Something Terrible is Happening

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Yeah! What they said!

Excellent post from Margaret & Helen you should read HERE.

"...The biggest problem facing America today isn’t the war, the economy, healthcare or even racism. The biggest threat to America is the lack of news coverage in our newscasts. Honestly I don’t give a damn what LaToya Jackson thinks, what Paris Hilton ate, what Hillary Clinton is wearing or who Brad Pitt is dating. And I especially don’t give a rat’s ass what 78,000 peckerwoods with too much time on their hands think about something as complicated as Universal Healthcare..."

And in case you aren't already rilled up this Friday you can go read about how insurance companies think a c-section is a pre-existing condition HERE. Some of the comments are great.

"misscoleopteramolly says: Lemme get this straight. When insurance companies won’t pay for childbirth, abortion, or contraceptives, what’s a person to do?

Oh. Right. Don’t have sex at all. Not even if you’re married. Because having sex is a “choice” — isn’t it?

So why do insurance companies pay for Viagra?"

The Note

Dear Teacher,

Please excuse kiddo from being tardy. It's not her fault. The Houston Roller Derby announced team drafts last night and I made the Bayou City Bosse$. Then I had beer with my new skatey mates and went to bed without setting the alarm.

Thank you,

Bombadee #00

Hard

Remember the scene in Conan the Barbarian where Conan is turning the big wooden spindled thing. What the heck - was it a well they were digging? A mill? Maybe it was just a torture device, anyway it's what makes him into Conan The Barbarian and then he's muscle-y and can't be beat. Well, Houston Roller Derby is kicking my ass like that and when I am on the 73rd pushup and my arms are threatening to go on strike and send my nose straight into the floor, I think of this scene and how I will be able to lop off Jame Earl Jones' head with one swipe at the end of these next few months of practices. I'll be loosing weight on two fronts; through the sweat valve that turns on by simply moving while in Texas and my inability to lift a fork to my mouth after practice. I'd like to post a before and after picture but I can't lift a camera. Also, I think HRD doesn't stand for Houston Roller Derby - it's just meant to be pronounced "hard."

(I looked it up - it's called "the wheel of pain" fitting with it's counter clockwise motion.)

Top 40

When I moved to Houston I spun the radio dial (another phrase that won't make sense to my kid) until I found 10 stations to program into my car and one station I could listen to in the morning with traffic, weather and a couple of playful hosts. I wake up to 95.7 and the hilarity that ensues with segments like "Whatcha Doin' at the Courthouse?" where somebody tries to justify running over a cop or insists they don't "fit the perscription" of the perpitrator and this morning I heard the gameshow "Are you smarter than a drunk girl? " I like Sarah and Booker, they're funny. Here's what I don't like and maybe this is how these whipersnappers do it these days and I'm just old, but they play the same 10 songs every morning. I keep changing the channel hoping to find a different morning show but dangit if I don't keep comming back. I just need to figure out how to fast forward or totaly skip those 10 songs.

Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling", Cobra Starship "Good Girls Gone Bad", Keri Hilson "Knock You Down", Lady Gaga "Love Game", Pitbull "I Know You Want Me", Sean Kingston "Fire Burning", Kate Perry "Waking Up in Vegas", Jordin Sparks "Battlefield", Drake "Best I Ever Had", 30H!3 "Don't Trust Me"

You can hear these half way down the page at www.hothits957.com - it's the red box on the right. I know them all by heart now. Not because I like any of them, I mean I might like them, but it doesn't even matter because they keep playing and playing and playing them and I think even if I could've liked one of them, now it's bruned into my ear drum and I don't ever need to hear it again. I did get a kick out of "I'm in Miami Trick" and here they play "I'm in H-Town Trick" it has just the right amount of ridiculous and screwy dance track and I get the feeling the musicians don't take themselves too seriously, with the name LMFAO, how can they? Then it was nearly ruined for me when I accidentaly flipped the television past the Kardashian channel and heard the song used in one of their shows. Still despite the masogony and it's use in the Kardashian mess - I still listend to this song three times while typing this blog post. (I know! What is wrong with me!?)

