asked how I will know when the money is back in my account (since the website clearly has no idea) because I am NOT going back to that damn pharmacy just to get shot down again damn it.
- She had no good suggestions.
I'm starting a new kind of birth control, and I don't want to start incorrectly, so I'm just going to have to suck it up and pay for the prescription out of pocket in order to get it on time. The problem is that my new insurance is a high-deductible plan, meaning I basically have to pay for everything myself up to a certain amount. The HSA is nice because the company contributes to that, so I'm spending their money, not mine.
So when I buy this birth control on my own dime tonight, it'll be close to $200. Just to not get pregnant.
(This is Maury, the giraffe that caused all the problems.)
in Giraffe, My anatomy, So Annoyed, Women
Giraffe, My anatomy, So Annoyed, Women
Reader Comments (12)
At least it looks like he likes Maury. :)
That sounds like a HUGE mess. I'd think after that you'd need migraine meds as well.
I HATE anything to do with prescriptions and insurance. I have cried at the pharmacy. More than once.
I recommend F.A.M. I think birth control pills are the devil.
What a friggin nightmare! Hope it gets solved soon!
I totally feel for you. I have a high deductable HSA insurance plan too (and was formerly an HMO person)...if you want to vent, or need someone who knows EXACTLY what you're going through, I'm an ear to listen and an eye to read (ha, good blogger joke, eh?!).
Oh how that totally sucks. All of it. Sounds like Doctor A might have turned out to be a bain in the toosh anyway! I hate when doctor's can't be the least bit flexible. And rescheduling really peeves me.
The HSA things sounds like a nightmare too. What a mess! And on top of all the other transitions, so not what you need!
Ugh, that sucks. However, as someone who relies on a lot of asthma prescription meds to breathe I find it hard to sympathize when people complain about birth control refills (and you're not the first). Couldn't you just, um, abstain, until the money's back on the card?
Abigail - good question. And a logical one too! I have no problem abstaining, but missing pills can really throw off your cycle and even your whole body sometimes. Not everyone is as sensitive to it as others. It's not tragic if I have to miss a day or two, but I'd rather not get my cycle off track, and especially because it's a new type of birth control, I'd rather not start off wrong.
And, Abigail...what if you needed to breathe and had to go through that rigamarole? I think it's more about the system than the drug itself.
I don't understand why doctors are so tight with birth control pills anyway. It's not like it's Vicodin or methadone.
I'm filled with empathy and sisterly rage. Going through similar new job insurance snags. I found out today (at the Dr.) that my whole family (including unborn babe) is currently not covered because HR forgot to fwd some crucial form, which I completed on time, eons ago ...
[...] the whole doctor/pharmacy/prescription saga I detailed yesterday, the plan was for me to pick up my prescriptions, or at least one of them, last night and pay for [...]
PLEASE don't get me started on the health care situation in this country. I come from a country where things (are not perfect but) work so much better and with much less headache for the patient.
I've aged so many years already over the health care insurance here that I don't even know where to start.
[...] her. She said it was probably ok to wait until my doctor appointment in mid-January. Well, you know how that went, and I ended up not seeing a doctor until [...]