gatorsmom
10-23-2009, 05:26 PM
So, I finally get my dad to agree to get a second opinion about his bladder cancer treatment. Mayo Clinic in Rochester is the BEST in our area. It is located between our homes- an hour north for him and hour and half south for me. I could make the trip that day and drive back and so could he. I convinced him to see some specialists there and got an appointment there. I really wanted to set that up before their offices close today and I managed to do it! yeah!! Or so I thought. It turns out his fricken health coverage doesn't cover Mayo. "If the doctors feel he has exhausted all the specialists at HIS hospital, the doctor can recommend that he be seen at the U of Madison. If he wants to be seen at Mayo, he needs a special request from his doctor." Rochester is close for me and for him. Rochester is a small town and very easy to navigate. Everytime I've been to Madison I get lost. The U campus is huge. The streets are confusing. If we go there I don't know my way around AT ALL. We would also both have to stay in a hotel because from my house it's a 5hour drive (each way!) and from his house it's a 2.5hour drive.
I FINALLY GET MY DAD TO AGREE TO A SECOND OPINION AT ONE OF THE TOP CANCER CENTERS IN THE WORLD which happens to be an hour drive north for him (which was no small feat) and insurance won't cover it!!!!!
I just called to talk to Dad's doc and asked if he'd make a special request for Mayo because there is a good chance that insurance will consider it but the nurse asked if he could call me back on Monday. Ugh!! I have to wait the weekend for this??? I told the nurse that if the doc is on call tonight (she said he was) that he could call me anytime because I"m here with several sick kids and am not going anywhere. I would LOVE to hear from him. He's nice guy so maybe he will call me back after hours....Here's praying. If I could get him to approve this tonight and forward the request to insurance, I could feel soo relieved over the weekend. The cs rep for the Health Insurance provider said that there's a good chance he could get it approved.
I really doubt Dad would go to Madison for a second opinion. And he won't go to Mayo and pay out of his own pocket. He'll just say forget about it, I'm sticking with my hospital's treatment plan and pray they know what they are doing. To which I will answer "that's great, Dad, that really worked for mom (who died of cancer 4 yrs ago)." ugh!!!! So frustrating!!!
Thanks for letting me vent. And bang my head on the computer.
I FINALLY GET MY DAD TO AGREE TO A SECOND OPINION AT ONE OF THE TOP CANCER CENTERS IN THE WORLD which happens to be an hour drive north for him (which was no small feat) and insurance won't cover it!!!!!
I just called to talk to Dad's doc and asked if he'd make a special request for Mayo because there is a good chance that insurance will consider it but the nurse asked if he could call me back on Monday. Ugh!! I have to wait the weekend for this??? I told the nurse that if the doc is on call tonight (she said he was) that he could call me anytime because I"m here with several sick kids and am not going anywhere. I would LOVE to hear from him. He's nice guy so maybe he will call me back after hours....Here's praying. If I could get him to approve this tonight and forward the request to insurance, I could feel soo relieved over the weekend. The cs rep for the Health Insurance provider said that there's a good chance he could get it approved.
I really doubt Dad would go to Madison for a second opinion. And he won't go to Mayo and pay out of his own pocket. He'll just say forget about it, I'm sticking with my hospital's treatment plan and pray they know what they are doing. To which I will answer "that's great, Dad, that really worked for mom (who died of cancer 4 yrs ago)." ugh!!!! So frustrating!!!
Thanks for letting me vent. And bang my head on the computer.