The Frustration

I hate insurance companies. I hate dealing with them, fussing with them, and generally speaking with them. I've been in a battle for about 10 days over the sleeping pills I take. The anti-rejection meds cause me to have restless leg syndrome, and as a result, in order to get more than 3 hours of sleep a night I have to take a sleeping pill. Before I ran out of my script, I called in for my refill and just before Christmas was told that the authorization had ran out and the clinic would need to do something. So, I call the clinic and let them know. They call back and say the insurance company had a 4 page form that they wanted filled out and that it would probably be after Christmas before it all got straightened out. Luckily, I had always taken one out of the bottle from each script and put it back for emergencies like this.

Well, today is the 30th and I'm still in a battle. Clinic called at noon and told me they had faxed the 4 page form, twice, and finally thought they had it straightened out. Suggested I give them a few hours to make sure everything was updated then call the pharmacy. So I did. Pharmacy checked for authorization while I was on the line....still not current. So, I call the insurance company and, after waiting for 15 minutes to speak to a human being, finally got someone. I tried, very calmly, to explain what was going on and said that I felt it was just an error on their part that someone had not updated the computer. Got nowhere. By the end of the conversation I was afraid someone was going to have to take me to the hospital with a heart attack because I was so mad. So, I can only hope that someone comes into the transplant clinic and gets the phone message I left with instructions from the insurance company on how to get this filled. Somehow, I'm thinking it still isn't going to work.

Other than the scripts, I really can't complain about my insurance. I would probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of a million or so in debt without it. But then again, if it wasn't as good as it is I probably wouldn't have been approved for the transplant in the first place. That is one of the considerations for being on the list. I really have stayed out of the conversation about the new health reform but if it would save a life because everybody would have equal opportunity to be saved...well.......would it be so bad?