Wednesday 29 December 2021

The Health Insurance Kiada Part 5

I recently learned, thanks to the failure of Medicare and my state health insurance, the Empire Plan, to pay my back and ear, nose, and throat doctors bills, that both Medicare and my state health insurance regarded themselves as secondary payers of my health insurance bills. I recently discovered, in other words, that no one was paying my doctor bills. So, once again, in order to try to bring life order out of bureaucratic chaos I had to get on the phone to figure out what was going on.

I started with Medicare and I am glad that I did. After helpfully helping me create a Medicare account (beware of dashes) I was informed that the problem was State Farm. State Farm, the private capitalist auto and home insurer, who I used to have auto insurance with, provided me health care after I was involved in an auto accident in 2013. After I went off of State Farm health insurance coverage that company did not update section 111 so technically this short-term State Farm health care coverage is my primary health insurance now that I am retired. Since State Farm isn't acting as my post-retirement health insurer and isn't, as a consequence paying my health care bills, well you can, I hope dear reader, see the problem. 

Now I have to, of course, spend my time and spend monies, without remuneration, for as capitalism teaches us my time is money, contacting State Farm to get them to update section 111 and purge me from that health care programme. I also, of course, have to spend time and monies contacting my doctors telling them to resubmit my bills to Medicare after 7 January of next year. What fun.

Can I get a big hurrah for capitalist bureaucratic "efficiency"?

Postscripts:

1. I contacted State Farm and, after two transfers, was told that they, the marvellous State Farm, can't cancel my coverage, though they aren't paying my health care bills, until they receive a notification from my doctor that I am no longer being treated for something I haven't used and been treated for since 2013. Marvel at the absurdity here. By the way, I am sure my doctor closed this treatment, but you can't argue with moronic once size fits all we need a paper trail and don't have it for whatever reason modern bureaucracy.

2. I contacted the doctor, Steven Elfant, the chiropractor who treated me after the accident and who State Farm said needed to close my case. He responded that State Farm was lying to me and that this case closed six months after it was opened. He refused to contact State Farm and refused to send me a letter saying the case was not open. I finally got Dr. Elfant to agree to sign a letter to State Farm and State Farm to agree to send me a letter explaining why closing this case must be done according to New York state law to give to Dr. Elfant so I can get the hell out of this absurd nightmare that is affecting my health insurance, my health, and my life.


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