Me vs. The Insurance Company

It's a regularly dull day at the dental clinic when I'm asked to translate for this Chinese patient with a kid who needs some serious dental work. No problem. Eventually, it becomes clear that he needs a referral to an Orthodontist, and he has no idea how to navigate the world of insurance. Still no problem. I offer to call Americhoice for him because, hell, not like I'm doing anything else useful that day.

(btw, AmeriCHOICE is a quite a deceptive name...)

[phone rings. recorded message comes on. FOR 3 MINUTES. "blahblahblahblah..press one if you are a healthcare provider, 2 if you are a policy holder....if none of these choices are correct for you please press 0]

So I press 1. another recorded message comes on.

[Healthcare providers do not have access to information through this number Please dial xxx-xxxx)

What the fuck? Why the hell did the message tell me to press 1.

Fine. So I call again, go through the entire message AGAIN, and this time I'm smart enough to press 0. Straight to a LIVE PERSON.

Boredinsurancelady: welcome to americchoice. what is your policy number

Me: Actually I'm calling on behalf of a patient of mine; I'm looking for a list of orthodon....

Boredinsurancelady: I need your tax ID number.

Me: ...my what?

Boredinsuranceloady: in LOUDER VOICE (because clearly I'm an idiot for not knowing what a tax ID number is ) YES, THE TAX ID NUMBER.

Me: [running over to the office manager] I'm on the phone with Americhoice and they want a tax ID number

Me: [to the insurance lady] look, I'm just looking for a list of Orthodontists that take insurance, I don't need special provider information.

Bored (and bitchy) insurance lady: doesn't matter. I still need the tax ID. Do you want to call back?

Me: [thinking about how long it took me to get someone on the phone] NO!!!! hold on. I'm looking.

[office manager finally finds tax ID]

Me: wooo hooo. Here it is. 376926o

Insurance lady: ok. i'm sorry, we don't have a list of orthodontists. please call this number instead.

Me: What!@#@!#. Then why the hell was I looking for the tax ID number.

Insurance lady: [click]

Time elasped: 45 minutes.

Change

The self I left behind in CA is not the self that I am now.

The bittersweet nostalgic feeling that swept over me as I was meandering down Kelly Drive took me totally by surprise “I’M GOING TO MISS THIS CITY”

Oh Philadelphia, you’ve snuck under my skin.

Part of me, a large part, wishes I had no moorings. No ties. That I didn’t get teary eyed when thinking about things (and people) I will leave behind.

Part of me, a much smaller part, wants to go back home.

All of me realizes that I will be ok.

But that life is bittersweet.

The only thing that stays the same is change….

Drumroll please....

I'm going to be a family doctor AND A PSYCHIATRIST. At UC Davis.

Holy shit.

The One and Only MATCH

Tomorrow I will be participating in the completely archaic and humiliating process called "Match". At Match, I will learn where I will be living for the next few years, during which I will be brutally worked to death for very little pay or compensation. But that's ok, because at the end of it all, I will be a full-fledged doctor, subject to the whims and whimsy of insurance companies and litigation happy lawyers.

But that all happens tomorrow. Tonight, I'm going to get drunk.

Well this is new....

Hi people. So I am going to ditch my MySpace blog in favor of this big new space on blogspot. Which I think will enable me to ramble on even more endlessly than before.

Oh yes, and for those of you all new readers, I'm not a doctor yet. But I will be...in approximately 2 months. Don't, I repeat, don't go to the hospital I will be practicing in. Because I don't know SHIT, and I'm about to get an MD.

Cheers.