Many people gripe and complain about insurance companies, and sometimes I can understand why. But let me tell you why I am L-O-V-I-N-G my insurance company right now:
Some of you may remember the last minute issue I had in January for the pre-authorization on my IVF procedure. For those of you who are not aware of what I am talking of, let me fill you in. We were all set to attempt our first round of IVF for Feb of this year. I had faxed the pre authorization form to my Doctors office for them to fill out and then send on to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
The time drew near for me to start on the Lupron (the first steps/meds taken in an IVF cycle) and I still had not received my approval from the insurance company. I finally called them and was told that they had never received a pre auth request from my doctors office. The docs office then claimed they had never received it from me when I faxed it (though I DID have the fax confirmation that I had received saying it went thru to them). The Docs office scrambled, the insurance company scrambled, and at the last minute, I received the OK to go ahead with the procedure.
Fast forward to July of this year: the EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED! I faxed the pre auth form to the docs office. Only this time, I got smart and called to confirm that they had received it. They had and said they would fill it out and fax it to BC/BS of Mass right away. Weeks go by. No word from the ins. company. I'm starting my cycle. I should be starting on the Lupron in the next 10-15 days. Still no word. I called the insurance company to see what the status is on my request. Surprise, surprise! They never received a request from my doctors office! Now I'm furious! Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me! I'm looking on the Internet to find a new fertility clinic. Lucky for my Doctor, there aren't any closer to us than Indy other than him. Guess I'm stuck with his incompetent staff! So, I call the docs office back. Again, they insist they never got the fax I sent....which I point out is funny since they confirmed they got it the day I sent it, and, bummer for them, I wrote down the day, time, and person I talked to so now they cant worm out of it! SO....I'm not sure what they did on their end: beg, grovel, bribe, threaten?!?! but some how they got the approval from my insurance company in 24 hours! Unheard of! A record! It usually takes 6 to 8 weeks!
So....we are back on track for IVF the end of August.
That being said, I have complete trust in my Doctor, but obviously not in his staff any longer! When I called them to see why my insurance company didn't receive the request, they hem hawed around about it, tried to blame it on me, and made a myriad of excuses before finally accepting that it MIGHT be their fault. AGAIN. I love Dr. Bopp, and he has been good to us for years now. But I do think if this IVF doesn't work, and we continue to seek treatment, I may look into a new fertility clinic. I cannot handle bad customer service, nor can I handle a company CONSISTENTLY loosing my personal information time and again! Who knows where it went!!!
On the plus side, KUDOS for Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Mass for pulling thru not once but twice! Please take note that the Massachusetts part of that company is very important. I only have infertility coverage because my company's US headquarters are in Mass, and Mass is one of a few states that requires infertility coverage! See, the liberals are good for one thing, at least!
Alls well that ends well, right!?!
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