You know how when things are going pretty well and you're feeling kind of happy and sort of optimistic and more or less at peace, even though you know from previous experience that it's not going to last, you still feel punched in the gut when your optimism gets yanked away? No? Just me then?
You'll remember my little (okay, big) hissy this time last month about the fuckwits at D's doctor's office and how it had made me determined to switch his care elsewhere. Finally, at the beginning of this week, his caseworker L and I connected, and she told me she had, after some message-leaving back and forth, spoken to someone at the office of the MD she wanted to refer us to, and that they were taking new patients, but wouldn't book an appointment with her, that it had to be made with the patient/family. And she apologized for not calling me earlier, but she'd been out sick for a week. So I called Tuesday and left a message. A few hours later, the doctor's secretary calls me back (and I'm like, yay! same day returned call!) and asks me for his insurance information. The insurance coordinator has to verify his coverage before they'll set up an appointment. But someone will call me back. Very pleasant woman. I am psyched. I am hopeful.
I wait all day Wednesday and all day Thursday for a return call. Today I call them again, and the receptionist tells me that they are overwhelmed with an influx of new patient referrals, and it's probably still being processed. I am mollified. And still hopeful.
I come home today to find that D has received a letter from them, saying, oh, so sorry, we are all booked up and we cannot take you as a patient. Try again in a few months.
You know, if you don't want to take new MassHealth patients because you don't get paid enough, then fucking say so. Except, you know, you can't, because that's illegal if you take MassHealth at all. You can't triage patients by how much their insurance pays. But you explain to me, dear reader, why else we didn't get a "sorry, can't fit you in" until after they found out what kind of coverage he has. No way to prove it, but yeah, they suck.
And we're back at square one. I wanna cry with frustration. Four and a half years of this shit and sometimes I'm not sure I can keep continuing to deal.
This is not me complaining. This is just me being very tired.
I'll be better tomorrow. Or at least I'll shut the fuck up about it.
xoxo
2 comments:
How's one unqualified hug (because this does suck) and one self-interested perk, because I'm changing jobs and shit like this may possibly fall into my space of professional jurisdiction.
Just take the hug for now. New kids on the block don't get much attention. All the same, I'm listening.
Thanks :-) And congrats on the new job. I read your blog entry about it.
I know that were I to say anything about them rejecting D because of what insurance he has, what they would counter with is that, no, it's because I told them we wanted to change psychiatrists, and they have to give priority to people who haven't been seen by anyone yet. Or something like that. But they would be lying liars, IMO.
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