I know I was very long winded so it was probably easy to miss but i did say all of the things I just posted upthread. And look I don’t want surgery either. I would prefer a PT outcome or really any other outcome besides that. I’m literally terrified of having some kind of a surgery that could permanently fuck me up. I can’t live like this forever either though.
Without the MRI how can they determine the severity of the injury/degeneration or whatever? This isn’t something that has come and gone this is something that when sober has been persistent pain for months/years now. It isn’t the only reason I drink and I am not blaming it all on that but it is one of the few things I can do that doesn’t make me feel physically like total shit even if it is just for a few hours. I’m scared I am going to drink myself to death also.
As a backup, you could walk into an ER and say exactly what your last post said about neck pain and not being able to hold something and get an mri there
Sorry you’re dealing with such a miserable experience, Wichita. Nothing is more frustrating than your insurance company making medical decisions instead of your care team who is treating you. I sincerely hope you can get a helpful resolution and start the healing process soon.
Ya I’d be fine paying for the MRI myself tbh if i knew later treatment would be covered. I’m worried if i get off the approved insurance plan path I’ll get fucked over later. Not sure if that is rational or not.
This works a lot more often than you might think. Good Luck.
“Peer to peer” is often a gross misrepresentation of what happens sometimes. It’s not uncommon for the insurance company’s “peer” to be a doc who isn’t in the same specialty or even a relevant specialty. But at least they will speak doctor, and often that’s good enough.
Classic milking the clock move. Had this happen on a brain MRI that was absolutely necessary in my case. No denials, no p2ps, none of that shit. Just straight up knew they could drag ass for a few weeks and make me switch doctors, get a new order, etc. I did and it was instantly approved, but only after a 3-4 month delay. Good attrition trick b/c a good % of people either give up, lose coverage, or die.
Yeah you aren’t supposed to know, because fuck you that’s why. I was just as annoyed as Wichita and called around to shop prices. Terrible idea. Not only is the pricing opaque with a huge spread for the same set of codes, the people who take these calls are generally enormous fucking assholes who act like you’re asking for the secret pass phrase to the orgy at the Eyes Wide Shut mansion.
this is absolutely one of the most insane aspects of our healthcare system, front offices are absolutely infested with these tinpot dictator shitbags. Imagine if you were buying a car and they A) made you fill out 19 pages of paper before they’d even talk to you, B) treated you like a piece of shit the whole time after that, and then C) when you go back the next day, you gotta fill out 18 pieces of paper before they yell at you again.
Like, I don’t expect every single human being I interact with to be a obsequious butt kisser (I am in a couple of elite frequent flyer forums/facebook groups etc and people LOSE THEIR MINDS because a ticket agent DIDN’T SMILE enough or a flight attendant CHATTED WITH HER COWORKER WHEN MY WINE WAS HALF EMPTY, in fact I have a reputation in some of these groups of being TOO MEAN to these miserable fucks), I don’t need the office manager at my PCP’s office to bow and scrape, I just need them to be competent and NOT ACTIVELY HOSTILE and trying to keep me from getting what I’m trying to give them money for.
I won’t pretend thats not understandably frustrating, but aren’t most of those people underpaid workers locked in a shitty service situation to maximize profits for shareholders and executives? Are the individual front line administrative workers designing these obstructionist forms and processes?
Oh I had a GREAT frontline office interaction last week and totally forgot to share it here!!
My GI dr wants me to get a certain lab test done, but wants me to see my PCP beforehand so he can add more tests if he wants to and can consult on trying to solve my current issue. I call to schedule and am told his next available appointment is Sept 28th. The conversation goes like this:
Me: “ok. I’d really like to get in sooner if possible as we are trying to get to the bottom of this issue that is negatively affecting me every day. I’m totally ok with seeing one of the other providers (I’ve seen three others at this office before) or PAs if there is availability sooner. Sept 28th is a little far away for somethingI’d like to resolve asap.”
Scheduler: “well, its two months away. And if you think about how fast this year is going so far thats really not that long.”
Yes. She really said that in earnest. I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle her.
Anyway, my appointment is scheduled for Sept 28th. And any testing they want done likely will get denied by my overly expensive insurance. Great fucking Healthcare system we have.
One thing that has crossed my mind is how much worse this is going to be in the future to deal with than it already is now. Both because permanent Republican rule will make it worse and because everyone will be older and likely require more/more complex care.
As a bankruptcy attorney I have talked to hundreds if not thousands of people specifically bankrupted by their insurance company and the current health care system. I still had this “it won’t happen with MY insurance” mentality if we are being honest. And maybe it won’t. But dealing with this does bring some clarity to just how messed up everything is.
As things stand now, my understanding is that they can’t come after your family if you have medical debt and die.
Is this correct?
Asking because I also have a shoulder injury that I’ve been dealing with. Not currently insured. I suspect I have a torn rotator cuff but also having to consider some worse scenarios.