Insurance Headaches
Okay, so I am very lucky to have had insurance when the babies were born. I mean millions of Americans don't have any insurance. However, having expressed my gratitude I have to get off of my chest how this whole process is about to drive me crazy. I think I could recite to you the recording from United Healthcare's phone message I've called them so many times. Oddly this insurance worked great during the prenatal care. I have an HSA with a deductible and after the deductible is met the insurance covers 100%. Seems simple - right? Well the babies are nearly 7 months old and the insurance still doesn't have lots of things paid. In fact most of the charges were not paid until this past month. United Healthcare has what I believe is a new policy that requires their members to advise them of coordination of care (that is - do you have any other insurance.) It is a fair question sure, but it was used more than once in my case to deny and stall payments and in fact I answered the question to United at least 4 times..... 1 of those was in writing. And at each instance payments were denied or pended supposedly waiting on me to answer. In fact, I believe insurance companies have this elaborate game that they play to avoid paying as much and as long as possible. They really kick the whole machine into motion when the charges get large as in my case with 3 infants in NICU for several weeks. I do know that United Healthcare (and many other insurance companies) is a business and their purpose is to make a profit. However, when charges are made the insurance company is still obligated to make payment. Profit motivation is not an acceptable excuse to dodge payment when it is due.
A second side of this same issue is the providers. At this point some are starting to get a little nasty with me. It will be a miracle if all of these bills get resolved and my credit doesn't get severely dinged in the process. At this point many providers are starting to take the attitude that it is my problem and United certainly doesn't care about my credit or the hassle of collection calls. It is very stressful and when you combine it with the stress of caring for 3 infants who are getting big enough to be very demanding during the day it sometimes feels very overwhelming. I wonder how many triplet families face these same issues. Really, not just triplet parents. I'm sure parents of any babies who have to spend significant time in NICU may have to deal with these types of hassles at a time when they are least able to handle this sort of stress. Okay, I'm going to get off of my soapbox for now. But I'll keep you updated. I do feel like this may be resolved in the next couple of months.... but that may be too hopeful.