SEPTEMBER SALE!

Somebody buy my lovely house. It's 6,000 square feet of light filled space in a friendly little farm town in a fabulous school district. Too many adjectives? Selling it too hard? Too bad, it's all true and I need to sell it. Let me also add, it could be easily turned into a commercial property (it was once before.) In fact we just lowered the price, it's only $69,500.00. Call Jesse at Dickerson Neiman about this listing! And let me lay this on ya - if you got a 30 year mortgage (nothing down is what I calculated) it'd only be $403.00 a month. I don't think you can even rent an apartment for that cheap anywhere.

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Five Good Things

Last week I tried out for the Houston Roller Derby and got drafted! This is exciting for me as you can imagine. It'll be nice to have like minded women in my life and I look forward to being able to slam into them at full speed.

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Over the weekend I got a lot of notes from family and friends about the previous post. Thank you.

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I'm doing some web comics for Zombie Logic Press, go visit.

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I Miscarried

You read it right. Twice in the last year. I didn't write about it because it's more than I want to put out there and really what was I going to say that would've been new? I think I had all the normal feelings of loss and sadness and all that - so I didn't mention it. But I write about it today because I'm finally off the old insurance and need to tell you about what they did to me.

Let me start by saying I appealed everything and as it stands right now I believe they are going to be paying, so I may be running a risk of screwing that up by writing but I am tired of hearing people say they aren't sure about health care reform.

In June we moved. At the end of June I was feeling dizzy all the time and decided to pee on the stick and see. We'd been trying to conceive up until Dan lost his job in May and we knew we'd have to take the COBRA insurnace, so we weren't aiming for getting pregnant especially in the middle of the adjusting to a new job, packing up the house, moving three states away, and unpacking. But of course it seems this sort of thing always happens when you relax and aren't thinking about it. We were delighted to find out I was. I should explain, I lost a pregnancy last November (at 11 weeks) and I'm 36years old, so I knew I would be labeled as "high risk" and knew I needed to see a doctor right away. I called my insurance to find out what to do, they said I was not covered in another state unless it was an emergency and I could go to the emergency room if I felt it necessary.

Dan and I carefully weighed what to do. If I had a condition that wasn't covered by insurance when I went on the new insurance, it could be considered a pre-existing condition, and may not be covered. We decided I couldn't wait another day and the best thing would be to see an OB, one that would be on the new insurance, just pay for the first visit out of pocket. I would be spending a week in Illinois in August anyway and could see my regular Illinois OB while there and get all the necessary ultrasounds and expensive stuff while I was there dealing with the house (we haven't sold yet) and the insurance would be happy I was in network. Then I'd be back in TX when the new insurance kicked in, for the next round of appointments. I got on the phone and made all the necessary appointments in both states.

After that first out of pocket visit was when the complications started. Abdominal pain (I'd rather spare you the details) and some unsatisfactory labs. My OB decided to get me on a prescription and monitor closely. During this time we tried get the insurance company to cover the appointments since the situation had changed. Again they said they would not cover anything in TX and I'd need to again pay out of pocket for all the additional labs and ultra sounds. The insurance company said it wasn't an emergency enough to pay because I wasn't going to the emergency room. I couldn't bare the thought of sitting in a large city's emergency room with a rambunctious 5 year old trying to get very detailed and careful ongoing care over the next three weeks, out of the doctor who happened to be on call. Instead, I continued to see the OB, I was sure it was where I was going to get the care I needed.

The week after, I went in to my TX OB for an ultra sound -no heartbeat. At this point, she ordered a DNC (they remove the contents of the uterus) and run several follow up tests on the tissue to try and figure out why. We scheduled the DNC and all the follow ups. The billing department called for the pre-approval, the insurance company denied it and said if I was having an emergency I should go to the emergency room and they would cover that. I asked my OB if I went to the emergency room what would happen, she said they'd send me home to wait it out. My body would expel the cells on it's own, sometime in the next month. Or if I was having severe pain they'd do a DNC and send me home. I asked - what about the follow up tests? She shook her head. I asked who would do the surgery she said the doctor on call.

