Health Insurance

Officially sucks the root, sayeth me. As a long-time patient who fortunately almost never has to deal with using it, and now as a practitioner who's gearing up for all the super fun times to be had waiting out the sign-up processes, figuring out the stupid quirks of individual insurers, and the non-stop hilarity that ensues from having to submit your claims 2-4 times, simply because you are an LAc and not an MD, DO or PA.

I have a lot of potential posts about healthcare policy, reform and the like, for later, once I get the practice somewhat going and plans for PA school well under way. For now, I'm feeling the resentment of being relegated to everyone's secondary or even tertiary tiers of care networks, which basically consist of discounting your fees and requiring so much submission of superfluous paperwork you wonder if it's worth it. Yeah, I'm working on my more long-range plans to get my own self-paying patients in my door, but that will take time--right now, referrals will only come from DPM if I can bill directly (no dice with submitting your own superbill, sadly). Some systems of care leave us out entirely (I'm looking in Medicare's direction, although the Hinchey Bill is apparently up for consideration again, and since we have fewer or at least a different assortment of douchebags in Congress, it might finally get passed this time around. I don't feel like getting into a cost/benefit analysis of joining a system that is presently collapsing under its own weight right now as it is nearly 2AM and I'm tired, but in terms of access and parity this would be a huge boon).

I'm harumphing off to bed now. Besides scheduling another job interview for next week and figuring out how to fill out 45-page insurance network applications, and writing more marketing copy than you can shake a checkbook at, I have to figure out where I can get a PPD test on the cheap, and get all my warmest gear together for tomorrow's snow camping outing. Cross your fingers the mild weather (by mild I mean no lower than 0º and no wind at night) holds! Pictures and trip report to follow, I promise.