Surgery and financial wrangling and deductibles

Used to be that a person could get ready for surgery the old fashioned way, get your house cleaned and straightened up, make sure there were plenty of cooked casseroles in the freezer so that all the family had to do was pop one in the oven and viola! dinnner was served while you recovered. The clean laundry was neatly arranged in closets and drawers and the beds all had clean sheets for you to recuperate on.

Now, its wrangling with the hospital financial offices over who is going to get the deductible, them or the doctor and everyone wants you to pay them the deductible first. I just got off the phone with the surgery center and explained that the deductible was already met through the doctors office. That means that when I get there I will pay one third of what they think I owe. And I just got the last surgery paid for this week on top of paying the surgeon his 20 percent that my insurance doesn't cover. I got a little specheil about wondering which one would file first. I can tell you from the past experience that the doctors office filed really fast. much quicker than the surgery center did. Those bills just dragged on in. And for something that will take half the time that the first one took it seems like the price is higher this go round. I know that we are lucky to have health insurance but it seems so hard to be able to actually get something done. This isn't cosmetic, its reconstruction for heavens sake. I have waited 6 nearly 7 years for this day, to be cancer free and on my way back to the way I was (plus a few years of aging!) before the mastectomy.

I can't begin to say enough about my doctor. He is wonderful. the TOP DOC in my humble opinion with his reconstruction skills, very compassionate and a dry sense of humor. I am ready for this next surgery to be over and get this uncomfortable saline bag out of my chest. I don't think I would like the saline implants at all. I am glad that I going to have the silicone 'gummy bear' implant by Mentor. Its going to be much warmer and look pretty good too.

Health care for the American people needs to be less imposing. I don't believe in going to the ER for every little thing that happens and unfortunately that is what a lot of people do. I take responsiblity for my health and I only go to the doctor when its absolutely necessary or for my yearly checkups. Now I have a regular overall exam, the yearly breast exam, the yearly bloodtest and bone density exams, and after this year I will add the yearly visit to Dr. Adams to my list to keep up the progress on this implant for the study I will be in to help other women like me. My nose is twitching as I become more and more of a guinea pig for medical research.
You are welcome fellow breast cancer survivors. You had better be 'TICKLED PINK' as I 'MAKE STRIDES' for us in the recovery and reconstruction department.