I spent frantic hours on the phone with the insurance company fighting about it. One insurance operator said they would cover the proceedure with my OB, the next operator on the phone with the OB said they wouldn't, I would have to go to the emergency room. It was like treating the heart attack but not allowing the heart surgeon to do the surgery and asking for the emergency room doc instead, then throwing the EKG results in the trash all because a person is out of network. The OB's office gave up and said they couldn't schedule anything unless they received payment up front ($1,200.00 at the minimum just to reserve the operating room) or a pre-approval from the insurance.

I considered just staying home and waiting it out. Pictured myself home with Ella, while Dan was at work and nobody to call to come watch her. I pictured, emergency situations and an ambulance. I pictured paying for the operating room out of pocket. I imagined not knowing why it all happened and attempting this all again because I didn't know about some thing the follow up test would reveal. I was hysterical for two days wondering what to do and I called my OB in Illinois to see if she could order the tissue sent from the emergency room to her office in Illinois for follow up tests and at that time I talked long with my dear nurse practitoner. Then I called the insurance back and asked them some very specific questions. It became clear, if I was in Illinois, like I was last fall with the last miscarriage, the insurance would cover everything 100%.

Dan packed me, the kid and the dog into the car and drove me to my mother's that night. We left Thursday night at 5pm after work and arrived in IL at 22 hours later at 2pm on Friday. My doctor in IL rearranged her vacation and saw me at 2:15pm that day and scheduled my procedure for 6:00pm that evening. The insurance company wouldn't approve it because it wasn't at the correct surgical location. Both me and my doctor would have to wait until the approved surgical location was available on Monday. We waited, and on Monday it was all covered 100%.

Now let me put this in perspective, I miscarried and the insurance company made me drive 22 hours, 1500 miles to be in-network and then made me wait three days before they would cover anything.

I'm sure they would insist they would've covered any life threatening situation and this was not. They would be right, this wasn't an instance where I was going to die in that moment, it was an instance where somebody else was dying over a period of two weeks and they made me drive across three states before they'd pay. Again, in fairness, I've turned in all the old bills under an appeal, and the agent on the other end of the phone said she'd recode them as an emergency and it'd be likely they'd pay because of the outcome. But I can't help but think about if I hadn't lost the pregnancy. What then? - Crisis averted and the insurance doesn't pay a dime? I'd have piled up a hefty collection of ultrasounds and labs by now. I'd owe thousands.

So bloggies, I write this for several reasons, if you didn't see much of me when I was in IL, now you know why - I wasn't feeling well. If you missed me writing here and have wondered what was up, now you know why - I didn't know what to say, and most importantly GET BEHIND THIS HEALTH CARE REFORM! This quagmire of red tape, paper work and pre-approvals is effecting the care we get. The insurance company is dictating my health based on how somebody codes something. It's ridiculousness. If your argument is that you want the government to stay out of it so you can continue to make your own health care choices - I say to you WAKE UP! We aren't making our own health care choices and neither are our doctors. The insurance companies are.

Follow up: I'm fine. Still disappointed, but expected. The tests all came back normal and we'll be clear for take off next month. It's likely you'll not hear much more about it unless there is good news to share.

today

It is impossible to be in a bad mood when the sun is out and there is mambo on the radio.

How to Smooth Frizzy Locks

I don't want to. I'm sick of hearing that I should - so piss off hair product industry. My hair is curly, and in Texas, even curlier. There is no way I'm going to spend any amount of time with a flat iron, blow dryer or any other type of smelly, fiddly product when it's likely that I will step out into the actual fresh air today and play with my kid.

In fact most sauna-like days it's going to be pulled into a bun or a braid and then all the little frizzles and ringlets will get free and be who they wanna be in all their spinny, swirly glory. Or my hair will be soaking wet because I'm at the pool or it's raining at wich time it will be getting ready to curl up. I also like my grey hairs, it took me a long time to earn them, and I plan to keep them.

Also see Chris Rock's new movie "Good Hair"

Alienated Conclusions

I gotta send you over to read this.

