Press 1 for Frustrated

A New Year, new goals, and a new round of limited submissions to the insurance company.

In my youth, and admittedly sometimes in my “adulthood” I’ve somewhat felt that insurance was in large part a scam. Pay lots of money into a system with hopes that you’ll never have to use it. Finally when the time does come, it's a hassle. They don't like giving the money back.

I don't have much hair left.

Unfortunately with Mason’s diagnosis came plenty of circumstances to have to interact regularly with my insurance company. At times I’d almost prefer to pass a kidney stone, than to have to deal with them. (my wife assures me that I do not ever want to experience a kidney stone…she’s had them)

I can call the number from memory, and recite my group number without consulting my card. I can now navigate thru my insurance company's automated voice/button menu without blinking. I know precisely where I need to utter the word “Representative” to the human sounding robot listening on the other end of the line.

In its cryptic monotone human/robot voice…..One moment please…..

Finally… a human.

Sadly at times, I think the humanoid/robot type being that answered the phone would be a better candidate for giving information. He/She seems to be a bit more friendly and cheerful in most cases.

Speaking with the live person is hard work. I have to hope that I’m lucky enough to land someone with a clue can answer my questions and at the same time give me accurate information. This isn't always the case.

Sometimes I get great service and other times not so much.

And during the calls I dare not mention the “A” word. I quickly learned one slip of the tongue mentioning the word “Autism” can cause a claim to be denied.

I've grown accustomed to the phrase “Please hold Mr. Barton while I read thru your claim file”…. this is often followed by a lot of typing, and long moments of silence. I usually multitask during this “downtime” because after several months of having to call, I know it’s going to take the human time to read through it. Mason’s file has reached War And Peace proportions.

Just yesterday a reimbursement check arrived for services that occurred almost a year ago.

Christmas arrived early….or late depending how you look at it. ;o)