The Venting Thread

[AmLitHist]

Whine away all you want--foot problems are by far the worst as you have to walk around on contraptions that limit your ability to stand or walk normally.

Thanks for the permission to whine.  While there are far more critical problems and things that other people have to deal with--and I truly DO feel for them--mine is an aggravation, and it's wearying.  I'm exhausted every evening from having to drag myself about, watch every step I take, and so on. Plus, I've tended toward being a klutz since I was a kid, even without the added adventure of having a big old foot to manage.

Flip flops and crutches?  I could hurt myself just thinking about it, let alone trying it!  LOL!

[mamselle]

One of my students had to have some foot surgery recently, and said, "The most tiring thing is having to think every time I take a step how I'm going to put that foot down and what I can do so it might not hurt as much. In fact, it's tiring just thinking about where to put my feet, every single step of the way."

M.

[clean]

It has been a pretty expensive day!

In the morning I went to Verizon to upgrade my phones.  One is a flip phone that is my 'home phone number' on all my accounts, but is 3 G.  I recently got a note that 3G was not much longer for this world.

My Iphone 6 Plus is now old enough that it no longer gets updates.  Same with my Ipad Mini.

So I decided that the day had arrived to upgrade to a new iphone and ipad.  I opted for a used Iphone 11 pro, and a new (backordered) Ipad Mini 6. 

All fine and dandy, but after all of the paperwork and all, and then lunch, I got an email that my credit card thought it was a fraudulent charge and denied it!  I had to use another card.  However, I m not sure that everything went through correctly.  The online receipt is showing the LARGE payment, but also shows that the phone had a $0. price.  I suppose I will have to go to the store and have them print me an actual receipt with the actual values!  I dont want to get billed for this thing after paying for it up front!

THEN!!!  The day was not over!  I was trying to confirm travel plans when my computer said something like ":)  We have encountered an error and need to restart" 
It shut down, but would not restart!! 

After waiting and waiting, I tried Cntrl ALT DEL (nothing), and I held the power button a few times.  Still nothing.

After an hour with Costco Support (as the computer was just at 1 year old), we diagnosed a hard disk failure!! 


So I am without my laptop, for who knows how long???

What a day!

[AmLitHist]

The Saga of the Foot continues. It still hurts like the devil, and the torturous new brace has only made it even worse, not better. And now:

I can't bear to review the details (and nobody cares anyway), but after a week of the doctor's office arguing with Cigna, the woman at the doc's office told me this morning that the insurance has flatly denied my pre-cert request for an MRI, with "no appeals available." Or rather, they might OK it, if it's medically necessary after six months under treatment.  (For those playing along at home, that would be June 7, at the earliest.)

Of course, appropriate treatment would involve surgery to re-attach and/or repair damage to the tendon and/or bone, but the need and nature of the surgery needs to be determined by. . . an MRI. 

Cigna says they'd pay for PT [but in the past, they also dispute this tx; and I'm not wild about paying a PT to make things hurt worse, particularly since the doc said PT isn't appropriate for what's going on inside my foot].

Cigna will also pay for opioids for pain, which I've been avoiding since I have that nasty habit of, you know, working (and having to be un-loopy enough to drive there).

So essentially Cigna is telling me to keep hobbling around and hurting like hell and doing hell-only-knows what further damage for six months, and maybe (if I haven't committed harakiri with a butter knife before then) they might pay for. . . . something.  Or not.

Of course, they have no qualms about collecting the $600 out of my check (or the nearly $1000 my employer pays) in premiums every month--no six-month waiting for that.

I'm only half-joking when trying to convince ALHS to give me a couple of his Vicodins and then slam a cinder block on my foot so I can go through the ER and get the g-ddamned MRI.

I've really been doing much better with curbing my use of profanity during the pandemic.  That shit just went out the f-ing window today, though. Through most of our various dramas over the years, I've been able to laugh at the absurdity, at least to some degree. Maybe it's all caught up to me, or maybe it's because I'm hurting, but I can't laugh this off.

Sorry for the long vent, and thanks for the chance to get it out of my system. 

[mamselle]

Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

M.

