ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS

Why is it that my faithful readers seem to enjoy the stories that I write about my most recent aggravations? Either it’s because they are happy that it didn’t happen to them, OR, because at one time or another it did! Distance from an irritation can make almost anything funny—-unless the stress sends you to the Loony Bin.

Starting out on a positive note, I am pleased to report that my, “Either We Fix It Or Replace It” company finally sent me a check to pay for the replacement of my temperamental washing machine, that five technicians could not fix. After several months of calls (and finally a very strong letter), it took two weeks for the check to arrive. However the questionnaire, “Are you pleased with how your problem was solved?” came to my computer lickity split. Needless to say, I wasn’t pleased until the check arrived on a lovely Friday afternoon.

Everything seemed to indicate that one problem had been solved, and the day was going to be uneventful. Not so fast! My mail had arrived at 5 p.m.—later than its usual late arrival, and I received a $1700.00 bill from the anesthesiologist who had put me to sleep for a colonoscopy. It stated that my little snooze had been rejected by Medicare.

I was going out for the evening, so I applied my make-up with one hand, and dialed the Medicare number with the other. The very nice Medicare agent told me that Medicare had not paid the bill, because it had not been properly submitted with the words, “Medical Necessity.” I said, “Would you want a colonoscopy without an anesthesia?” She said something like, “Hell, No!  Ask them to resubmit.”  Of course, by now every medical office in the Country was closed, so I had to wait until Monday to resolve the problem. That gave me lots of time to imagine that the billing department would put me on telephone “Hold” and  give me a hard time.

On Saturday morning, in order to lower my stress, I decided to go to the Mall to see the movie, “Black Panther.” The newspaper listed the super-duper-extra-loud version of the movie at 9:30 a.m., so I decided to go to the quieter one at 9:00 a.m. Of course, the newspaper had gotten it wrong, so I wandered the Mall for 30 minutes. Then, I returned to purchase a ticket for the 9:30 show. The ticket fellow put a chart in front of me and said, “Pick a seat.”  “Why?” I asked. “Because now all of our seats are reserved.” I asked him to show me where the screen was on the chart, and noticed that in the 300+ seat theatre, only 5 seats had been reserved. I closed my eyes and pointed to the chart. My finger fell on seat # 9 in row E.  Anyway, I think that’s what I chose, because when the ticket taker gave me my stub, he had given me the receipt side and discarded the seat designation.  So, I found seat #9 in a row, and prayed that no one would sit in my lap. After suffering 20-minutes of previews, I did enjoy “Black Panther,” and the action movie helped lower my stress. I was very happy that all the action was on the screen and not in the theatre.

The Saturday mail was delivered early. I don’t know how the mailman does that only on the weekend. And, I received a report that informed me how much money was still left in my health insurance  spending account. It seems as if they had added an extra month. Another call for Monday morning.

My Monday morning class begins at 9:30 a.m. so I called the sleepy folks at the anesthesiologist’s billing office in Los Angeles at 8 a.m. and requested the re-filing of my bill. The voice on the other end yawned said, “We noticed the problem and already sent it to the re-submit department, but I will make a note that you called.” “I don’t want another bill,” I said.  “If you get one, let us know,” was her not so reassuming response.

I then called the folks at the insurance spending account office, and the nice man explained to me that I had just been paid for the shortfall of  October, 2017. “So,” I said, that means that there will be another shortfall in October, 2018— that will be paid in 2019.”  “You got it!” he replied. “Makes no sense to me,” I said.  “You are right,” he replied, but that’s the story.”

I guess the answer is to—-Carpe Diem and get it by the throat.

Esther Blumenfeld