So much freaking paperwork and still not back to work.

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I know that companies have to cover their butt, it is just crazy that they make you go though so much just to come back to work. I am at the point now were I am dealing with insurance as well as work to be paid under our sick policy and I am at my wits end with it. Worst thing is that I could totally qualify for disability with everything that is wrong with me but I want to work. I feel like when all this virus stuff is over with that I am going to focus on getting back doing Photography more as then I can work at my own pace and set my own hours. I hate thought of dealing with all this incontinence stuff at a job is going to have eyes on everything that I do now. SO OVER 2020 ALL READY... 2019 was bad enough with surgery, recovery and moving. Now dealing with this and the virus just makes it suck factor 10... GRRR I am so over this crap, pun intended.

 

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Can I get an Amen to that

 

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I know the virus stuff has been rough on everyone. Especially if you can’t work right now. Wish there were more that could be done so everyone who can work has a safe environment.

Praying for all of us globally, for our safety and survival from this Covid virus, and for a vaccine that will help get this under control.

 

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I know EXACTLY what you mean! This system is a mess! The Affordable Care Act has proven a nightmare for my Wife & I. I was forced to go on disability just to get Medicare. After we hit the $1 Million point with BCBS and spending over $1.9 Million out of pocket over 34 major surgeries. BCBS raised my rate from $1600 per month to $64,000 per year for very limited major medical which only covered a small percentage.
After losing my Mother to a 14 year battle with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, all paid out of pocket the last ten years at $10,000 up to $17,000 per month for her care, my Wife lost her Grandmother who raised her as a child (Both parents still in College) to Alzheimer’s 2 years ago. She decided after many years in diabetes research, then pain management; both 6 figure jobs with full benefits to take a break and give back and help families dealing with this horrible mind robbing disease. Her insurance after Cobra, 40 year old, perfectly healthy female signed up to continue with her COBRA benefits with BCBS at a cost of $1600 per month. The first time she attempted to schedule a Dr appointment she was told they were no longer accepting ACA Patients? Unbeknownst to us BCBS dumped her into the ACA basket with no forewarning or notice. LSS, It was a 16 month wait just to get her annual OB/GYN Appt.! She loves what she does, but because I can’t go back to work right now (Tumor on my eye/ need new knee implant)she has to go back into the high stress Corporate / Big Pharma job just to keep us out of bankruptcy!Even with the Medicare after getting into a horrible pain management group that refused me an MRI, instead sent me to a shrink to convince me my pain was all in my head! An MRI put them in a not profitable category to be avoided at all cost, as the DRs. would lose a portion of their bonuses! Meanwhile I was again becoming paralyzed on my right side. After a letter from my Atty, in three days I had an MRI only to find I had tumors on my cervical spinal cord, and that runny nose was not allergies but cerebral spinal fluid as the spinal sac had been pierced. I was rushed into emergency surgery, but after 3 years of fighting these bastards my right arm doesn’t know that the tumor is gone....Sorry about my rant, I’m grumpy after a couple days in the hospital!

 

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ThatFLGuy: I can feel your pain. Every 5 years, my "retirement employer" has to put the insurance "third part administer" out to bid, by law. Even if the same company (the Evil Aetna) wins again, we go through all the paperwork again, get new insurance cards with different number, so the financial people at the Dr's office, hospital, etc, have to redo their paperwork. Of course the fees/premiums goes up. If you call about something that happened on the new contract, they claim they don't have any of the previous information. You know that's a lie, because when they deny something, they cite the info from your old file. They even question your prescriptions, even though they are not new and are in the file they claim they don't have - until they want to deny. It makes no sense, because then you have to got to the doctor for a new prescription and they have to pay for that visit. What a waste of the doctor's time, what a waste of money. Some doctors won't accept Aetna, so I always ask the financial person before I incurre a cost. If a new company wins the contract, you start all over, enrolling as if for the first time. Currently, i have to carry 7 insurance cards for the same plan, from the same TPA - plastic like a credit card - not counting Medicare. To add insult to injury,then they make you sign the "paperwork reduction act". AAARRRG!
For you & your employer, it makes no finacial sense. They incurre the ourly wages they pay the clerk, and the programmers. Of course, that's passed to you on the Premium, not from the CEO's $320 million dollar salary before benefits.
So I have created a mantra to keep my blood pressure down when dealing with that. Although I'm not sure a mantra is allowed to have a swear word in it.

 

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Wow, you have allot going on. The hospital and billing will drive anyone nuts.
Glad you are hanging in there at least. Certainly have every right to vent.

 

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I know that companies have to cover their butt, it is just crazy that they make you go though so much just to come back to work. I am at the point now were I am dealing with insurance as well as work to be paid under our sick policy and I am at my wits end with it. Worst thing is that I could totally qualify for disability with everything that is wrong with me but I want to work. I feel like when all this virus stuff is over with that I am going to focus on getting back doing Photography more as then I can work at my own pace and set my own hours. I hate thought of dealing with all this incontinence stuff at a job is going to have eyes on everything that I do now. SO OVER 2020 ALL READY... 2019 was bad enough with surgery, recovery and moving. Now dealing with this and the virus just makes it suck factor 10... GRRR I am so over this crap, pun intended.

I have been through the going back to work after Short Term three times now. It is a pain for sure.

For me, I was in the process of trying to get accomodations by way of working from home when the lockdown started. Then, we were all sent home for the time being and may never all be back in the office again. Its funny, now the realized we are more efficient from home, although many studies have shown that to be the case.

