Jackpot!

I hit the jackpot today! Medical bill-wise that is. :(

Straight from the mailbox: Anesthesia bill for me. Neurologist bill for Chipper. Orthopedic bill for Wesley. Pediatrician bill for Ruby. Let's not forget Ralph - cardiologist and Children's Mercy hospital (DS clinic - aren't they speedy?)!

Oh, and I got a nice little letter from the bio-services company that makes Synagis. It seems that they made a mistake back in 2007 and neglected to collect a $300 co-pay. Are you kidding me? I never would have agreed to the injection if they hadn't assured me that it would be covered 100%. Looks like I need to schedule another insurance/doctor office phone calling day.

Phone day

It's my insurance/doctor office/hospital phone call day and my head is spinning. (It also could be the huge amount of snot packed in my head.) I seriously need a secretary or a manager or something! Barbara had a good idea for me the other day - go read your insurance policy. Novel idea! I'll bet it would cut down on the time I spend on the phone.

My pregnancy sonogram in November was charged to my individual deductable. I have another one scheduled for this Friday and I think I'm going to cancel. New year, new deductible. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if they would reimburse for my midwife, but no.

Two weird things - On Friday I picked up Ralph's Sildenafil, which normally costs $64 and change per month. They only charged me $30. I'm not one to complain, but I've been here before...someone screwed up and they are going to want me to make up the difference sometime down the line.

And today, while on the phone with the hospital to make a payment for Ralph's May '08 ICU adventure, I am told that he has a zero balance. So I call the insurance company to verify that what payments were made and when. Now I'm calling the hospital to see when the payments were received. It seems that I have been getting billed for the amount of the "discount" that was written off the original bill. Grrrr. Do I dig up the paperwork on this or just let it go? If I'm correct, they owe me about $200. (That's almost enough for a couple of tires for my van.)

Ralph is doing great, by the way! We've seen lots of improvement this week with balancing and walking skills. We are continuing to have him walk from one person to another. Typically he will take two steps and fall on his face. He thinks this is great fun! At church, he pushes a toy shopping cart, containing his O2 tank, around his sunday school room. Yesterday we had a luncheon after church, so he pushed the shopping cart down the halls and all around while we were gathering and chatting. He was adorable and SO enjoyed "talking" and waving to everyone in the halls.

Ralph visits the cardiologist later this month. I'm so curious to know what his pulmonary pressures are doing - improving, staying the same, or what! Funny thing, I've caught him trying to put the cannula BACK ON lately after he has ripped it off! But, I'm still longing for a day when we don't pack O2 tanks everywhere we go, when I don't get up 5-10 times every night to fix a cannula, when he can walk and run without tripping on tubing.

In the grand sceme, a little O2 isn't that big of a deal. I've got to remember to count our many great blessings, don't I? Ralph is one of them.

Progress and Pink Hair

After only 4-5 days of focusing on walking skills, I'm already seeing progress with Ralph. We work on keeping Ralph playing on his feet by putting toys on side tables, the couch or piano bench. I have him stand leaning against the couch and encourage him to walk to mommy to get the toy I'm holding. He just seems to be more solid on his feet.

Although, today it seems that Ralph is a rubber chicken! One day he is solid as a rock and the next day he's like jello. Tomorrow is another day, I guess. AND...tomorrow is water therapy day!! We've missed the last few water therapy days so it will be a treat to get back in the pool again. Ralph generally works on walking on one of the underwater benches where an adult would sit. It is the perfect depth for him to walk on, and I can set his oxygen tank on the poolside bench right above us. I'll let you know how it goes.

I THINK I have found a new oxygen supplier! I hope the pediatrician's office is not getting mad at me...this will be the third set of orders they have faxed out for me this week! I was trying to understand why the 2nd company wouldn't take us as customers, even though they were in my insurance network. I was so frustrated that I asked the lady on the phone if I could speak to her boss. When she placed me on hold, it hit me! I'm frustrated and fighting with these folks already...do I really want to do business with them? NO. So I hung up.

Anyway, the guy in charge at the new company (#3!) wants to get a pediatric concentrator for Ralph so I won't have scads of tanks sitting by my front door any more! It's always fun when Ralph knocks these things over. I have a cracked tile now! I didn't know there was such a thing as a pediatric concentrator. Really! How on earth am I supposed to know what to ask for and what is available?

On a whim I decided to go to quilting at church this morning. Rose and Leroy would have fun in the nursery and I could catch up with my friends and put in some stitches on the quilt we will donate to MCC. I got to drive Wesley's suburban since the tires on the van are not yet replaced. The steering wheel has a sloppy feel to it. If I'm not real careful, it looks like I'm driving drunk, swerving back and forth!

As we walked up to the front doors of the church I saw the hearse! Oh no, not another funeral! We've had 4 or 5 since Christmas. No one that I knew this time, by the way. The quilting room is separated from the sanctuary (auditorium, really) by a folding wall. We were all trying not to talk loud or laugh while we worked. Kind of tough!

Apparently, the woman who passed away had cancer. Breast cancer I'm assuming because she had a hot pink wig on. Yes, open casket, hot pink wig! The sweetest thing was that many, many of the women who attended the service also wore hot pink wigs of different styles. There were also a group of older order Mennonites in attendance...the ladies wear distinctive head coverings. I couldn't help but wonder what they thought of the pink hair! All in all, a very diverse group.

Buried

I'm buried in paper. Can you believe that I'm still trying to get our insurance company to pay for several claims that are over a year old? Can you believe that I've called them repeatedly they say they will research the matter and call me back, and never call me back? You can?

We never had a bit of trouble with insurance before Ralph was born. Now everything seems to be a battle. Could it be that, knowing I'm buried in paper, they are playing games? You know, a 'let's see what we can get away with' kind of game.

The hospital is still negotiating with them over a supposedly experimental treatment from May/June 2007. Nitric? For pulmonary hypertension? Hardly experimental. We are talking big bucks here...not something anyone wants hanging over their head for over a year.

The latest outrage is that they have begun holding me responsible for two $25 co-pays each time we visit the cardiologist. One for the doctor visit and another for the echo that is done during the doctor visit!!

Oh, here is a funny one! I get accident information request forms quite often for doctor visits. I guess the insurance company wants to make certain that no one else is responsible or legally liable for an injury before they will pay. I got a request for Jordan for July 8, 2008. I can't even remember taking him to the doctor that day so I called the office to see if they could refresh my memory. Turns out, now I remember, that I took him in for a tick bite! It looked particularly nasty, with red rings around it. Tell me, though, how a tick bite can be mistaken for an accidental injury!