Thursday, January 6, 2011

A Tense and Sleepless Night

I'm a fan of shows like Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Lost.  I like the drama, suspense, and most of the times happy endings  I think my enthusiasm for this type of entertainment confused the "powers that be" and they decided to give me my very own live episode.
I've been in the process of scheduling my radiation treatments for almost 3 weeks now.  Nothing can be done until I am cleared by my insurance company.  I discovered that my insurance company will not cover the treatment at all.  Upon learning this we found out that I could be added to Nate's insurance plan as a domestic partner.  If you know Nate, you know he's a practical kind of guy.  He does his homework thoroughly; so while my parents were saying, "just add her whatever the cost" he was saying, "let's make sure she's going to be covered" or that "they won't deny her for pre-existing conditions" or that "she can keep her current insurance coverage just in case I ever lose my job."  Two days ago I had a mini melt-down and said, "let's just put me on the freaking insurance already so we can get this show on the road."  He agreed.  We were being held up by little strings of red tape here and there and he had already been told that the pre-existing condition was not a problem.  
Upon hearing that I was insured by Nate's plan my representative at UM goes to work to get me cleared by the insurance company to begin my treatment.  She calls me last night around 5:30pm.  I can tell right away it's bad news.  She's practically crying.  She says, "I don't even know how to tell you this but the insurance told me there is a pre-existing condition clause until February of 2012."  She apologizes so profusely that the future psychologist in me can't help but console her.  I find myself assuring her that we'll find another way and make things work somehow.  I hang up the phone saying, "don't worry, everything is going to be fine, I"ll call you tomorrow to see how you're doing."  Nate is listening to me wondering if something is wrong with one of our friends.  When I inform him of the situation he looks at me confused and once my words sink in the look changes from disbelief to horror.  Needless to say, it was not an easy night.  We couldn't sleep we were so worried.  Nate left to work this morning determined to get some answers.  How could we have spent weeks trying to make this happen and fully disclosed my condition to have them tell us that they weren't going to cover me?  I'm so exhausted that I finally fall asleep at 7am.
At 8 am my phone rings.  It's my UM representative.  Her excitement is immediately obvious.  She practically screams, "It was a mistake! It was a mistake!"  The insurance company had give her the wrong information.  After she hung up with me the night before, she called them back and insisted that they must be wrong.  She also insisted that they find a representative in Florida to call her directly by 7:30 this morning.  They did.  She had them on the other line when she called me because she wanted them to apologize to me personally.  I felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted from me.  I think the UM representative had the same feeling!
The insurance company said they would cover 100% of the treatment after the deductible.  The deductible will be met before I even start treatment (during the planning stage).
There is still one authorization needed from the insurance before I can make my appointment to start the radiation plan.  But I think we're just a hop, skip, and a jump away from starting to battle this tumor.
So like my favorite TV dramas this episode ended well and all is right again.  We're all breathing a huge sigh of relief and I'm so thankful for my UM representative.  She's one of my angel warriors helping me along this journey!

2 comments:

  1. Mari I'm glad everything is working out for you little by little, you deserve it and this is just one of the many blessings to come!

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  2. Happy Reyes Magos Day!...I think your gifts were strength perserverence and faith!

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