I know what a pain it is to deal with HR and a doctor and trying to get them to give each other what they need. First off, in my case, I don't want to divulge what I have going on to anyone at work. I am having to wear diapers 24/7 now and don't like the idea of people at work knowing it. Secondly, our office's bathroom facilities are woefully inadequate, so just getting a chance to go in and change my diaper will make me have to wait in line and may be humiliating if people see me carrying a bag into the bathroom and then hear the tell tale signs of a diaper change.

Good luck to you, I hope things work out. I feel luck that work from home may be more permanent a possibility for me but hate that so many don't have that option.

 

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Hey FLguy, sounds like a plan! Concentrating on photography will probably start out slowly but when things catch on for you I bet it can make you a nice living. Of course this stupid damned Covid stuff has messed everybody up but please don't get me started on how this thing has been mishandled from the word go! It's a disgrace. I remember the times when the United States was really the "go to" nation that had answers and did things with the "can do, will do" attitude including real leadership to get things done(OK I guess I did get started!)
As for 2020, I think it's worn out it welcome! The weatherman I listen to on the radio in the morning said this morning that since it's July 1, maybe it's time to retire 2020 and now have 2020-1/2. So hopefully things will be better in 20201 1/2!

 

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Boy! OH BOY! Reading this makes me glad I’m Canadian! Our publicly funded system is far from perfect, but we”re all covered and never have to put up with the kind of situations described above.

 

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So that there is no confusion here.. I have really good insurence through work and will be going back to work this weekend. By really good I mean I only own ~~$3,000 and that is with all my ER copays.. That compaired to when I had my surgery without insurence where I would have a ~~$125,000 bill had they not don what the did by getting me what every they could.


Big thing for me is finding out what is going to be my new normal. The meds that they have me taking are all over the counter as I don't want any pain meds yet but if we cannot get a handle on this by next week than it will be more test and meds. I am in pain all the time.


Just to give a refference point. I am taking Docusate sodium (Stool softener), Metamucil (Fiber), Miralax (Laxative), magnum, a probiotis, and normal vitamins.. I will pass wattery stool all day and even with my bathroom less then ten feet from my livingroom I still don't make it every time.

My bladder is a mess and I have wet more in the past two weeks during the day than I did after surgery.

I am truly at a loss and will be driving doctors nuts until I get some answers. I moved from Florida to Pa to have a better life and now I just don't know... Worst part is, I live in a very small town... I know everyone or they know me. This is not something that is going to be easy to hid if it stays this bad becuase the abena pull up and pads that I am using at home are not going to cut it if I am far away from a bathroom.

I truly have never be anywhere and had a full blown bowl accident where I did not have privicy which I will not have at work.

I don't even know how I will be able to handle any of this at work let alone having that type of accident.

All I can do is keep doing what the doctors say I should for this next week and then go from there. I am going to reach to my GI doctor to let her know that things are very bad right now as my GP and GI are not coordinating like my PA and GI were.

If you are the praying type I could use all I can get.

 

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So that there is no confusion here.. I have really good insurence through work and will be going back to work this weekend. By really good I mean I only own ~~$3,000 and that is with all my ER copays.. That compaired to when I had my surgery without insurence where I would have a ~~$125,000 bill had they not don what the did by getting me what every they could.


Big thing for me is finding out what is going to be my new normal. The meds that they have me taking are all over the counter as I don't want any pain meds yet but if we cannot get a handle on this by next week than it will be more test and meds. I am in pain all the time.


Just to give a refference point. I am taking Docusate sodium (Stool softener), Metamucil (Fiber), Miralax (Laxative), magnum, a probiotis, and normal vitamins.. I will pass wattery stool all day and even with my bathroom less then ten feet from my livingroom I still don't make it every time.

My bladder is a mess and I have wet more in the past two weeks during the day than I did after surgery.

I am truly at a loss and will be driving doctors nuts until I get some answers. I moved from Florida to Pa to have a better life and now I just don't know... Worst part is, I live in a very small town... I know everyone or they know me. This is not something that is going to be easy to hid if it stays this bad becuase the abena pull up and pads that I am using at home are not going to cut it if I am far away from a bathroom.

I truly have never be anywhere and had a full blown bowl accident where I did not have privicy which I will not have at work.

I don't even know how I will be able to handle any of this at work let alone having that type of accident.

All I can do is keep doing what the doctors say I should for this next week and then go from there. I am going to reach to my GI doctor to let her know that things are very bad right now as my GP and GI are not coordinating like my PA and GI were.

If you are the praying type I could use all I can get.

I am so sorry there is a bowel component with your incontinence too. Now, mine is mainly urinary but I have occasional bowel incontinence too. Most times it isn’t a complete blowout, but there have been notable exceptions. Thankfully I have never had a bad one in a situation where I wasn’t able to go home.

I am a prayerful person and will. I feel your pain, in the past before my autonomic neuropathy got worse, I had more bowel accidents on a more occasional basis, now they are still occasional but more difficult to control, but I have lost most bladder control.

 

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Has any one heard of Medtronic ?

 

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Yes, Interstim
I think there is a couple conversation links on it here.

 

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Jrpoorman.
Thanks for telling me. How do I find the links. Do they work and how are people responding to the interstim? Please help me find answers and stay safe in this wet world we live in.

 

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Hi Pmikula,
I created a new link for folks to post to about Interstim and Similar Devices.
Scroll to the top of this thread and you can click on it via Forum Home Button.
You should also be able to click the little Search Magnifying Glass button and search for Interstim.

Hope this helps.

Have a nice weekend everyone!
Jim