I am very proud to be an American. I am grateful for the freedoms that are mine and especially that I am allowed to practice my religion without persecution, that people still talk about prayer and God in politics (not everyone, of course) and that for the most part, my rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are intact.
That being said, the past few days have made me grumpy. I guess some people take advantage of the system, but I don't classify myself as one of those people. I pretty much consider myself a bill-paying, law-abiding, hardworking citizen. So why....
- Although the hospital we went to for my emergency room visit last month takes our insurance, it turns out the silly doctors don't. Of course, I was flat on my back, dizzy and basically passed out while DH was not even in the ER, he was wrestling with the kids - so I guess I wasn't smart enough when the nice doctor showed up to remember to say, "Wait! Do you take my insurance? Oh, you don't? Then can you please leave and let me wait in complete agony for another three hours until a doctor who takes our insurance shows up?" I think it should be a law that if the hospital accepts your insurance, all the physicians in the ER should as well. It seems kind of unethical to expect someone who can barely see a foot in front of her to read the fine print and ask every stinking person who comes in if the $500 billion dollars they'll be charging will be covered with her insurance!!! So now we have approx $1000 we have to pay the docs since they aren't participating providers. DH thinks we should argue with them. We'll see.
- I should NOT have to call the 1-800 number four or more times just to cancel a subscription to something! The first two times, I told them I thought I had already canceled, they asked me for a cancellation code (which of course I didn't have) and then proceeded to talk about all the benefits of the subscription. Then the lady said, "Keeping in mind all the benefits of this service, I am going to keep your membership active. You have a nice day!" and click! She was gone. Finally I got smart and used my mean voice. Except the problem I have is that when I get mean, I cry at the same time. The emotions are tied together and it definitely makes me less than credible. The final call, I finally managed to be rude and obnoxious without a tear and we FINALLY are done with it!
- How come I pay my bill on time every month and the one time I pay the day it's due at 5:05pm, I get hit with a $20 late fee? My favorite credit card (starts with a D) doesn't even charge me a late fee until like 15 days late. Neither does my mortgage company. And so why does the $100 phone bill charge me $20 for being five minutes late? It doesn't reek of customer appreciation, that's for sure. Maybe if I was a habitual 5-minute-late-bill-payer, that would make sense. But it rarely happens. (And yes, I know I was late, I probably deserve it, but it still doesn't make me happy or make sense.)
- Our insurance company, based on the facts from DH and the other guy and the pictures DH took, is convinced the accident he had last week was the other guy's fault. Of course, the guy's insurance is convinced it was DH's fault. Now we have to wait while they battle it out (because neither one wants to pay), which could take who knows how long. And what do we do about the deductible in the meantime? And how long will the car be in the shop? Deep philosophical questions.
(On another note, I'm feeling better. Thanks for all the kind words and sympathy for my last post. I think you're all right - if I didn't have days like that, I might never enjoy the good days!)
Comments
we pay 190 a month for 70/30 coverage. not including a 15$ co-pay. It really does make me have to second guess whether or not my kids are "sick enough" to warrent a visit. we would be out 250 a month for 80/20, and 400 for 90/10. Maybe if we made 100k a year we could swing that. And i've heard that 90% of bankruptsies are medical bill related. Treat my cancer and financially ruin my family, or just let it take it's course and only leave them with the 3000$ bill for a burial. hmmmm Somedays i would just go.
And while i am ranting about ins. It's a good thing #4 gets SSI because she has that pesky "pre existing condition" that makes her uninsurable.
PS: While all insurance co. are blood sucking monsters in my opinion, I would sure rather have my agency to choose one of those than pay nearly 40% income tax like some presidential candidates suggest (i won't name any names - but it rhymes with OSAMA). That's my rant for you!
And on the accident...isn't it up to the cop to decide who is at fault? That's not the job of the insurer. They can dicker over how much to pay, but they should have to go by who was cited. Good Luck! I'm interested to hear the outcome.
Good luck with all those problems. If I were closer, I'd make sure I had chocolate and chips for you when you got home from YW! Chocolate for me...chips for you! :)