In a nutshell, my scans schedule for tomorrow morning have been canceled. Got a call from the Oncologist's office and they've not received pre-certification from my insurance company. I tried to call the insurance to explain the situation -- i.e. A) we're talking about Cancer and B) I have three follow up appointments that are all tied to these scans tomorrow. Pretty much I got a response that sounded a LOT like "our policy is that our nurses have up to 15 days to approve procedures". And you should use a tone that reeks of "I don't care" when reading the response.
Butler changed Insurance Providers this year so this is new. Our previous Provider approved stuff like this near instantaneously. And from talking to the Doctor's office, it sounds like that's what they're used to.
Particularly annoying? These scans were scheduled on February 24th. 5+ weeks before the procedure. But the Doctor's office waited until late last week to request Pre-Certification. Since they usually get near immediate approval they wait until 3-4 days before a procedure. If they pre-certify "too early" then there's a risk the procedure will have to be changed or cancelled.
All in all, I'm fit to be tied. I've griped at the insurance company, I've griped at the Doctor's office and I've griped at Butler's H.R. Department. But the scans will now be delayed. Not sure about the impact on my other appointments. I guess we'll see about that when the dust settles on the insurance. I already have a call in to Dr. Tsue's office to see if they have a similar problem with pre-certification for my "surgery" next week, though that may need to be moved any way if he wants the scans before the surgery.
Not my most uplifting post, I must say. But have a nice day.
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