Friday, September 29, 2006

BCBS Anthem sucks

i’m ready to cry.

and i’m pissed.

ok, i know i should be very grateful and thankful that i have health insurance (health insurance that i pay for). i pay for a family plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield. my local plan is Blue Cross Blue Shield Anthem. thousands of doctors where i live have opted not to accept Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance because in many cases they pay half of what Medicare pays. HALF. i can totally understand the doctors’ point of view. Medicare is like WalMart, and you certainly can’t pay the bills with HALF of those rolled back prices.

my ob-gyn let me know in June that he would no longer accept BCBS starting August 9th (unless i was pregnant. in that case he would continue to see me as a patient until delivery). well, i wasn’t pregnant on August 9th, so if i choose to remain a patient with my doctor i have to pay full cost, as though i have no insurance at all. i’m all ready paying for the insurance. maybe i’m just being cheap? effectively, i lost my doctor. i tried to call today for a referral. the bitch receptionist basically told me to find a doctor in the phone book.

i failed to mention that thousands of doctors have left this state, giving up their practices, because the malpractice insurance rates are so high. i believe something like the third highest in the nation? so now out of that dwindling pool of doctors, i am supposed to find one that will take my crappy insurance. heaven forbid i even think of finding a doctor with a decent reputation.

i have very few female friends, even fewer with children, and none that i care to share my news with at this time. i think i’m going to ask for a referral from the women’s clinic where i rented a hospital-grade breast pump. they know my mother there, and i really don’t want to have any sort of conversation with her about this for several months. jesus. yippee skippy.

is it any wonder why i don’t feel like celebrating?

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