Still Stuck in Purgatory

I talked to Randy, Dr. Blackstone's nurse, yesterday and he said that Dr. Blackstone has asked that I see a nephrologist before I have the surgery just in case there is anything special that needs to be done for me during surgery or after. This is reasonable and I'm grateful that the doctor is cautious. I asked him if I needed to see the nephrologist before getting my file sent to Cigna and he said no. Said that there was nothing keeping Becky from sending my packet to Cigna. Hmmmmm... So I e-mailed Becky as soon as I hung up and asked when she would be sending in my packet. I got an answer back from her late today. It was "Hopefully very soon. I have help coming next week (YEA!!!!!) It will depend on what the insurance asks me for to determine authorization. We'll cross our fingers and hope they are kind! I'll let you know when I am able to get you submitted. ;0)" Now what the heck does that mean? Is that soon as in "two weeks" like she told me on July 21st? Is that soon as in after the new help comes in and gets trained? And what the heck does she mean by "it depending on what the insurance asks for to determine authorization"? I can't even get crossed over into Cigna Hell. I'm stuck in Becky Purgatory.

connie, ooo, I'd be e-mailing for some clarification on that one....they owe it to you! You have the right to know when to expect it to ship out, so then you can worry about the OTHER idiots. HUGS! Mich

So sorry you're in Becky Purgatory. I was there too. It took me three months to get out. My consult was March 31st, and my file was turned over to Cigna the first week in July. I am telling you this cause it would have been easier for me to wait if I had been given a reasonable expectation of the time frame. I mean, tell me three months and I'll be fine with three months, but don't tell me two weeks and then take three months! At the end, I was calling Becky back every day or so. Each time I was polite, and showed compassion about how hard the staff change overs must be (even though they've been saying that for the past six months), but persistent. In her defense, Becky was the only one who seemed to be straight with me about what to expect. She told me when my file was sent to "transcription," received back from transcription, sent to Cigna, etc. In summary, I attended the January 10th seminar, and my surgery date is scheduled for November 10. Sheesh. There was, for me, one silver lining though to all this waiting and lack of correct communication from Dr. Blackstone's staff. Another of her patients, Judy Balasa, was very frustrated too, and contacted me to compare notes. I've since become friends with Judy, who has her surgery date the week prior to mine. I am so enjoying our friendship that wouldn't likely have been had we both not been so frustrated with the staff. Hang in there for the long haul. Really, when I look back now, it doesn't seem so long ago that I attended the orientation. Best of luck!