Government Insurance Screwing Me- Primary or Secondary - Screamin' Like Charlie Brown and They Don't Give a Royal Flyin' Youknowwhat!

In 2001, when I first became very sick and I mean really sick, I was working for a large international dot-com company and had "over insured" myself, if there is ever such as thing. I had everything you can buy, insurance/protection wise after having had open heart surgery for a cancerous tumor resection (See "Goober" on my page). So when I went out on disability, boy- little did I know that I was embarking on a new full-time career. Enter MY "Office of Healing". Not only was I going to have to worry about trying to get well and manage what was to become a growing myriad of illnesses, the latest of which is can-ser, but no, the never-ending f*ck-me fest of insurance, both private and governmental.

You see, even if you have disability and you have insurance benefits through your employer, after 2 years, they require you to go after the government for SSD benefits...whether you want or need them or not.

The bitch of it is, since the spring of 2002 when the long-term portion of my disability case was filed, I have had to keep a lawyer on retainer, For what? TO PROVE I'M SICK TO PRUDENTIAL! Every year for the first four years, it became routine, long forms, collecting affidavits, medical records, x-rays, MRI, surgical reports, all of the nosy details of every visit, drug, test and what I thought I was capable of doing...and all of my docs had to verify it.

THE HEIGHT OF IRONY...at year two, Prudential had the balls to hire a lawyer FOR ME, to file and/or sue to get me Social Security benefits...(just so they could discount the benefits, ie. my due salary they were having to pay me)..subtracting the disability benefits that the government would pay me.

(Absurd note...No cost of living increase since 2001 from Prudential-Cost of living increase from SS on an avg year $9/mo. Average cost of healthcare increase per year since I went out...35-40%!!!!! F*ck me!)

I feel like Lewis Black here...see my finger waving????

Then the Congress passed a new revision to the health care laws regarding primary vs. secondary health insurance..involving if your spouse insures you, how many employees your company has, etc. But, bottom line, I'm disabled, no spousal insurance on me, I insured my household as the major breadwinner at that time..so it did not apply...but did that matter..NO!

The government and then Cigna said that because I was listed on the rolls as a "non-working" employee, that Cigna was to be primary...so they switched everything and took back payments for years worth of treatments and rebilled. Next year the government changed their tune, repeat process, rinse repeat, rinse repeat...finally now the government is primary, it is finally primary as should be...as I told them so and my lawyer told them so, did they listen these past 3 years, NO!

BUT NOW, TODAY, DUE TO THEIR INTERNAL FREAKIN' MISTAKES...THEY WANT TO FREEZE MY BENEFITS AND LAUNCH AN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION???? WTF?

NOW...HERE I AM, NEW DIAGNOSES OF CAN-SER...MULTIPLE MEDICAL ISSUES, CIGNA WON'T PAY ANYWAY SINCE GOVERNMENT IS PRIMARY...

"DONT WORRY, WE'RE SURE THIS WON'T TAKE LONG TO GET SORTED..." MY BUTT!

THIS IS THE GOVERNMENT EVERYONE IS SO BUBBLY ABOUT GETTING INVOLVED IN YOUR HEALTHCARE...MY FRIENDS, THINK AGAIN...

I'm sorry, I'm so pissed off I'm seeing red and it takes a lot to make this elven one's blood just boil. My established docs are seeing me, my new ones have determined to wait for the most part and I cannot blame them. The United (I used that term frivilously) States government dictates medically who I see, what I do, what I take, what treatment I may have, what hospital I may go to and its not pretty...government insurance may be a good thing, better than no-thing, but by our so-called representative people, who cannot even run an education system or manage this financial crisis...no thank you. They need to get the private health care system right and make it affordable and available and fair for all.

I have insurance and I am sick and I should not have 20 full binders of records and have to stand guard over every step and bill and bureaucratic bullsh*t move made with my life...but I do. I should not have to pay thousands out to protect myself from insurance companies and my government from running roughshod over me! But I do! Like Lewis Black, forgive me but I'm screaming at the top of my elven lungs "F*CK!"

A-U-G-H! When you see Charlie Brown, think of Me!!!!

Tags: government, insurance, rant, screwed

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bren from Rivendell on October 2, 2008 at 4:50pm: The end of the universe as we know it has been described as many things. A Starbucks across from a Starbucks...I found some humor to distract myself from my friend Lewis..."the Trifecta from Hell"..enjoy and yell "*#%!*%&" in the language of your choosing...sigh...LMAOLOLOTF, Bren; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ALZ on October 2, 2008 at 4:55pm: Bren!
This is so awful. I am speechless...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alysha on October 2, 2008 at 7:53pm: Morning luv. Can't even imagine the crap you've had to wade through! This is so horrible - why do they have to make it so difficult? It's like they got the most sadistic, nasty people they could find and said "make our policies". It's a policy makers joke I reckon. It just makes me sick to think there are executives, politicians and what not out there who are so greedy that they don't even care if they're taking proper care of their clients. I wish I could just fix myself, like a fairy out of the Eoin Colfer series. That'd be handy...
xoxox; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Carole on October 2, 2008 at 7:58pm: Bren,
I will join you in screaming F*UCK. My voice will join yours and make some difference in your universe of insurance SNAFU's. Maybe if enough of us scream with you it will change.

