Just when you thought it was over...

You're not going to believe this.
Or maybe you will.I admit to being a little shocked.
Well, not really.
Since the whole thing has been crazy from start to now.

But in the mail yesterday was a bill from Providence for... wait for it...
SIXTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.Yes, that's right.

I don't have medical insurance according to their records.

Since I'm sure their record keeping is on par with everything else they do, I guess all I can do is roll my eyes.

So I sent an email to the HR person at my job last night after the bill showed up.

"Hey Lisa,
Could you please verify that my coverage under COBRA began on July 1st this year?"

I waited until 11 this morning to hear back from her, she's usually very prompt. When she didn't call, I called her instead.

She told me she'd called Providence first thing this morning. She said they'd told her they 'have no record' of payment for me from our organization, although everyone else's has been accepted.

"Huh," she said. "It's odd that of all the paperwork I've sent in, yours didn't go through."

"Oh it's not odd at all," I told her. "Considering how they're running stuff at Providence, it's not odd at all."

Then I filled her in a little on what's been going on.

There were several, "Oh my gods," and a couple gasps.

She told me to stop worrying about the insurance issue, that she'd take care of it and let me know when it was handled.

So sometime in 2024, I'm sure the bill will get settled.

I've also asked my local friends for a doctor they'd recommend if they're stuck at Providence.

I heard from a former co-worker and she highly recommends her doctor.
Her doctor is also a girl-type person (super important to me) and very good at listening.

She told me that Dr M was the first medical person who'd ever actually listened to her and worked to give her a proper diagnosis. I won't tell her secrets here, they're really not mine to tell, but I can tell you that she's in better health right now than she has ever been thanks to a doctor who listened and conducted the appropriate tests instead of evaluating her by her appearance.

What a novel idea.

I know that the not-very-large amount of trust I had placed in my doctor is just gone. 

I don't want to see her again except to read her a letter I'm working on.
I want her to know exactly what happened to me both at the clinic and hospital level. 

And while she doesn't bear 100% of the responsibility for all of it, she didn't call me back to let me know how to get off the medication that was fucking killing me for THREE GODDAMN DAYS.

And yes, I know she has a lot going on, that her employer expects a great deal from her... but she deals in life and death situations and she didn't give a shit what I needed or how I was feeling.

I don't need to be her number one priority, but I do expect respect.
And I didn't get that.
Over and over and over I didn't get that respect I deserve.
 
I now have zero confidence in her ability or wish to help me if I ever have a serious issue again.

So I'm calling for an appointment with my friend's provider as soon as Providence gets the goddamn insurance mess straightened out. It's still a Providence facility, (can't escape that) but it's about a half hour drive. If I get a doctor who actually gives a shit, it's worth it.

I can at least meet her and see what I think, right?

Meanwhile, SIXTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.

Bullshit. Just bullshit.