[clean]

here, we have a staff/faculty rep to the state level HR group. The system VP heads the committee.  SEBAC (system employee benefits advisory committee).  This would be something that you would report to your university level SEBAC rep (being sure to CC the local HR folks), and ask that the VP discuss with the CIGNA rep.  As you said, it is the university that is paying for this, CIGNA only handles the paperwork and writes the checks. 

At least here, that is how it works. We are self insured, with BCBS administering the account details.

So do not be afraid to 'take this to a higher authority' and see if you can move the ball that way.

(works best in the months before the RFP (request for proposals) is sent out where there is bidding by the competing compaines)

[smallcleanrat]

Much sympathy to AmLitHist. Such an extremely frustrating situation to be in.

Having to wait months for treatment (or even an evaluative procedure like an MRI) and being left to grapple with the question of how to stick it out until then. And the fact that this is considered business as usual and that the doctors/insurance companies are seemingly indifferent to the impact your injury is having on your life just makes it even more infuriating.

I'm really sorry you're having to deal with this.

[Langue_doc]

The Saga of the Foot continues. It still hurts like the devil, and the torturous new brace has only made it even worse, not better. And now:

I can't bear to review the details (and nobody cares anyway), but after a week of the doctor's office arguing with Cigna, the woman at the doc's office told me this morning that the insurance has flatly denied my pre-cert request for an MRI, with "no appeals available." Or rather, they might OK it, if it's medically necessary after six months under treatment.  (For those playing along at home, that would be June 7, at the earliest.)

Of course, appropriate treatment would involve surgery to re-attach and/or repair damage to the tendon and/or bone, but the need and nature of the surgery needs to be determined by. . . an MRI. 

Cigna says they'd pay for PT [but in the past, they also dispute this tx; and I'm not wild about paying a PT to make things hurt worse, particularly since the doc said PT isn't appropriate for what's going on inside my foot].

Cigna will also pay for opioids for pain, which I've been avoiding since I have that nasty habit of, you know, working (and having to be un-loopy enough to drive there).

So essentially Cigna is telling me to keep hobbling around and hurting like hell and doing hell-only-knows what further damage for six months, and maybe (if I haven't committed harakiri with a butter knife before then) they might pay for. . . . something.  Or not.

Of course, they have no qualms about collecting the $600 out of my check (or the nearly $1000 my employer pays) in premiums every month--no six-month waiting for that.

I'm only half-joking when trying to convince ALHS to give me a couple of his Vicodins and then slam a cinder block on my foot so I can go through the ER and get the g-ddamned MRI.

I've really been doing much better with curbing my use of profanity during the pandemic.  That shit just went out the f-ing window today, though. Through most of our various dramas over the years, I've been able to laugh at the absurdity, at least to some degree. Maybe it's all caught up to me, or maybe it's because I'm hurting, but I can't laugh this off.

Sorry for the long vent, and thanks for the chance to get it out of my system.

This is outrageous. Contact your elected representatives, state and federal, throw a hissy fit (in writing), and remind them that they cannot take your vote for granted.

[mamselle]

Coming back to ask, "Where is your PCP in this?"

As in, you said your doctor's office has submitted the requests, been turned down, etc., but does that just mean the desk assistants have continued to submit the request until the 'final answer' was received, or has your MD actually written a strongly-enough-worded letter to blister the wires and get them to see the essential nature of this request?

I agree your coverage experts should also be on the case, but your MD has to push back, call in some favors, or do something--this is your long-term care and ambulatory capacity they're playing with.

This is probably also another case where 'capacitance' or 'caps' come into play.

The underlying issue could well be that the hospital/clinic/office/whatever has 'used up' the number of MRIs their payments 'cover' for the year, and this is as likely being denied because they'd have to go up to the next level of coverage to get it covered. This is the dread 'capacitance' that became so popular in the 1990s as a way of giving insurers deniability without offering much superficial recourse (and thus saving them money, of course).

At some point, someone has to either threaten the possibility of a suit to the insurance company for poor quality of care/negligence, etc., or point out that their good reputation will be at stake once people start talking about their lack of humane attention to patients' health needs--i.e., start threatening to sort-of blackmail them--because their denial is outrageous.

As much as your PCP probably already has to do, this is in part on them. You know enough about your own care and needs you could possibly draft a letter suggesting some of the potential for damage, worry about ongoing loss of mobility, etc.--those of us who write or teach writing for a living can be quite persuasive when we get started, you know?

