Wrapping up the Week

If you have been reading this regularly, you probably remember my colonoscopy story and how challenging it was to get the 100% INSURANCE COVERED baseline exam, after mentioning a little about my family history to the physician.  Long story short, just days before the procedure, the doctor’s office called me and said it was worked out and no, I did NOT need to bring the 250 dollar deductible as the doctor agreed to resubmit the claim as a screening and not a medical necessity.  Fast forward a couple of months and what should I start finding in my mailbox but bills.  First, a small one from the lab which I had no problem paying but wondered if that meant more to come.  Sure enough a few days later a bill for almost 300 dollars from the facility, 250 of which was my deductible.  HUH?

So the phone calls began again and I happened to get a woman on the phone who actually remembered the whole story and has agreed to help me out.  I am still waiting on other bills which are bound to come and I will continue to make calls and stomp my feet.  My feeling is that they did not want me to cancel, so they humored me.  Instead of demanding the deductible up front, they just decided to bill me for it, when in fact, my insurance would have covered the entire bill had it been put in as a screening as it should have been.  I went for the test for one reason and one reason alone…after 50 it is a screening that is known to save lives and basically “demanded” by one’s physician.  I had no symptoms, no risk factors and certainly it was NOT a medical necessity.

Enough ranting, the moral of the story is we must stay on top of our medical bills!  We must ask proactive questions before getting expensive (and not so expensive) tests.  We must make sure that even if a doctor is on our plan, that the facility, the lab, etc., are also covered by our plan.  I learned something else, too, which is a sad thing.  We can’t really disclose information to our physicians.  I happened to mention that my sister had some polyps (non cancerous) removed during her screening.  BOOM that made my test a “medical necessity.”  I have since been told by my insurance provider as well as several others in the health care industry to never disclose family history of anything.  From now on I am just going to say “I DON’T KNOW.”  Sad, but what are the choices, really?  You, too, might want to keep this in mind when filling out forms at your doctor visits.

On the brighter side, another great study on the benefits of walking was released earlier this week.  It comes as no surprise that walking would reduce stroke risks, but the numbers were big!  Walking a few hours a week can cut a woman’s stroke risk by over 1/3.  I would have to imagine that it would have similar benefits for men.  I think the constant and consistent movement is forcing blood and oxygen to circulate without pause and that serves to keep everything flowing nicely, hence the stroke prevention.  So keep on trucking everyone.

After I finish work today I am coming home to do some spring cleaning.  With the rest of Kyle’s stuff get trucked out to Tampa tomorrow, I am feeling a need to clear out some of my own stuff.  I tend to collect piles of articles, magazines and anything related to health, fitness, food and more.  I also practice feng shui which is the Asian art of  “placement,” but it’s so much more than that, really.  I once saw someone on an organizing show that used an acronym that has always helped me when I need to organize.  It goes like this:

S- Sort

P-Purge

A-Assign a home

C-Containerize

E-Equalize

Organizing our space, our homes, our desks, our closets, etc., helps us to feel more in control of our lives.  It allows energy to circulate instead of lay stagnant.  Opening the windows and playing some loud music while clearing and cleaning helps get the negative, stale energy OUT!  So that’s what I’ll be doing.  I hope whatever you will be doing will make you feel productive and happy.  It is, after all, FRIDAY 🙂