First, let's talk medication. Princess was just about out of the beta-blocker she's on. So I called in the refill on Friday. They said it wouldn't be ready until after 1pm on Monday. Okay, so I wasn't entirely sure we would make it all the way to Monday as she gets this medication 3 times a day, but I figured we would be close because the last time it was filled was on the 4th and it would be ready on the 4th. I usually have at least two or three doses beyond a month in the bottle. Okay, so no big deal. We get to Monday fine. I go down to pick up her prescription and they ask for a new insurance card. I haven't received it because it JUST went into effect on Friday. So I have to pay for her prescription. Thankfully this is the only one and it's not TOO expensive. They told me that once I get a new card, to just bring it in and they'll reimburse me. Okay, God will take care of this.
I had about 4 cans of formula left. I was going to call on Monday to place my new order. On Thursday, the provider had called me for a recent length and weight because they needed a new authorization. So I wasn't too worried. Until we went out to town on Saturday. When we got home, we found ONE can of formula on the floor. The other three cans had been taken outside by the dogs! Two of the cans were destroyed and one had teeth marks in it. Now, here's the thing with her formula, WIC does NOT cover it. It has to be done by prescription, otherwise it costs $45 a can! The cans are only 14.5 ounces too, so they aren't big. There is no place to get it locally, so we have to get it delivered. So I called on Monday to order a new shipment. They said it could take 3-5 BUSINESS days. Oh great! So that means I MAY not have enough formula to last until it gets here. Thankfully I was able to stop by the cardiologist's office and pick up a can. Hopefully we'll make it to our shipment date. God's going to take care of us.
Oh, and welfare/food stamps has been stupid too! I called on Monday to see where I was at in the process. Tuesday, my worker called me back to say that her supervisor had kicked it back to her because there were these 3 deposits on the one account. So I explained it to her that those were from my (ex)-hubby and his job, but he had since quit depositing those checks into that account, which is a joint account. So I had to DRIVE down there and write an affidavit to that effect. So hopefully it's going to go through here really soon, as I have no money to pay anything!
Then today, oh today. I just want to crawl back into bed. So we are now 2 hours away from the nephrologist. Being this appointment was set up at 9:20 in the morning, we have to leave before 7am, just in case we run into traffic. Thankfully, not very much traffic at all! We get there, get coffee and then head over to their office. That's when the nightmare begins.
See, we're in California. We have a specialized medicaid program called Medi-Cal. Well, Medi-Cal JUST changed on Friday to "managed Medi-Cal." Essentially, they are partnering with bigger insurance companies. I think it's to cut down the cost, but whatever the reason, it has been nothing but a huge headache for me!
First of all, I had to choose what insurance I wanted. I was advised by the cardiologist to pick Anthem Blue Cross. Okay, so that's what I picked. Well, like I said earlier, I haven't received a card yet, that's why I had to pay for the prescription. So today, I find out that they want a pre-authorization for the nephrologist visit! WHAT? We've had this appointment on the books for 3 months now! And on top of that, THEY picked our primary care physician. So I got information from the receptionist and I called them. I go the PCP changed so I'll actually be getting 2 cards here soon. So then I went on to tell them the problem of us being at the nephrologist's office and them saying they can't see her. Well, while I'm on hold with Blue Cross, we get called back for essentially a consult. See, since Princess was diagnosed with PHA2, the ONLY ONE who can answer any questions I have is the nephrologist. PHA2 is a kidney disorder. So I get back there and while I'm waiting and feeding Princess, Blue Cross calls me back. They tell me they'll cover the visit today, but when I poke my head out the door, I can't find anyone! (Isn't that always the case!) I let them know our situation with the prescription and the Synagis shots and the whole thing. They were VERY understanding and said they would take care of everything! So, I may end up getting a bill for this visit, but I have already talked to Blue Cross and they said they would cover it, so I'm not worried about it. God will take care of the faithful.
As frustrating as this whole thing has been, we're doing okay. I found out what I can feed Princess. I found out what to do if she gets really sick. We got a decent blood pressure. We did labs. I called the pediatrician and got them going with new referrals/pre-authorizations for both the nephrologist and the cardiologist. I spoke to the cardiologist's nurse and she said that they are having just as many problems with it, but that since Princess also has CCS, we should be fine for next week's visit. So I'm just trying to decompress after all this chaos! As if things weren't going crazy enough as is! One of these days we'll be okay and things will be normal, or as normal as they can be.
