Info printed out and taped to my the side of my hard drive so I know it is always there. Best piece if info I've had in years!

Thank you Kevin!

gentle hugs...........Jen

That should say...taped to the side of my hard drive....so excited that I was mixing up my words...or" they" added in an extra "my" to show their appreciation as well.

Jen

i have no way of knowing if it's true or not - but i hope it is. The only thing i would add is to take notes during the conversation and then follow up in writing, going over all that was discussed, and ALWAYS ask at least one pertinent question so that they would be expected to respond back. If they don't get back to you in a reasonable time send one more letter repeating everything and noting they haven't responded as yet. It's all about making the bastards look bad when you kick it up a level. Leastways that's what i do when dealing with hostile bureaucracies

I bet it is correct....few of us know much about HIPAA let alone our rights under it.

I recently had to have a conversation with a rep. from my drug coverage company and I knew I was talking to a high school grad who hadn't a clue. Didn't know the drug or what dosages and types it came in and was telling me I was in the "donut hole" but when I told him I knew it was shrinking but wasn't sure if and when it would be closed up, he hadn't a clue as to what I was talking about. In Medicare terms, it's the point at which we have to start paying 100% of our drug costs for the calendar year. Once you have paid a certain amount, the insurance picks up again at a higher percentage than the original coverage....designed to help those on expensive chemotherapy of some kind. It's supposed to be closed up so we don't have any period of time when we pay 100% but has yet to be done....but it's coming! I asked if he knew when and he had no idea what I was talking about. Idiot.

I've even talked to the RN's they hire to keep track of patients and they've told me to speak to my docs as they hadn't a clue as what I was talking about.....I knew far more than they did.

Helps that dear old dad decided that if he couldn't be a doctor, I could and started dropping medical text books on me starting at age 10. He had me IQ tested and found out I had a higher IQ than he did so wanted me to fulfill his fantasy of being an MD but instead, helped mom to abuse me so badly I became a professional patient! But that initial knowledge gave me the knowledge to keep up my education so I know what the hell they did to me and what is going wrong now.

Jen

PS ..Just shared what I learned from your post to my hubby and he was very interested....his medical insurance company is always giving him grief.

i hope it gives you both a bit of leverage in dealing with the bastards then

I would not doubt that at all! I am on Medicaid, though, which is welfare (below poverty level income) which, also, is at this time provided by a lottery system and not to everyone who needs it, and provided by the government. So I don't know if the HIPPA laws on that would be different or not. But I do know that there are a limited number of illnesses, procedures, etc. that are covered by this plan. Otherwise, you are SOL. Recently I talked to my Dr. about getting some specialized private MH care as I've come to a place where I need treatment that I've come to find out that most if not all, gov't. provided MH care is not competent enough to provide. He said he knew of someone, and he sounds perfect. However the response from this state insurance was a resounding no, we don't do that. Apparently, they will provide specialized care for physical ailments but not MH ones. But I've heard through the grapevine that if your dr. makes requests more than once, you will get what you're asking for. Meanwhile, there is also a state health department I am going to appeal to and see what they have to say.

good luck starfish, we are so fortunate here in Aussie. Our system is much more inclusive of MH issues. It saddens and frightens me that this fuckwit conservative LNP government of ours wants to downgrade our Medicare system down to your USA levels'

let us know how you get on, i'm sure there are many DS members in similar circumstances & situations as you

kevin