Fluorescent Bunny Alert

There was a point in my life when I was sure that everything had been done. Every story told, ever painting painted and everything after was just a variation of something else. I suppose we could still boil it all down to woman vs nature, herself etc... but I'm getting off subject. I thought this for a long time and sometimes I would get on the internet and type in "show me something new" or "original thoughts" it took years before I stumbled on Alba the work of Eduardo Kac. Seeing him shook me. Clearly I was mistaken and ever after when I see something truly new I think of it as a fluorescent bunny moment.

This morning, the main stream media showed me a story about a lady who does sand animation. I'm not sure what makes me more happy; seeing something new, or having proof that people en mass can and will appreciate art that doesn't involve boobs and explosions, or seeing the main stream media cover it. If you haven't watched it yet, here is Kseniya Simonova, a 24 year old sand animator who just won top prize in Ukrain's Got Talent, doing sand animation portraying life during WWII.

First Day of School

For the first time in five and a half years I am alone for seven hours. So far I've accomplished everything on my list. It's only 9:41am.

The Texas Sky

Someone Invent This

I'm tired of having the correct paperwork and documentation to sign up for life. Can't I just put it all on a flash drive and then bring that with me everywhere I go? The doctor, the school, the police, and whomever else that wants to update my information can do that and then I'll just wear it around my neck like a locket with pictures of my loved ones on the inside as well as all the pertinant information I need to fill a perscription or apply for fall classes. Then every month I'll update to some cloud floating around the internet just in case I loose my locket in the ocean.

Quick update and a link

So much is going on and amidst it all Ella, the dog and I just drove 1200 miles in the rain back home to TX. I'm signing Ella up for Kindergarten this week and that just needs to be all it's own post but today I need to tell you that I started another blog. It's called Clear Lake Newbie and I'm writing it for the Houston Chronicle. It's just going to be about what it's like to move to Houston (Clear Lake Area to be exact) and you can find it here http://www.ultimateclearlake.com/ page on down a little ways and you'll see my picture - I have the long hair going on there. So I hope to get that updated once a week as well as posting here every day again and since Ella is starting school I'll have the time to fill.

Boosters

The crazy fun happening on vacation ends today as I bring Ella in to see her Illinois doctor and get her school shots. The insurance won't cover school shots in Texas so this was on the agenda from way back. Apparently our health is only important if we are dying. Preventative medicine, like vaccinations, though much cheaper than an emergency room visit, isn't important. That's the problem with letting insurance companies decide what kind of care we deserve. It always irks me when people throw out there that politicians will be making the decisions instead of doctors, if we pass reform. My doctor hasn't been able to make a decision about my health based on what's best for me in years - she has to call the insurance company and get whatever it is I need pre-certified, then we all hope that every secretary and medical coder crossed every T and checked every box so as not to give the insurance company any reason to deny payment.

Years ago I had my appendix out and because the surgeon was very good and they let me go home the next day the insurance company decided it was an out-patient procedure and therefore anesthetic wasn't necessary and I received the bill for $4,000.00. It's nuts. I have more to say about this and oh boy is it a good story, but I have to be on my current insurance through the end of August. I'd rather not bite the hand that may still need to slap me around for the next few weeks, but on September 1st Blue Cross Blue Shield of IL better look out. And for now I will just say let's pass reform now!

Wednesday Afternoon

Ethan: "Do donkeys chew bubble gum?" Ella: "Sure they do - with their beaks."

Thanks for inviting us Mike!

I'm still breathing

I'm just breathing the air in Illinois again. Over the weekend Dan and I drove nonstop 19 hours back to Illinois (another story for another day.) We will be here for a couple of weeks tying up loose ends and closing bank accounts, stuff like that. Then back to Texas to start school. So far we have almost every day filled with relatives and activities. Poor kiddo has to get her shots for school while we're here. We'll be going to the Riverhawks tonight with some pals. I've got the dog with me and since it's the Dog Days of Summer at the baseball game we can bring her with us. I'll update after and let you know how crazy I am for attempting a baseball game with a five year old and a dog. Hopefully I can get my camera figured out and post pics.