Saturday, July 20, 2013

Grace

Charlotte's got a post up that hit home for me.  I've been the person on the receiving end of commentary like she received, and I know there's legitimacy to it because frankly, I'm still a bit socially awkward even at my age.  I do better than I used to, and I hope I keep improving, but still... I'm not there yet. 

And like Charlotte mentioned in her blog post, I've also been part of the group making the comments.  Which, when put into that directly comparative context, rather sucks.

Reading her post was a good reminder to me to extend to others the grace I'd like them to extend to me were our positions reversed.





Have a good weekend, y'all.  I'll try to do the same.

Thursday, July 04, 2013

United Healthcare: The Saga Continues

Yep, the ridiculousness continues with United Healthcare.  Remember the allergy misery of High Hay Fever Season down here in Florida?  And remember my allergy test results (link includes pictures of my scratch-tested back and subcutaneously injected arm), where it showed I was allergic to All the Things?

You'd think I'd be an ideal candidate for allergy shots, considering that none of the standard therapies have alleviated my suffering.  And you'd be right according to all major internet sources, medical sources, and (most importantly) my freaking physicians.

But in the eyes of United Healthcare, somehow I'm still not supposed to get allergy shots.  I've heard every excuse in the book from them.

  • They've said the shots weren't medically necessary (how???)
  • They've said my doctor failed to provide the requested information in the timespan allotted (false, and my doctor has proof)
  • They've said that the problem is the date of service on the claim covers a span of days (when their own policies limit the number of units my HCP can bill for in one day)

It's absolutely absurd.  And in the meantime, I've now lost three months worth of immunotherapy thanks to United Healthcare's dithering about paying a claim for a necessary, covered service.

I have lost the time I spent driving to and from my doctor's office -- a one-hour round trip.

I have lost the money I've spent in gas doing the same -- upwards of one hundred dollars.

I have lost sleep due to moving my wake time up in order to arrive at work early so I wouldn't completely gut my sick leave with my employer.

I can't get any of these things back, the most important of which is the progress I'd made with the two months of injections I was able to have.

Oh the heck with it, I'm going to repost this picture.  Please tell me, how does a back that looks like this fail to impress upon an observer that the person tested has severe allergies?


Bear in mind that any spot where there is no visible welting was retested in a subcutaneous injection on my arm, and every. single. spot. tested. welted up.

Even if I could go back to my allergist Tuesday, it would be questionable if I could hit maintenance dose by December, which is when High Allergy Season begins for me.

So thanks United Healthcare.  Thank you for denying me a necessary covered medical service.  Thank you for interfering in my healthcare.  Thank you for condemning me to another year of misery as I try to slog through High Allergy Season 2013-2014.  Thank you for depriving Those Who Sign My Paychecks of a functional employee.  Thank you for making a profit off of my employers and others while denying me and others like me the healthcare their doctors have prescribed.

Oh, and thank you for Bernard, with whom I spoke most recently, and whose only phrase appeared to be "I couldn't say" when I asked him how to fix this situation.  Poor Bernard.  When asked if he could transfer me to someone who could say, he informed me no such person existed.  So I suppose I am to believe that the entirety of United Healthcare is staffed by incompetent, impotent idiots.

I have now filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Financial Services, am filing an grievance with United Healthcare itself (because weirdly, United Healthcare's policies still won't let me file an actual appeal), and should I fail to receive satisfaction from these filings I will also be filing with... shoot, my paperwork is at the office, but it's something like the Agency for Healthcare Administration  that handles quality of care issues for HMOs.

The sheer idiocy and complexity of this process is mindboggling.  Thank goodness I'm not trying to get help for a mental health issue... although at this point I think United Healthcare is certainly provoking an anxiety attack.  Question is, if I seek treatment for anxiety, will they cover it?

Pfft... we all know the answer :P  You just have to laugh, because screaming is too hard on the vocal chords.

Good grief.

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In other news, uhm, happy 4th of July? Sheesh.  I'm going to enjoy my four days off and try not to think about this until Monday.  Take care, y'all :)