Saturday, May 26, 2018

Insurance Revoked

Just before my final post op appointment I was notified that my insurance had lapsed.  That cannot be.  I just received my insurance cards for the year a few months ago.  I called the insurance company and they said that because I am on state assisted care (mainly because I am a single mother with full custody of two children and have qualified with my children until now) and they said that I needed to call the state.  I call the state and they claim to have sent a letter on March 1st saying they needed to review my account and get an updated proof of income.  I just happened to have the good fortune of being bombarded by new business in the last 3 months and one of my children became an adult so I was done.  Thankfully my youngest still gets insurance through the state but now I'm completely without.  The doctors office said they could keep me on the schedule but for someone to check on my knee would cost me $500 out of pocket.  Ridiculous.  I'm not paying a doctor $500 for him to say whether or not I need physical therapy which also now is not covered.  So I'm now on the hunt for a new insurance plan that I will have co-pays and out of pocket expenses where I haven't before.  I have had the good fortune of having a plan that covers all of my expenses until now.  And what is most amazing is the crazy timing of deciding to have the surgery on a whim just before the insurance lapsed.  I am beyond lucky for that.  And when talking to my doctor they said that the PVNS was not as bad as last time.  Which is strange as it felt like it was getting worse.  The popping was constant.  But the pictures confirmed there was only one area of my knee where it was really concentrated.  I'm sure that was the source of why my knee was always popping.  On the MRI it looked like an actual mass but it was all cozy in one spot.  The doctor said the previous surgery had it all up and down my knee.  He said he is nervous because I have the kind that likes to come back.  He cauterized it this time so I'm hoping that I will be able to go for a long time without another surgery.  Now that I can expect expenses that will change the way I treat myself.  I will likely go a lot longer and endure a lot more discomfort before going under the knife again.