The same old song...

[biowham]

A lot of y'all will get a tiny, wry kick out of this.

I got a call from my neurosurgeon's office today. I had an MRI done Monday on c and t spines. First question: Did you get both studies done? Yes, I did, but apparently, the radiology people sent over only the tspine. So, she's going to call to get the cspine report, too. Then, she schedules an appt for me on Dec 23 to "talk about my results." I ask, "Does it look about the same?" (because my fervent hope is that the tspine herniations have remained stable and I won't have to be fileted to fix them). She says, "Oh...I didn't read it at ALL. It was just on my desk." Then she steps up the perky. "You'll hear all about your results at your appt. If there are any changes, Dr. S will let you know then."

Ha. Can you believe that people would have to wait more than TWO WEEKS to find out something like that?

Anyway...I've got my CD, and the radiology people put my report in the mail, so actually...I should know long before the 23rd what the report says. But that's thanks only to my own insistence.

Isn't it crazy that we have to jump through such hoops just to see what's happening with OUR OWN BODIES?

As an added bonus, the radiology people have, for the last year, been filing the MRI sedation for me and my youngest son (he has a Chiari 1 malformation) with the wrong billing code, and the claims have been denied. How can the largest radiological association in TOWN not know the right billing code when filing with Blue Cross? Now, I have to shuttle between them and insurance to make sure everything gets fixed. Why do we have to do everyone's jobs for them?

Bio

[Wobbly]

I know right where your at... it's horrible when they won't say anything...morstly if there are NO changes... I have waiting for results...gotten a volunteer driver to drive me an hour away to see a specialist to get results..waited in the waiting room for an hour with the volunteer driver... to hear 5 min worth of No changes... uuuuuurggggghhhhhhhh

It can drive you nuts... I asked them if it was necessary for me to make all these arrangements...they said OH yes...so I thought of course...some results...ha.

well,,, enough about me..

I hope you do find some answers and I hope your mail is quick, so you dont' have to wait too long for some of them...even if you don't understand them all...it might help abit... am I rambling..??  sorry...
and you insurance thing...what a pain that must be....

take care and update us when you get the results...

wobbly
undx

[sllowe]

Stepped up her perky...LOL!

[sllowe]

Oh yea, as long as we keep doing their leg work, they will keep on dragging theirs! I hear you girl.  Have had to do all that too so many times over.  But if we don't, then we and the Drs don't have what we need.

Ooooh Goodie! The reports are on their way! Yay! How far away is this place? Close? In town mail?
Hope the imaging is tells the story
-shell

[Fluffysmom]

Yup, small wry kick, small dry chuckle, shake of head.

At least we've learned to request our own results, pretty much understand them, and can help the uninitiated jump through the hoops!

I wonder if the largest radiological association in town hired some people that padded their resume and didn't actually KNOW coding?  Or if Blue Cross changed some billing codes and the coders didn't use the new information?

I've had to fight similar battles; the insurance says it's the imaging center's fault, and vice versa.  I try to remain calm.  I keep thorough records.  One time it came down to the fact that my insurance company records their calls; one of their reps told me that there would be know extra charge to get a hip injection out of network (the book wasn't clear).  I got a bill for a $100 co-pay, which I called and contested.  I was told OF COURSE there was a co-pay out of network; it was done in a hospital.  I told them I had checked with them, and gave them the date.

I got a call back that they were paying the $100.

Another one was an imaging center that said they didn't contract with my insurance, but my insurance paid another more complex procedure a week later in full.  It took several calls, and the insurance rep. e-mailed their contract to the imaging company, showing that I was indeed covered, and that was $85 I didn't have to pay.

I had an out-of-network chiropractor that billed my insurance three times for EACH visit, using different codes to maximize what she could bill me and have insurance pay.  I got a friend that has an insurance license to talk with the chiropractor about fraud, and I never got another bill.  And the B***H was in a hurry one day,didn't look at my chart,  adjusted my with force, and set me back into pain, undoing all the weeks of work that I had to pay 100's of dollars for!  I saw her once the next day, to let her know what she had done (I was in shock the day she did it), and to get ultrasound, gentle pressure adjustment, soft tissue work, etc.

Then those bloody bills started coming, with the EOBs from the insurance company!

Oops, sorry Bio, didn't mean to use your post for my rant.  It is a rant-y subject!  

Craziness!

We should put a link to a release of information form for people to take with them to their appointments, so they are prepared to demand their chart notes, test results, etc.


I hope you don't have to be fileted, Bio!  

Kathy