I normally throw those out. I mean, I know I should open every single one, but I they are junk mail nine times out of ten. We always put the unopened mail on the computer desk. That way we both know where it is and can dig through it when we need/want to. I got one of those in the mail yesterday. For some odd reason I just decided to open it. I'm really glad I did.
It is a letter from my medical insurance. Apparently my shrink is no longer going to be covered by my insurance. His office decided not to renew with my medical insurance. So as of April 1st my insurance will no longer cover any services provided by his office.
According to the letter since I am in ongoing treatment with him I can continue to see him for 90 days, after which they will no longer cover the expense.
So, needless to say I will be looking for a new shrink very soon. I'm not supposed to see him again until July. That is of course outside of that 90 day window.
Thankfully I already have my prescription from him so I'm covered medicine wise until I find a new doctor. But I'll have to find one before or during July other wise I won't have a refill left.
I'm nervous about it honestly. I was nervous the first time I started to look for a shrink and now that I have one I like and am on medication that works for me the idea of finding a new shrink is even more nerve wracking.
My insurance has a website I can dig through of places that do take my insurance. So at least that much. I thought about asking for suggestions from my current shrink's office but they wouldn't know who is in network.. so I'll just have to call them and cancel my appointment for July.
I figure this weekend I'll start looking on my insurance's website and start making some calls and all that jazz. I'm not looking forward to it. I'm not happy about it. But there is nothing I can do. I know I can't afford his rates without the insurance. There is no sliding scale either. So yeah.
I'm just going to make sure that whichever new shrink I go see is willing to allow me to stay on my current medication. It works. I'm happy with it. I don't want to fuck with it.
Meh. I'm sorry :( Medical shit sucks, I can relate. For me it's not a shrink per se but oodles and oodles of medical doctor's and/or specialists that I've been forced to deal with for the last, oh, 5 or 6 years. Ever since I started feeling ill, tired, and in constant pain every day. They realized something was wrong (good for them, I could have told them that), but all they seem to want to do is swat me back and forth like a ping pong ball, never agreeing or deciding upon a concrete diagnosis OR the best course of treatment to help me start feeling better. It's beyond frustrating, and it really scares me that my health and well being is being entrusted to such a group of..for lack of a better word..idiots. It's all a big guessing game to them. As far as meds go, yeah. Between pain meds, anti-inflammatory agents, nausea medication, sleeping pills, "nerve-numbers" and all the other bullshit I have to swallow every day, I've got about 6 or 7 scripts that I HAVE to have. And they aren't cheap, even with decent insurance. It's a nightmare!
ReplyDeleteGood luck in finding a new (and preferably anti-idiotic) doc who knows his or her shit and won't jerk you around like a marionette. : /
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I'm so sorry that you have to go through all of that! And thank you very much for the luck.
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