As most single, healthy women of almost 30 years, I find myself being like, “Why do I need a flex medical account? I barely pay the deductable; I could use that money now, for, like bills and stuff”. Then something like cancer in the family or sudden onset vertigo come into the picture, and all of a sudden, you’re like, “Ah-ha! So, this is what insurance is for!”.
Fast-forward to when a clerical error by a hospital employee trying to leave work early for the holidays* makes me say, “Our health system is whacked!”. Basically, a claim that says the hospital that my mom had been treated at for two months suddenly tells her she’s at an out-of-network hospital. Doesn’t sound severe, until you realize that if you’re in an out-of-network hospital, things aren’t covered and you have to pay. MAJOR STRESSBALLS. ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE GOING THROUGH CHEMO!!!!!!! (I often wonder how patients are expected to be on top of their medical bills when they can barely get up to go to the bathroom…but that is for another post). So you call the insurance company, and they say, yup, it’s a clerical error on the hospital because the hospital is indeed in their network. So you call the hospital, who say the insurance company doesn’t know jack, and everything in the billing department is hunky-dory, so what’s the problem?
What’s the problem!?
I have no idea how to remedy this, being a probie to it and all, but gosh-darn it, what a pain in my neck…(which may or may not be covered by insurance…)
*this statement is completely fabricated, but probably true.
