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Re: Blood Tests 

By: micro in 6TH POPE | Recommend this post (1)
Thu, 15 Dec 22 5:47 PM | 25 view(s)
Boardmark this board | 6th Edition Pope Board 		Msg. 38301 of 58656
(This msg. is a reply to 38293 by Decomposed)
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wow De. That is a real PITA.
Like you, I am on a blood thinner, a statin to help keep my bad cholesterol I am a major producer of, (I wonder if I can sell that stuff ?) and my three prescribed pills I take twice daily cost me exactly zero.. I have no monitor except seeing my cardiologist every now and then who is keeping tabs on me..

If I were you I would just buy the meter and make sure it works before returning the one back to Aetna.

Is the person calling you from here in the U.S.?
Aetna's customer service for medicare plans is not. They are in either India or some land close by.

Sorry to hear you have to do these finger pricks. They can hurt and aren;t something to look forward to. Especially in the same area.

Buy the meter. Skip the hassle... JMO....


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The above is a reply to the following message:
Blood Tests
By: Decomposed in 6TH POPE
Thu, 15 Dec 22 4:45 PM 		Msg. 38293 of 58656


One of the joys of having something mechanical in my body is that my blood has to be kept thinned. You don't want to go TOO thin, 'cuz then you bleed. And you don't want to go too normal, 'cuz then you clot. The goal is always be in that "happy" zone where you don't die.

My insurance company at first refused to let me do my own testing at home. I spent a few months chasing in to the hospital every two weeks for a finger prick. The process takes about a minute, but there's an hour of travel time so it's not at all convenient. Then Covid happened and I told my insurance company that I was uncomfortable having to go to a hospital every week or two. They relented and I've been testing from home ever since.

This worked fine for the first year and a half. Then my insurance company dropped the medical supply company I'd been using and forced me to pick another. They gave me a long list of providers, but I called them all and there was only one on the list that deals with blood thinness. Just like the first medical supply company, the new one rented me a meter, gave me a bunch of test strips, "trained me" in how to stick myself, told me how to report my results, and had me sign a contract. The contract said I'm to test weekly. That was new.

I don't want to test weekly. The medical supply company shouldn't even care. Although I report my test results to them, all they do is to fax my test results to my hospital. My hospital reviews the results and calls to discuss them with me. Then they give me my next test date - which is usually one week in the future if I'm out of range, but two weeks if things are good. Two weeks is the norm.

Testing involves sticking my fingers and drawing blood. Believe it or not, I don't enjoy that. There are times when the stuck finger hurts for the rest of the day. There are times when a scar develops on the finger. But I needed a meter in order to continue home testing and I signed the contract. From the start, though, I had no intention of testing every week.

This company though, a division of Aetna, is run by real pricks. When they haven't received results for 7 days, they start calling. Every single day. Rarely, there's actually a person, but it's usually an automated caller that gives me the option of A) entering my test result or B) staying on the line to speak with an attendant. I always go with C) and hang up.

When there's an actual person, it goes differently.

"Sir, my name is Bill. I'm with XYZ and I need to discuss your testing. But first, I need you to verify who I'm speaking to. Please give me your date of birth."

The first time this happened, I gave it to them. But now I've begun digging in my heels. "I'm sorry, but I won't give out personally identifiable information, PII, over the phone to someone I don't know."

"Oh, but sir, I did. I'm Bill. I'm with XYZ."

"Yes, but before I give you my PII, you need to prove who you are. After all, I didn't call you. You called me, so you know who I am. I'm the one who needs to verify who YOU are. Would you be willing to give me your social security number?"

LOL. That call ended.

The next time they called, it went the same way except that when I said I would not give them my date of birth, they asked me for my PIN. Much better. I gave it to them and have done so ever since.

They then ask me for my test result and I always tell them that I will be testing "on Thursday." Usually that's all they need. Sometimes, though, they press the issue. They may do any of the following:

They remind me that the terms of the contract require that I test weekly. I tell them that I have a medical condition that must be monitored by medical professionals. They schedule test dates. It could be weekly. It could be bi-weekly. It could even be daily.

"Yes, but Medicare requires that -"

"I'm not under Medicare. You have my date of birth. You must know that."

"Weekly is what Medicare says is safest, sir."

"It's not as safe as following the advice of medical professionals. Are you a medical professional? Are you giving me medical advice?"

"No, sir, I'm not."

"- because it sounds like you are."

"No, sir, I'm not. But the prescription [for the meter and test strips] from your doctor says that you are to be tested weekly."

"No, it does not. I already looked into that. It says I am to test on a schedule set by the ABC Hospital's nurses clinic, nurses who are familiar with my medical status. You aren't.

"And," I continued, "the contract may have said weekly, but the app I use to report results says I must test according to my doctor's guidance. Are you telling me to ignore what your own app is telling me?" [See screenshot to the right - which I made a point of capturing and storing... just in case this ever gets escalated.]

"We may need to request the meter be returned."

I was ready for that argument too. I'd already checked on Ebay and found used meters selling for about $120. The same meters that XYZ company sells for $1,500. $120 is not in the least intimidating.

"Do what you have to do," I said. "You're a STORE, not a hospital. I understand that you'd like to double your sales and your profits, but I'm going to do what my doctor tells me to do since I have an actual medical condition. Right now, you're collecting, what? $20 thousand per year from my insurance company for doing next-to-nothing? If you think it's a wise business decision to throw that money away, you certainly have a right to. But I WILL take the matter up with my insurance company if you do and will do my best to persuade them to drop your company as a service provider."

That's how it's been going, LOL. These pricks want to push me around. I'm just pushing back.

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