MAJOR HUGS you need them.
Carole; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Laurie on October 2, 2008 at 8:00pm: Dear Bren, Oh Boy, this is stupid and another fight that someone should not have to go through. This is why so many people are sick and living on the streets, they had so much, thought they where doing it right, which they where, and the government just sucks everything away. I live on 812 per month, 512 of that is SSD.....the state states I make too much for medicaid, so I still have a 5,000 bill for my 20% bill for my radiation. That does not include everyone else. I avoid the phones, etc....The government does not care if we recieve treatment or not.....The doctors want what they need and don't need. We are left in the dumpster out back, not having any resources to help...........I agree with you.......WTF...........I am sorry you have to go through all this now again, especially trying to get treatment for your new dx..............My prayers are with you, keep breathing deeply..............and go ahead and yell...........WTF, you deseve it!!!!!!!!!!!!
Peace, Love, and Big Hugs,
Laurie; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bren from Rivendell on October 3, 2008 at 1:00am: WTF, I will, yell with me....YahHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by carolyn on October 2, 2008 at 8:41pm: please, everyone- copy all these horror stories to michael moore's website. then send copies to alll your newspapers, senators, congressmen, mayors, governors, local assemply people, your doctors, your pharmacist.

we can all scream together but until we start screaming AT someone. there is NO excuse for the healthcare system in this country. many other countries have figured it out and provide superior care to ALL their residents for much less than we spend here

the only reason why the USA might not be bankrupted by its health care, is that Wall Street might take it down first; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bren from Rivendell on October 3, 2008 at 12:04am: Well, if its true that other countries have it perfect, I'd like to witness it first hand the sheer perfection of it...I worked with Doctors Without Borders and lots of docs from around the globe...people dream of coming here for treatment...Canada hasn't. gotten it right yet..this is from last year and my friends up north say its only gotten worse...and they have national health care...governmental health care scares me...that's basically what I have and I am getting F*cked!

From Canada during last years election:; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Gary W. Bourbonais on October 2, 2008 at 8:49pm: Hi, Bren.....
My heart goes out to you......and whilst stuff maybe isn't so nasty for, I'm kinda in the same slot.....
I had a stroke last Dec.....and unlike some things that can be fixed, stroke of my type cannot.....
One manages risk factors....

I'm just starting fun and games with LTD outfit, sign up for SSDI, and alla that good stuff......
Same motivations as your outfit....their legal team.....

Hey our candidates are gonna "fix" health care........
And then ya look at the plans they have....Same old, same old....

But folks like you and I are gonna still take the lumps....
I'm 58, so maybe they'll let me be pretty much....I was gonna get out of the rat race in 4 years anyway....

Keep fighting the good fight....

Loves....; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by carolyn on October 2, 2008 at 8:57pm: and how about a local tv station? i know that news networks run "little guy vs big guy" stories all the time or exposes or corruption. how about sending this mass of insurance horror stories to tv reporters? there's nothing these guys fear like bad press; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lea on October 2, 2008 at 11:32pm: Oh Sweetheart, I am so sorry you have to deal with this bull. I feel your pain. I had a massive battle just to get my short term disability and now I am living off of my man's earnings and have no idea when I will be able to bartend again.

There is nothing worse than those insurance "tellers" on the phone that don't give a flynfu** what your problem is, they just like making your life more difficult. Is there someone that can help you with this matter. A trusted friend or family member that can help you find other options besides those bullshi* insurance people. There are lots of grants and financial assistance out there to help.

Don't give up, but let it go for the night. Take some deep breathes and relax. We will figure something out!!! You have a posse, remember?!!! Hang tough, stay strong, and eat your veggies!!! Big cyber hugs to you, lea; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by althea on October 3, 2008 at 7:23am: Bren, I'm screaming right along with you, and spitting a few nails too. This is such unnecessary crap. For one thing, if they'd eliminate all those positions filled with people making your life difficult and provide some medical care in its place, you'd actually be receiving some benefits that you deserve! Plus, you'd have so much less stress that you would have a much better chance at regaining your health.

Doesn't anyone at these insurance companies know about the effect of stress on our health? You'd think they'd back off just so they could save that money they crave so much. What you're experiencing is systematic abuse that stands as a very real threat to your health. Honestly, the people behind these policies should be brought up on racketeering charges.; ▶ Reply to This

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