tell me how socialized medicine would be worse?

So I have excellent health insurance. Seriously. Our hospital bill from Shmooie's delivery? $0. It will be the same for Polly-roo's, I believe. (We got one of those panic-inducing "explanation of benefits" saying we're responsible in full for the $47,000 6-day NICU bill, but that's being resolved.) So I know I'm lucky.

But the primary-care, referral stuff is bureaucratic bullshit. My 6-week postpartum OB appointment is tomorrow, and I got it in my head that I might be able to get an IUD inserted at the same time. So I called the OB clinic. They told me my insurance doesn't cover IUDs and that it would be $700ish. (And I think to myself: would my insurance company rather I get pregnant again? I don't think so.) I shelved that idea, but then was perusing my coverage paperwork, which said IUDs are covered, but under the prescription drug plan. So I called the prescription drug plan folks. The customer service woman asked me for the "name of the medication" and whether I'd ever been on it before. I went round and round to get her to understand what an IUD is. She then told me that it's covered, but that I'd have to check with the pharmacy for specific coverage and to see which ones are available.

So I called the OB office again and the billing woman told me that I will have to get the IUD at the pharmacy, bring it to the appointment, and then pay a $213 insertion fee. None of this sounded right to me, but I went ahead and called the pharmacy.

Sure enough, the pharmacy said they don't do it that way. That the doctor's office arranges for it. I briefly considered calling the OB office again, but I doubt I'd be able to get a straight answer over the phone. So I'll just have to go to the appointment tomorrow, talk to the doctor, probably set up another appointment (after getting a referral from my primary care physician), and pay $213 (which is not so bad since the IUD is effective for 10 years).

Thank god I'm on leave and have copious free time for phone calls. All this has me feeling a bit nostalgic for the Bulgarian medical system.

On a related note, I'm reading Catch-22 for NaNoReMo 2007.

Comments

[Erin]

Coupla things:

1) IUDs can be installed 12 weeks postpartum.

2) the Mirena (which I just got Tuesday) is good for 5 years, but I am sure there are others that are good for longer.

3) Getting the IUD inserted before the 12 week mark? Yeah, my girlfriend's second daughter is here because of that.

Good luck sorting the whole how-do-I-get-this-thing thing out.

[sgazzetti]

We looked into the same thing post-baby #2. After extensive research we settled on the Mirena Erin mentions, are very pleased that we did. Originally it looked like our insurance wouldn't cover the €100, but our OB-GYN did some paper-shuffling and got it for us for free (our favorite price) and that included insertion, which Magda says wasn't her favorite five minutes ever, but no big deal. Best €0 we ever spent.

[Shani Ferguson]

Ack. Which OB practice were you with, again? They should have gotten the insurance stuff right the first time.

Not only do you need to wait longer than 6 weeks, IIRC, but the IUD has to be inserted at a certain point in your cycle. I'm currently waiting for mine. ::checks watch::

[HPR]

How is it that in Bulgaria, a country where nothing else works and people live on $60/month, I can get decent medical care for free any time I need it? Sure, I won't go there for heart surgery. But please, why must we put up with the expense and delay of basic services in the world's richest nation? Don't drink the water in Mexico, but if you do, don't seek an American doctor.

[Night Editor]

I hear you! Imagine the nightmares non-English-speaking patients have to endure. My daughter's roommate is Hmong and each time she returns home her parents are at the door with piles of paperwork for her to decifer.

Happy Birthday to Schmoo!

And, would you e-mail me with your home address, J.?

Take care!