Doctor's Billing Departments and other evil institutions

You know, today had been a pretty good day. Got a few things accomplished at work, nothing major came up to monopolize my time. I attended my first T'ai Chi class at lunch time, which was more enjoyable than I had thought (more on that in a moment) and I got to exchange several fun emails with my chat buddy Nicki. Even the commute home wasn't too painful. Picked up the 8 year old from day care with minimal fuss and made it home before 5:15. Not bad. Then I went to get the mail.

Now normally I really enjoy picking up my mail. It's like getting presents 6 days a week. You just never know what might be in that box! Even the bills aren't too bad, mainly because as a household we tend to live within our means and don't have trouble paying them. But oh ho, the surprises in store for me today!

I sorted the mail, threw out the junk and then set to opening what needs to be dealt with, mainly the bills. I started with a bill from my husband's orthopedic surgeon. Nearly 2 years ago he had surgery to repair a burst disc in his neck - can you say OUCH? He amazes me to this day with his ability to deal with the pain that he was in all day every day for 2 months leading up to that procedure. But the surgeon did an amazing job and he's completely healed today. In January he slipped and fell in our icy parking lot and broke his wrist in 2 places. He had it looked at by an ER doc who strongly recommended he have it seen by an ortho specialist.

Our first thoughts - let's go back to the doc who did such a great job on your neck! Great! Appointment was made and kept - more x-rays taken. Yep. It's broken. Time for a big 'ol itchy cast. Damn. We were hoping for a splint. But hey, it'll be fine in 6 weeks or so. This is a good doc! Then the hubby gets to the reception area to take care of his co-pay. Here's where the story gets fun.

Lo and behold, as of 1 January 2009, they are no longer participating with our insurance company! Excuse me? Say what? But not to worry, the doc wants to hang onto as many of those patients as possible, so he'll work to "take care of you". Well, at this point it's too damn late anyway. The treatment is done, the cast is on, we're in this for the long haul. But hello? Could someone have told hubby about this when he made the appointment? Oh, by the way, we don't accept your insurance anymore, are you sure you want to be seen? Or even a letter at the beginning of the year letting us know about the change in status.

But no, not a word until he had already been treated and we were on the hook for the bill. Assholes. But hey, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the doctor really will take care of us. Hubby had been a patient for over a year.

That bubble was completely burst today when I opened that envelope. Please pay immediately, $1,146.45. WTF?! Seriously? OMFG! That is not "taking care of us", that's screwing us sideways for daring to walk in the door without an accepted insurance plan. Holy Jesus Christ on a Stick! Unfortunately, we're pretty sure we have absolutely no recourse in this. We do have an annual deductible we need to meet before our insurance will cover out of network doctors at their promised 80%. But hubby will make some phone calls tomorrow anyway. I'm not holding out much hope. Again....assholes!

I called hubby to vent for a bit, but probably should have just saved it until he gets home from work, because now he's all stirred up too. Meh, misery loves company.

Right about now I'm contemplating trying out the warm up and relaxation techniques I learned in T'ai Chi earlier today. I think I need them. I know I need them. Which brings me back to T'ai Chi. I think this class is going to be really good for me. I need to find ways to reduce my stress (who doesn't right?) and this seems like a good way to do it. Up until now I've trained in 4 different styles of martial arts: ATA Tae Kwon Do, Traditional WTF Tae Kwon Do, Shorin Ryu Karate, and a free style Karate / Tae Kwon Do the whole family is currently studying. All together, I have about 5 years of martial arts training, even making it to 1st Degree Black Belt in ATA Tae Kwon Do. But don't ask me to do anything more advanced that a side or front kick, as that was nearly 6 years ago.

T'ai Chi is opposite of all those styles. Where they focus on speed and short, powerful punches and kicks, T'ai Chi focuses on flowing, fluid movements and softness that ultimately builds to a fair amount of power, but in a totally different way. I'm looking forward to balancing my martial arts training with this new addition and hope to learn how to relax and flow, both in body and mind.

I still need to blog about the 17th C. artifacts and remains son and I saw at the Museum of Natural History last month. Maybe tomorrow. Right now I need to find my happy place.