Friday, May 28, 2010

Winning...and Losing

I finally heard back from the insurance company...and I won my appeal!  Hooray!  The final $12,000 of bills should be paid by them this month.  What a relief.  Their letter said they reviewed my case and found an "inconsistency in payment history."  I don't really care what they call it, I'm just glad they are paying it.

My submission to them included a 6 page letter that outlined my struggles with headaches over the past 14 years, how I came to choosing a nerve stimulator, and how it has changed my life.  I also included an outline of the documents I had received from them and how they were incosistent.  Altogether I submitted about 20 pages of documentation.  I guess that did it.  I was told that appeals received from patients (as opposed to medical professionals) are taken more seriously.  That's something to keep in mind if/when you ever deal with an appeal of this sort.

On a separate note, I also wanted to apologize to those of you that have contacted me recently that I have not gotten back to.  My oldest dog was sick the last few weeks and I had him in and out of the vet every few days.  Last Thursday he lost the battle and we had to put him to sleep.  It was very hard but the vet came to the house and made the experience as minimally traumatic as possible, I think.  It's amazing how deeply animals can touch our lives.  That dog was my companion for the last 12 years and although everyone thinks their dog is the best, he was truly exceptional.  It's been a long time since I've lost anyone or anything close to me and I forgot how hard grief is.  Anyway, I haven't been much in the frame of mind to be social but I will get to your emails this weekend.