Breathe deep - let it out and count your blessings, Kel!
####
Paperwork: Lately, My life has been bombarded with paperwork.
New car insurance paperwork - Return phone calls taking longer than they should, which in turn holds up the whole car purchasing process.
Things like new health insurance paperwork, which has resulted in me spending an inordinate amount of time:
1. Calling up my DME companies, pharmacy & Doctors offices with new insurance card ID numbers and the likes there of
2. Paperwork as in figuring out how why I now must pay 167.50 every 3 months for test strips and close to $300 every 3 months for pump supplies when I used to pay zero.
3. New insurance means my Dr. MUST write written preauthorization for the 1 name brand drug I take instead of it automatically being approved.
On the plus side, my monthly health insurance premium is half of what it used to be - And I’m so grateful for that, I really am.
But, my deductible is now much higher, which leaves me feeling like the three steps I’ve taken to move forward are immediately followed by two steps back.
And I’m STILL waiting for said insurance (old and new are from the same company) to pay claims from 2012 - Don’t even get me started.
Still - It's better than it was - I need to focus on the better.
Finally getting a new car is a great thing, a needed thing and I'm grateful for being able to get one.
Health insurance is major necessity that I’m grateful to have and be able to pay for.
Another work contract on the horizon makes me feel good in all dimensions.
Why am I writing about this?
Mostly to keep myself from going crazy from all the paper work - And to remind myself that the "Road to better' isn't always a smooth one, but it's totally worth it.
Sometimes we just need to remember that sometimes the lesson's in the journey that directly ollows the paperwork ;)
Posts
3 comments:
The insurance thing is a royal hassle. I've had 4 different insurance plans over the past 6 years and I've been with the same employer the entire time. Deductibles are a strange way of cost sharing in my opinion. However, some employers will assist with what's called an HRA (health reimbursement account), FSA (flexible spending account), or an HSA (healthcare savings account). With an HRA, employers may pick up some of the deductible because it still ends up cheaper for them that way. HSA is a tax-advantaged account where you can put pre-tax money aside for your copays and deductibles, but you can keep the money the following year. FSAs are tax-advantaged plans that enable you to put pretax dollars aside for deductibles and/or co-pays. The downside is they're use-it-or-lose-it, but Congress changed the rules so you can roll over a small amount next year if you haven't used it all. The big hassle with deductibles isn't the cost per se, but the incredible volume of paperwork required of you as a patient to track everything to make sure the insurance companies pay what they're responsible for once the deductible has been reached. Its a big hassle. I was fastidious in keeping track of it when I had a very high deductible plan, and by May I ended up meeting my deductible and the insurance paid for most stuff after that, though every plan is different and some have separate deductible amounts for pharmacy, medical care, etc. which is yet something else you have to track of to make sure the insurance company doesn't screw you. But, the bright side is that the Affordable Care Act has brought insurance within many who weren't otherwise able to get it - but its buyer beware. My experience was that I liked United Healthcare best, followed by Aetna, followed by EmblemHealth (NY-only), with Wellpoint/Anthem BC/BS being the worst by all accounts. Anyway, I can totally empathize!!
Can I say congratulations on the new ride? Yay! And I'm right there with you on the health insurance. My co-pays went through the roof this year. Good luck sorting it all out.
I just received a medical bill from 2011!!!
Now that I have a fresh car payment as well I am going to analyze the heck out of that thing to make sure it is correct before I pay one darn cent!
Post a Comment