Really. I don’t get it. I’ve tried and tried, but haven’t been able to beat the system yet.
When I lived in Connecticut, I received supplies for my CPAP machine thru the mail from a local company. No fuss, no muss, no issue. For two years after I moved, I received my supplies from the same company. The only complaint I had was they were too aggressive. I would get a call every week saying I need new masks, hoses, gels, anything. I had a 6 month supply of it all, and still the calls! Ahhh, the good old days.
Now the insurance company will no longer let me get my supplies mailed from Connecticut, they have to be based locally. And the battle begins. My local physician needs documentation to issue a prescription. I have to obtain this from the pulmonary physician in Connecticut. I have a tough time getting this idea across to the person on the phone in Connecticut. My Spanish wasn’t up to the task, and I never got the opportunity to press “1” for English. First, they didn’t understand what or why I wanted a copy of my sleep study, then they insisted I already had it. I thought I had finally gotten the point across when I asked “Why would I have this? Should I have used it as an insert for that year’s Christmas card?” They finally agreed to mail me a information release form to send back to get the information.
Two weeks come and go,and lo and behold, I get the form. To paraphrase it “Enter name here, sign, and fax back”. Pretty complex, eh? To make sure I get the correct information needed, I contact my local physician. They tell me to fill it out, give it to them and they will take care of it.
A month passes, and nothing happens. I’m not too concerned, because I’m still using the pile of supplies I’ve received and stockpiled from the first company. I decide to follow up and see where I stand. I stand in the middle, as the supply company and my doctor’s office insist that they are waiting for the other person to proceed. It’s medical keep away! Neither party will call the other, not cricket, old chap! Neither will release the information to me, since I don’t have Dr. before my name. Both of them insist the issue does not lie with them. We’re talking non-narcotic medical supplies with a street value of zero. It’s not like I’m looking for the codes to launch nuclear missiles. If you need that code, it’s HillaryIsaLoser#1. I think it’s was recently changed by the new administration.
I decide to try a different tack. I call my original Connecticut physician, the one who ordered the test at the pulmonary lab in the first place. They call me back in 10 minutes, they have everything, they just need a release form faxed to them by my South Carolina physician. Progress! I call the SC doctor, and talk once again to someone in the office, and now it has to be reviewed by the physician. I guess my “Best if used by” date has expired.
So to recap my tale of woe, I went from a supplier who thought I was running a warehouse to a supplier that treats their inventory like it’s irreplaceable. I have two doctors offices that are waiting to hear from each other, and another who insists I already have everything. I wonder what college offers a B.S. in bureaucracy. They’re doing a heck of a job!