Insurance Fun Get Started ("If Winter Comes" No. 21)

Another fun aspect of this whole situation started a little bit today... :S - Insurance!

I called our insurance broker (who knows AJ from the gym) I told him that I have a stack enough to make a book of EOB's and I need to know what to do in the end. Since all of them have claimed with the wrong department in the insurance company. Which according to Chris, they should know better. Anyway, I am going to just collect the EOB's and then Chris and I will sit down and go through it all in detail. He said we have at least 3 months before we need to really start looking at it and pay. Feels great to have Chris to help out with these things. I hate dealing with insurance companies and I am not convinced yet that this will be pleasant.

About 15 min after I had spoken to Chris, the Oncologist office called, it was James - the financial advisor - talk about timing!!

He just wanted to collect a 'small' deposit while we are waiting for the claims to get sent to the insurance company. 'yeah right' - like that is going to happen, I asked him if theoretically he shouldn't claim via insurance company and we can just wait and pay until that happens. Why the need of deposit or payment plan which was his next subject. He gave me a ton of reasons why it would be good to do this but I wasn't convinced... so I called Chris when I got off the phone and asked if I had to pay anything to them now. He said absolutely not, there is no reason for doing that and they are just trying to get cash where they can. ... well... they are not getting it from us... not yet anyway. I don't have a problem paying for what they do, not in any way. They can just wait like the hospital and all the doctors there, claim then get money :) Oh well, I can tell this is just the beginning of this carousel! :) :) :)

I asked James, just out of curiosity - If I didn't have any insurance at all.. and had to come in and get the CHOP and Neulasta shot that AJ gets, how how much would that cost ….

… he said, CHOP, Neulasta and lab work costs around...  $10 000 - $11,000 per treatment... times 6 or 8 - its a lot.. wow... can you imagine not having insurance and have to do this, it would be impossible!

Tomorrow AJ has chemo in Dr. H's office in the morning and then at Seton on Friday as well as Neulasta shot.

AJ is a trooper, I am so proud of him. He is so fantastic - the way he is handling everything and being positive and strong. All I can do is support, but he has to do all the hard work - treatments and medicines and god knows what.

Time to get some sleep...