Headaches

One of the many unsuspecting side-effects of cancer treatments is frustration.

Chances are great that if you ever have to receive cancer treatment you will be dealing with HUGE entities, like hospitals and insurance companies. It's a heavy load to deal with, giants compared to your tiny bug-like self.

There are billing departments at the hospital and claims departments at the insurance company. It's all rather nameless and faceless so it's easy for them, they don't have to care.

When I've hired folks to work on my house, install a new furnace, rebuild a deck, repair the brick sidewalk, install central air, I've always hired people right here in Marietta. They have a name, a face, a reputation they're proud of and work hard to protect.

If the customer service representative at the insurance company gets frustrated with me she just "accidentally" hangs up. What does he or she care? Chances are great that I'll never talk to them again.

Fighting cancer is a tough fight. You can only imagine until you've been there. I hope none of you ever are there.

It's a tough enough fight without having to take on the big giants who are in charge of your care. I've tried everything, playing the good cop, playing the bad cop. I've been flattering and sweet, and I've been firm and decisive. Nothing really seems to break the endless cycle of sloppiness.

I always think to myself, "If I ran my business like this, I wouldn't have a business."

My insurance company has doubled my monthly premiums since I first signed on five short years ago. If I doubled my prices on my clients in that time I wouldn't have clients. The only reason the insurance company knows they can get away with it is because now I have a pre-existing condition and I can't take my business anywhere else.

The billing department couldn't get the money they expected out of my insurance company so they sent me the bill and made it my problem. Thanks. Again, if I passed the buck around on the billing I wouldn't have a business.

I work hard, take pride in my work, try to provide excellent service, while the big giants do whatever they want. Do I get a stimulus? a bailout? a rope with a reuben sandwich attached to it?

I could call my insurance company up three consecutive times on any given day - I could do it right now - and I would be told three completely different things. I guarantee it. It has happened to me time and time before.

If I get mad the csr's just hang up on me and let me call back and get somebody else. If I'm really nice they just figure I'm no one to worry about and just ignore me. I've come to the conclusion that the little interaction between us the better.

Once my insurance company mistakenly billed me $25 for ever CT or MRI scan, and they billed me that amount for 11-months. Then suddenly they realized they were screwing up and started billing me $150 per scan. On top of that, a csr told me that she was going to try to collect the balance from their incorrect billings throughout the year.

I can see me now, "Hello Joe. How are you? Hey I've been billing you wrong for that newsletter all year. I'm sorry about that. But I'm going to have to send you a bill to make-up for my mistake. Yeah, I'm afraid it was a pretty big mistake. Double the amount? Oh no, it's much more than that, more like six times the amount."

We're all obviously not playing by the same rules.