Seeing Specialist----not

 SHORT VERSION 

Except for three hours, Steve and I enjoyed our two days in St. Louis.  Unfortunately, we were not able to accomplish the purpose of the trip:  appointment with an osteoporosis specialist.  Someone overlooked the fact that the Washington University's Center for Advanced Medicine has no contract with our particular Medicare plan.  I had made the appointment, received mail from them, filled out their paperwork, and signed up for a MyChart as requested.  In all this, no one noticed a problem until about four hours before the scheduled time.  The call came while Steve and I were hiking the lovely Laumeier Sculpture Park.  Back at the hotel, I spent the next three hours on the phone—much of it on hold—with WU medical's accounting and our insurance.  Nonetheless, they canceled my much-anticipated appointment.  In hope, Steve and I went to the Center, at the correct time, anyway.  Everyone was kind and sympathetic, but we did not get in.  So we went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens instead.  Beauty and wonder.

 

 

LONGER VERSION

Yesterday, the long-anticipated, osteoporosis-specialist-appointment day, did not turn out as expected.  We were expecting to get a lot more information about my situation to help me figure out how to respond.  But I was prevented from seeing Dr. M. for the valuable info.

On the way to St. Louis Tuesday morning we stopped and climbed Monk's Mound, biggest of the 80 at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.  When it started to rain, we had crackers and cheese in the car overlooking a wetland of egrets.  In the afternoon we wandered the St. Louis Art Museum.  After dinner at Frailey's Grill, we settled into our hotel room and watched Life of Pi.

Wednesday morning we walked the grounds of the Laumeier Sculpture Park—fascinating and fun.  Unfortunately, after about an hour, there was a cell call from Ran, the cheerful young man who had made my appointment two months ago.  Bad news, he said.  Some problem with insurance.  He asked me to send my card and I told him I'd already posted it on the MyChart site, but would send again in an hour or so when we got back to my laptop.  We finished our tour with Ran's assurance that he would figure it out and all would be well.

But it wasn't.  Back in the hotel, I spent the next three hours on the phone with Ran his supervisor, and four different agents from our Medicare Advantage group.  During long stretches on hold, we packed up, checked out and moved from our room to the hotel lobby and then to the waiting room of the specialist at the Center for Advanced Medicine.  Arriving there I was told my appointment had been canceled.  Ay-yi-yiee.  

Clinical Office Supervisor, Jay, did come out to explain the situation.  Last fall when Steve retired we signed up for a Medicare Advantage plan called WellCare.  We had heard that these added plans are sometimes hard to get things approved through.  In this case, WellCare actually did approve, but although Barnes accepts Medicare A&B, it "has no contract with" the additional plans.  

All well and good, but could someone not have figured this out and informed us before the day of my appointment???  I had received mail from Washington University's Center for Advanced Medicine, had filled out their paperwork, and had signed up for a MyChart with them as requested.  Apparently in all of that, no one noticed the issue.  Jay told us that the appointment never should have been made.  Someone in the "pre-arrival team" overlooked that key bit of information.

Jay told us that both she and Dr M were upset about this.  (I had mailed Dr M an introductory letter last week.)  Jay gave us her personal line number and said that if we change insurance, I should contact her first, before making another appointment. 

So, Steve and I left to be wow'd by the Missouri Botanical Garden instead.  The garden did not disappoint!