For those of you logging in to see the cascading waterfall of heads that rolled when Farmer H rode in on his white horse to get The Pony an appointment for his BROKEN ANKLE... the head-rolling has been postponed.
Day 11 of The Broken Ankle! Still no appointment! The Pony waited faithfully for his call from Urgent Care, who said they were following up with The Lady Named for a Part of the Female Anatomy on Monday morning. The Pony called The Lady Named for a Part of the Female Anatomy himself. She was unavailable, but returned his call 30 minutes later. Saying that THE PONY himself should be making that appointment. All he needed was the case number. AND she gave him a phone number for the Dept of Labor, which handles claims such as his.
The Pony relayed this info to Farmer H, who said HE would deal with it. Well. An hour and multiple phone calls later, the best Farmer H could do was a THURSDAY appointment over in Bill-Paying Town. ONE office said it would be three weeks before they could work in The Pony! A major hospital network said they would return Farmer H's call if they could squeeze The Pony in this afternoon. Oh, they returned the call four hours later. Saying they DID NOT HANDLE any patients with claims from concerning workplace injuries and the Dept of Labor. I'm pretty sure that's a lie. The only hospital we have in this area is affiliated with this major hospital network. So they're saying they deny treatment to injured workers???
ALSO, the appointment that Farmer H WAS able to capture is contingent on The Pony bringing A SPECIFIC FORM before he will be treated. Does this sound familiar?
Farmer H has his own appointment on Thursday, in the opposite direction, with the clinic that is holding him hostage for that $920 anesthesia bill. I will be driving The Pony, and hopefully Farmer H can meet The Pony in Bill-Paying Town after his own appointment. We have instructed The Pony:
"DO NOT LEAVE THAT OFFICE WITHOUT TREATMENT! If they won't take the (hopefully procured by then) newest form, pay with your insurance. OR we will pay by check or credit card if necessary, and deal with reimbursement later."
That will be two weeks to the day since The Pony broke his ankle. I don't think it's unreasonable to demand treatment.
Since 11:00 a.m., The Pony has been waiting on his acting supervisor to complete that form and email it to him. As I type this, it's 6:00 p.m.
We only have two more days to get that form in our hot sweaty hands... and 11 days has proved insufficient time to get it so far.
Maybe if you drew some angry eyebrows onto The Pony's face with a Sharpie... Maybe then he'd get some attention...
ReplyDeleteSince 11am The Pony has been waiting....
ReplyDeletethis is all so disappointing, really I'm sitting here shaking my head at the injustice of it all. How did the lady ankle-breaker get treatment so quickly? Did she get all the forms done first or did she get treatment and a cast, and THEN submit claims to the Post Office? I know the acting supervisor is at fault, but when there's a form to be sent, I'd be fronting up at the office and holding out my hot little hand for it instead. Then asking if there are any other forms I'd need, then I'd become my mum and not leave the medical facility without treatment. You need someone like my mum to march in there and demand to know "who is responsible for this while fiasco?"
Sioux,
ReplyDeleteHeh, heh! I needed that snort! No angry eyebrows for The Pony, but I hope doesn't get caught looking at his own file in the exam room. The last thing he needs is to see that he's been labeled as DIFFICULT.
***
River,
I KNOW! So unfair to the docile Pony! That lady ankle-breaker might have called the ambulance after crawling back up the steps at the yard where she broke it. It's a worse break. Said she went to the ER, and they gave her a referral before she left, with a doctor in the hospital clinic. You know, the one affiliated with the big hospital chain that says it doesn't take worker's comp injuries...
There is so much more going on than what we thought was a simple form! Coming up. Grab some anti-nausea meds, sit on the floor, because your head will be SPINNING by the time you hear the REST of the story...
My favorite gambling aunt is a good patient advocate. She makes demands and gets answers. Helped my grandma a lot with her appointments.