If you then used those phrases in an email to your PCP they might catch on and pick them up (saving them time...and getting your points across).

An "I'm concerned about..." letter might start things moving, in other words.... 

Just mes deux centimes.

M.

[Langue_doc]

mamselle has a good point about getting your PCP (or the podiatrist) involved. I would suggest asking the physician who prescribed the MRI to resubmit the prescription with a note to the effect that it is urgent and that delays would result in ramifications not just for the patient but also for the insurer as there would be consequential injuries or other problems that would need to be treated. Remind the insurer (or the doctor) that you absolutely need to know what the problem is (with your foot) and the treatment required for addressing this problem, hence the urgency for the MRI.

ETA Treatments are coded, so your physician should know the code or codes to use to indicate a medically urgent diagnostic test.

[mamselle]

+1,000

M.

[RatGuy]

I am teaching a study abroad class this summer. The company that facilitates the logistics of the trip, especially the travel and lodging schedules, has informed me that the deadline to make those reservations is fast approaching. They've also informed me that the contract with them hasn't been signed. None of my emails to my contact in the university's study abroad program has gotten a response. Indeed, some of the questions about crosslisting and registration have also gone unanswered. Students are concerned their trip will be cancelled, parents are concerned that we're not handling this properly, and the logistics company has issued a deadline. I go over to the Study Abroad office, and the admin's repsonse to me is "yeah, I saw those emails. I decide who and what to answer. Your emails aren't on my list." When I tell her that I'm being told that if the contract isn't signed by Feb 11, then the other folks withdraw (by then it's too late to schedule) and that the class will be cancelled. For what it's worth, the cost of travel, room, and board has already increased due to this delay. As in, increased by more than a thousand over the initial quote. The admin says, "Then I'll sign it on Feb 11. And in the future, you'll get an email from me when I want you to get an email from me."

So flabbergasted. Won't be going through this process again.

[Puget]

I am teaching a study abroad class this summer. The company that facilitates the logistics of the trip, especially the travel and lodging schedules, has informed me that the deadline to make those reservations is fast approaching. They've also informed me that the contract with them hasn't been signed. None of my emails to my contact in the university's study abroad program has gotten a response. Indeed, some of the questions about crosslisting and registration have also gone unanswered. Students are concerned their trip will be cancelled, parents are concerned that we're not handling this properly, and the logistics company has issued a deadline. I go over to the Study Abroad office, and the admin's repsonse to me is "yeah, I saw those emails. I decide who and what to answer. Your emails aren't on my list." When I tell her that I'm being told that if the contract isn't signed by Feb 11, then the other folks withdraw (by then it's too late to schedule) and that the class will be cancelled. For what it's worth, the cost of travel, room, and board has already increased due to this delay. As in, increased by more than a thousand over the initial quote. The admin says, "Then I'll sign it on Feb 11. And in the future, you'll get an email from me when I want you to get an email from me."

So flabbergasted. Won't be going through this process again.

Wow, who is this person's boss? I'd be looping in my chair and having them go to up the chain of command with this.

[AmLitHist]

Wow, RatGuy. Just infuriating, I'm sure.

Thanks for the various advice on my insurance problems, everyone.  I've done all those already (i.e., doctor has written, provided all records electronically, personally called by phone, etc. to the insurer). I've put in a request to my HR, where my usual go-to people have all quit, and am waiting to hear back from whoever has now taken that job.  And my union is getting me a contact with a lawyer to start with a nasty phone call to Cigna.

Of course, everything and everybody in the region is shut down today, and likely the rest of the week, for the ice/sleet/snow event.

Plus, our power was out for about 3 hours this morning (due to the ice and wind). At least it's back on now.   

[downer]

I host my slides and audio material on my own site, to those with the right URLs. When I teach online I provide links to it.

One school I teach at seems to want me to not only to teach their students, but also to use my online courses as a template for other people to teach the same course. Not only that, but they want me to develop the template myself.

Unfortunately for them, I'm not prepared for my own work to be used that way unless they pay me extra money. It's very easy for me to cut off access to the materials I have developed.

I guess we may be parting ways soon.