Sometimes being a grown-up girl isn't just about learning how old sewer maintenance works, sometimes it's about figuring out how your own maintenance works. For example, I did my best grown-up girl job to find a gynecologist for my first ever grown-up girl appointment. I picked the name off the "covered provider list" provided online by my grown-up insurance company (you know, the one that isn't your parents' insurance). Then I bravely called them all by myself, drove myself to my appointment, boldly went through all the joys and pains and awkwardness of that kind of doctor visit with a stoicism that made me proud of myself.
Then, a week or so later, I get a very grown-up sounding email from my grown-up insurance company informing me that there has been a new claim on my account and that I should check it out ("check it out" is what all the grown-ups are sayin' these days). So I checked it out. And I was informed that my grown-up insurance actually didn't cover my grown-up girl doctor appointment, and that, between the visit and the standard lab work, I now owed over 300 grown-up dollars to my grown-girl doctor and his lab. This money will have to come from my hard work at my grown-up job, money I was planning to spend on other grown-up girl purchases like new sheets (the ones my mother gave me before I left for college are finally wearing out), new towels (the ones the nice lady in the ward gave me when I left for college are now the same color--they were originally bright orange and bright green), and maybe some more new clothes that fit.
Now before you tell me I should have checked with my insurance before scheduling the appointment, like any sensible grown-up would, I TRIED. I hunted all over my grown-up insurance company's infantile web site without discovering anything remotely resembling a list of benefits. So I made inferences based on available information: I live and work and am insured in Utah, which is probably the baby-producing capital of the US. Surely my insurance, my educator (another high baby demographic) insurance, would cover a routine gynecologist visit. They cover a once a year eye examination, and it's not even vision insurance!
And now, because of my grown-up girl logic about my grown-up girl insurance company's interaction with my grown-up girl doctor, I am now pouting like a five-year-old. Well done world, well done.
6 comments:
Family aside, you are my favorite grown-up girl blogger.
Ick. I remember having to go through that. I always double check (even if I found the information online) with the office when I call to schedule the appointment. Something along the lines of, "hi, I'm Natalia and I'm calling to see if you are accepting new clients and if you take insurance." It's amazing what you can find out.
Like the fact that, even though Dr. B and Dr. Z both worked at the hospital my daughter was born in, and practice through the same office, our insurance will only cover Dr. Z. Weird, eh?
Good luck getting things figured out! And even though I'm a "grown up girl" now, I still call my parents about questions like insurance and things. :)
HAHAHA. I just re-read my comment and the website edited it! My quote should read:
"hi, I'm Natalia and I'm calling to see if you are accepting new clients and if you take (insert name here) insurance."
(I originally used the <> symbols, but I'm not sure if they'll show up in this sentence.) Hope that makes more sense now!
Being a battered veteran of the insurance labyrinth, the first thing would do is call a general practioner and ask for a wellness visit, repeating that when you check in for your appointment. (Check and see if your policy covers it.) If the doctor was concerned, he/she would refer you to a specialist--but that would require you to pay your deductible. I'm just glad you are healthy enough not to have learned the ins and outs yet--and no one ever does. There are too many loopholes and changes and every policy is different.
Calling ahead and asking is great advice, but the person handling the insurance in your district is a good contact as well because they have dealt with your specific policy. And as for Utah being the baby capital, that's probably why "female issues" are so poorly covered--no profit.
I hear you on the stupid insurance hassles. AJ & I decided to try and start a family, but we only had through August to get pregnant, then we will have to stop and wait till we get out of the military and get new insurance. Why? Because if I am pregnant still while when we change insurances, the new insurance will not cover the pregnancy or the birth because they will consider my pregnancy a "pre existing condition". No joke. Lame huh?
Hey Eve!
Just a thought, you may want to call the doctor's office and make sure they billed it as a wellness exam. It makes a huge difference and I haven't heard of an insurance that doesn't cover at least part of the visit. Maybe it's a deductible issue. I am sorry you got hit so hard.
Good luck , DelLisa
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