Major Patience for Major Medical Companies
Peter Rosenberger
"Family caregiver in crisis? With 4 decades of experience through a medical nightmare, I'll point you to safety where you can catch your breath, regroup, and forge a healthier path for YOU!"
From: A MINUTE FOR CAREGIVERS - When Every Day Feels Like Monday
Dear Peter:
Where does one find the patience to deal with insurance companies? —Myra, feeling claimless in Seattle.
Dear Myra:
Insurance companies are not that complicated. They’re businesses driven by financial decisions, not emotional ones. In the throes of caregiving, our emotions run high and often unchecked. When getting on the phone with an insurance representative, remember they have a job to do. You may not like it, and they may indeed be calloused, cold, or seem uncaring. But you don’t need them to emote with you; you need them to help facilitate payment of a service, drug, or equipment.
If you must appeal, demonstrate that the appeal is in their best financial interest. Every appeal I’ve won was because it made economic sense for the insurance company, mostly because approving the appeal kept my wife out of the hospital.
Also, many insurance companies offer a service that assigns a case manager (usually a nurse) to patients with lengthy and extensive medical needs. Ask for such a manager; they will become a great ally to you and your loved one.
The most difficult thing in any negotiation, almost, is making sure that you strip it of the emotion and deal with the facts.
—Howard Baker
#Caregiving #Caregivers
#Insurance