Ok, so I rarely come on here to vent, or at least I try not to. But I'm just so frustrated today that I have to share.
When I was pregnant with Travis I had health insurance for myself under my moms policy, but Travis wouldn't have been covered unless my mom was considered a guardian. So Henry and I had planned on applying for MediCal (California's low income health insurance) before Travis was born, but when Travis was born 9 weeks early we hadn't even started the process. It was no problem though as Henry and I met with a social worker at the hospital about a week after Travis was born and everything was taken care of. Of course I had my own medical bills from my very expensive, middle of the night, helicopter ride and the c-section, but for Travis I never saw a bill. Everything was taken care of and the only thing I worried about was getting to the appointments. Every developmental follow up, RSV Shot, and coverage for the apnea monitor that he was on for 4 months was covered. Henry and I didn't take advantage of the system. It helped us when we needed it. We probably would have qualified for WIC and food stamps, but we really didn't need it and I never wanted to abuse the system. We didn't even get health insurance for Henry and I because we only needed it for Travis.
Fast forward 1 year, we had moved to Arizona and I had started work at Discover with full benefits. I was feeling pretty dang awesome considering that everything was falling together so well. Of course we struggled. Henry worked 3 jobs while going to school full time (don't ask me how he did it, because it was insane). But we just made it work. We hardly ever used our private insurance, really only for Travis's well visits and if Henry or I got sick with a cold that we couldn't shake.
So now, in the past year and a half that I've really needed our health insurance with Vanessa, it has been the most stressful experience imaginable. The bills were so overwhelming that I couldn't even look at them, so eventually most of them went into default. I've been able to catch up in the past 6 months, but what I don't get is how I could have managed it better with a micro-preemie. I went back to work 4 weeks after having her, and spent every waking hour split between the hospital, work and home. It was exhausting enough to keep up with my regular bills, let alone new ones that I didn't understand. And then, 3 months after Vanessa came home, Travis broke his arm. 2 months later, Vanessa got RSV. Bills, bills, bills... And all I can think is if I was still on state health insurance, these wouldn't be things I would have ever worried about. I wouldn't have freaked out on the drive to the hospital that Travis was at about how much this was going to set us back. I wouldn't have waited until Vanessa was limp in our arms from RSV to get her to urgent care. My mind would have been exactly where it should have been, focusing on the health and well being of my kids.
It's so frustrating. To add insult to injury, at the end of 2012 my doctor recommended that Vanessa get a second season of RSV shots because she had gotten the virus over the summer. He had to send a letter and basically beg/borrow/steal to get the insurance to cover the $5000 shot that has to be delivered monthly. Our insurance covered it, probably angry at the fact that they had to pay for her to spend a week in the hospital over RSV which probably cost them a pretty penny. But my luck would have it that January 1st we got a new insurance plan. Start over. When the clinic called to set up my Vanessa's appointment for her RSV shot I explained my concern that the doctor had not sent the letter to the new insurance, so we should wait. The clinic said "oh no, don't you worry, Blue Cross/Blue Shield is on automatic approval".... Wait, WHAT? You would've thought I had won the lotto for how excited I was, only to find out a month later that the shot wasn't covered. $5000... I don't even know what to say. I almost cried on the phone today with the doctors office, the clinic, the insurance and the pharmacy that supplies the shots. I spent an hour on hold with all those places just to be given the run around. I'm trying to not lose hope and I know it will all work out in the end, but I just can't stop comparing this to Travis. Travis, who got the entire season of RSV shots and the only thing I had to do was schedule the appointment.
How is that fair?
No comments:
Post a Comment