Bills before Results

Yesterday’s mail greeted me with these… Yep, those are the bills for for CT Scan and Chest x-ray. Funny how those made it to me before the results of said tests. Mom says the ease with which I have been billed is because of my lack of insurance. I can see that. As I see it, there are two (possibly three) ways I could react to these gifts in the mail.#1. I can get upset, overwhelmed, and crawl under the covers in my comfy bed with Little Bit and cry…cry the kind of ugly snot filled cry of a money strapped girl that until last week was comfortable being broke. Cause broke meant making it. Broke meant healthy don’t owe nobody don’t wanna owe nobody. Now broke means hmm…do I send the doctors (plural), the radiologist, the CT Scan machine this 40 bucks I have right here, or do I chuck it all, stop breaking the law and get my license plate renewed like a good little girl. (I don’t say this to complain, just a fact of life right now.)#2. Face them, introduce myself, tell them to get comfortable, and make a plan, however small and commit?Or#3. My personal favorite…slip the bills into an envelope addressed to me, stamp it, and mail them back to myself once I get some kind of answer from the doctor.Maybe the hospital bills so much so that you can focus on something other than the fact that you could be really sick. “What? You say you have a tumor growing out of your neck? Your scared and it hurts? No problem just concentrate on the five different places that will bill you between 150-1200 each and all your pain will go away. We appreciate your business.”I am seriously thinking about writing a letter to the editor chronicling what I consider the cruelty of billing for a medical procedure before getting the results. All week I have had people who love me anxious to receive results. I believe their worries and cares are what have allowed me to remain sane and livable in this my week off.There are a lot of ‘letters to the editor’ I would like to write. Some serious, some funny, and some just plain petty. Maybe I could start a magazine devoted solely to ‘letters to the editor’ written by concerned citizens. Everyday heroes willing to speak up for the injustices and sins of the community.Besides the current medical billing travesty, saving the rainforests, littering, and the unnecessary use of fowl language the biggest concern I would like to write to the editor would be concerning thrift stores. But, that is a post for another time…Sidenote:Today started with good intentions and ended in complete and utter frustration and disappointment…I realized a lot about myself, not all good, maybe one day I’ll feel like posting about it, but today I just want to acknowledge how completely flawed and incomplete I am…we gotta keep growing or we will die right?

mindy said…April,Josh and I will be praying for you. I’m so sorry this is happening. I’m sure Joyce will keep us updated, but just know we will be two of the many people anxiously awaiting your results!