Health Insurance! (130/365)

Day 130 Happy: Health insurance that actually covers something!

The last time I had to go to the doctor, it was sort of a debacle. I went in because I had a cold that ended up being bronchitis. The doctor asked me how long it had been since I had bloodwork. When I told him that it had been about 4 years, he told me that I needed to have bloodwork done. He asked me if I had breakfast that morning. I said no, he sent me down to the lab and that was that.

A few weeks later, we get a bill for almost $500! Apparently, they coded something wrong, making it look like I ASKED for bloodwork to be done. That was in March, and we are still in the process of getting it fixed. The doctor's office bill is okay now, but we are still waiting to hear back from the lab after everything was re-coded.

So, needless to say, I was a little hesitant about going to the doctor about my big toe that is causing me some trouble. It has been hurting for almost two weeks, and it just isn't getting better on its own, so I decided to go see the doctor.

The morning did not start off well. Marc is sweet, so he found my insurance card yesterday and put it in my wallet. When I went to double check this morning and make sure it was in there, I discovered that it was actually my dental card, instead. Not only did I need my insurance card to show my doctor's office, but I wanted the phone number off the back so that I could call and make sure I wasn't going to have any crazy charges for anything (like x-rays) that I would need to get done. I spent a couple minutes looking for it, but ended up just leaving without it because I didn't want to be late.

My good intentions went to waste, though, because I hit horrible traffic on the way there because of an accident. I called the doctor's office to let them know I was going to be late, and this horrible woman answered the phone and told me I had a 15 minute window to make my appointment or I was going to miss it and still have to pay.

Already frustrated, I started crying. After all, I didn't get up at the crack of dawn and rush around to MISS my appointment. I couldn't even call Marc for comfort, because he had jury duty this morning! When I knew I wasn't going to make it in time, I called back to see if I should just turn around and go home. A nicer lady answered the phone and offered to move my appointment back an hour so that I would have time to make it in. I not only made it, but had time to stop and get a (tall, nonfat, no whip, but still 200 calories) Pumpkin Spice Latte to make me feel a little better.

I got ahold of Marc's mom (also my HR person at work, in charge of all of the insurance stuff) and got the phone number to contact my insurance company. After that, everything was all better. I had x-rays done on my toe (not broken), only had to pay my $30 co-pay, and got a prescription for a steroid to (hopefully) make my toe better. It is so nice to be able to go to the doctor and only pay $30 to have so much stuff done, and make sure that I'm not broken! Marc even got out of jury duty early (he didn't get picked) and came to hang out with me in the waiting room while I waited (for hours) for my x-ray results.

Now I just have to get this foot better! For the wedding, I have to walk down the 'aisle' in the sand. I can't limp down the aisle!