Posted by Terry Gann on April 18, 2002 at 10:18:15:
In Reply to: Insurance posted by Mary Lou McKee on April 17, 2002 at 20:08:40:
Mary Lou,
I had my Maze performed at the CC on January 19, 2001; here we are 15 months later and I'm still having insurance problems. The approval by the insurance for the procedure was not a problem even though I had not planned on having the surgery when I went to Cleveland. It was only after I was there that I found out that my mitral valve needed repair, so I went ahead and had the surgery at that time. My insurance is with BlueCross Blue Shield - the "Blue-Card" program. The problem I have had is getting the CC and the insurance company to communicate with each other. CC has repeatedly assured me that they are part of the network - BC/BS says no. Evidently, in processing the claim, someone entered it as a non-participating provider and no one seems to be able to correct it. Last week I talked with a lady from BC/BS who told me that the problem had been corrected. But this week I received another statement from the CC with the same balance due??? It's really been a headache, but hopefully it will eventually be straightened out. In this whole process I have discovered that patients need to get a detailed bill from their hospital/doctors and compare that with their insurance EOB's. I have had a very difficult time, and have found errors on both sides. Just stick with it - I hope you have success.
Terry