Health insurance is frustrating. One insurance won't cover something because it is a durable medical supply, whatever that means. So now I have to deal with another insurance. They told me to get Medicare Part B, but I can't afford to get it. So I am back to Medicaid. WellCare is the one that won't cover it. So I have two insurances, and they are fighting each other and telling me I need a third insurance, which I can't pay for. So I am mad. I think they should know because I have Medicaid that I can't go getting fancy insurance. That is how I got WellCare, because I can't pay for fancy insurance. So now durable medical supplies aren't covered by WellCare, and Medicaid doesn't want to pay for them. Even though they pay for all of my ostomy supplies, they don't want to pay for my diabetic supplies. I am not making any sense, am I? I'm too mad. I hate insurance and insurance companies. And now I am on hold for at least 45 minutes, they said, so that I can fight with Medicaid. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr................
We all have had experiences dealing with insurance companies that are not about health care, but all about profit. Three cheers for the American health care system, where the first thing you're asked when trying to make an appointment with a doctor's office is "Do you have insurance?" I could have taken a luxury cruise around the world on the money I've spent on insurance. Good luck to you in your dealings with this monster.
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Here in Cali, you pay first before seeing the doctor. For my blood tests, the lab keeps your credit card on file and then automatically bills what they think you will owe. They make adjustments later.
I recently paid for hernia belts. Both my medical insurances said they didn't cover it for preventative purposes, only if it was for a hernia. I got a diagnosis of parastomal hernia from the doctor. He gave me a prescription. Then I messed around with both insurances for 4 months trying to get the belts. Finally said to hell with it. Paid, and got 4 belts in a week.
Read answers to frequently asked questions about how to change your pouch and participate in activities.
Have those insurance company executives be put in your position, and you'll see how fast things change. If it doesn't affect them, they don't care. All they are number crunchers!
The Indigenous People of North America had a great way of describing how insurance companies communicate: "They speak with forked tongue." From personal experience, I have learned that the inability to speak or act in a straightforward manner is part of insurance companies' DNA.
How to Manage Emotions with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister
It ended up that I'm going to have to pay out of pocket for the supplies. 20 bucks for one thing, and it will be another 28 or so for the other piece to go with my glucose meter. Because even though Medicaid said they would pay for it and gave the number for the pharmacist to call, they told the pharmacist that I need Medicare Part B. Which is how this whole thing started. And I can't get Part B because I can't afford it. So it's all so stupid. And in the end, I'm just going to have to pay for it. I guess at least it's not 1500 bucks for it. But still, 20 is a lot for me, and 28 plus is a lot too. For someone on Medicaid, they should know I can't afford it. Duh.
Even though they are well compensated, executives and their families have generous "top hat" plans providing a wide range of benefits not available to the working slubs.
It doesn't matter if a CEO runs a company into the ground. They don't suffer any financial consequences, unlike the aforementioned slub.
That does sound frustrating too. I hate insurance. I hate the way it is all run. And then you have to wait an hour on the phone to find out that you need to call another number because they don't know anything, and then the other number promises it's covered, and then when the pharmacist calls, they give them the runaround back to the beginning.
I agree. They don't care because they have good jobs and good insurance, and they don't need to rely on the system.
So true. So very true. I am at my wits' end. I am just going to have to pay for the supplies. That is all there is to it.
Learn about some basic diet and ostomy pouch routines that can help prevent them.
That's why companies hire armies of lobbyists, give them briefcases full of corporate cash, and send them to Washington DC and every state legislature.
Politicians spout hot air about healthcare reform, Medicare for everyone, bla... bla... bla.... It's all nothing more than a strident clarion call to corporations to pay up.
Doing the "right thing" does not matter a whit.
It's why politicians spend millions for a job paying $174,000 a year. 😉
It is wrong the way insurance operates. Legal crime, in my opinion.
It is wrong. I don't understand it at all. It makes my head spin. If they ever decided to not cover my ostomy supplies too, I am going to be up a bad creek. It's bad enough they won't cover my diabetic supplies. At least I won't really die from that. If I can't test my sugar, I just won't know till I get an A1C done every 3 months. But if I couldn't get my ostomy supplies, I would really be hurting. Because I'd be a total mess all the time and my skin would be raw and it just wouldn't be good. So at least so far, Medicaid is covering my ostomy supplies. Thank God for small favors.