Archive for the 'Venting' Category

Never again. For real this time.

Published on Friday, June 18, 2010 in Moms' Group and Venting. 3 Comments Tags: .

As you may or may not know, I’m the President of a local Chapter of an International Organization for stay-at-home mothers. The reasons I took on this role a year ago were clear and justifiable, and I’d already served as Secretary for this organization, so I knew what I was getting myself into.

Kinda.

The duties weren’t hard and were things I enjoyed anyway: writing a monthly letter, finding monthly speakers, hosting “events” (playdates), etc. I knew there was an end-date to my role, so I was able to work through whatever challenges arose.

Unfortunately, we’ve had a big issue come up that needs to be resolved, and because this is an International Organization, my board has been forced to deal with other boards. (We knew about this issue going in, and we knew that it may not be solved nicely.  The other board members and I have been working to alleviate this…to no avail.)

Without getting into details, this situation needs to be resolved by June 30th, because on July 1st, I’m free. I’m free from that organization. I’m running away and never looking back. None of my current board members will be continuing in their roles, and we have not found people to take these positions.

FREEDOM IS IN SIGHT, BABY!

Anyway, we’ve been working diligently on this situation since January…officially…unofficially, much longer.

Do the math.
That’s a long time.

We’ve thought it was resolved on numerous occasions only to have it turned on its head…more than once.

The last few months have been extremely stressful for me (for all of us), but I’ve been trying to let it go. MY Board is awesome, and this situation has really pulled us together. We do not need this organization to keep us close.

To give you a little taste of what we’ve been dealing with, I’ll give you the synopsis of a conversation we had with members of the International level:

Us: “We NEED to have this resolved by June 30th for these various reasons.”
Them: “We COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND…will a vote about this on July 15th work for you?”

Uhhh, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say, “NO…??”

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I’m sparing you the gory details that wouldn’t make sense to you anyway and would probably just prove me to be a crazy person for even engaging in these conversations in the first place.

So, from this, what have I learned?

Besides the fact that if something that SHOULD be SIMPLE is entangled in a mess of bureaucratic tape (regardless of the color of it), it’s best to run away from it?

I’ve learned that I will never be an Executive Board Member of a volunteer organization again. No, really. Never again. For real this time. At this point, I will give up my need to be in control of anything, and I’ll be happy to just be a member. (Honestly I’m not sure I even want to be a member of another organization for a LONG time.)

In fact, the other members of my board and I have made a pact granting each of us permission to commit physical violence to the one who thinks she CAN be on a board again. (I’m still unclear on the details, but smacking, shaking and physical restraint were tossed around.)

Oh, that reminds me…I need to ask them how we should divvy up those roles. I know! I could be President. I’ve got a lot of experience with that, and come July 1st, and I’ll have a lot more time on my hands.

Do you think they’ll agree to take on the other roles?

*cough*

In the meantime, I’m bookmarking this post. When I find myself part of a volunteer organization and feel the need to step it up and take on a more important role, I’ll try my hardest to remember how I’m feeling right now. Because it won’t be different. It will end exactly the same way. And even if it doesn’t, I have to assume it will. I’m not sure I could survive another round of this with my sanity intact.

It’s like an insane scavenger hunt

Published on Thursday, August 27, 2009 in Milestones, Random Thoughts and Venting. 6 Comments Tags: .

I have a confession to make. I love office supplies. I love school supplies. I may or may not admit out loud that I love looking through supply books, catalogs, and magazines. There is just something about them.

As soon as August got here, I started seeing people shopping for school supplies, and I wondered if Claire would be included in that game. Then, I started reading about people trying to find simple items that were out-of-stock, and I thought, “How hard can it be to find such a simple item?”

We finally got the information from Claire’s Preschool a couple weeks ago (yes, just a couple weeks before her class was to start!), and there was a school supply list!

I’ve been waiting for this day.

The instructions said we could bring the items to the Open House that was to be held in less than a week, or we had the entire month of September to get the items to the school.

Now, part of me questioned why we have to bring a whole bunch of supplies for Claire. I mean, we’re paying for her to go to this school. Shouldn’t some of that be in the budget? But, I digress…budgets are what they are, and it wasn’t that big of deal.

Plus, I get a chance to shop for supplies. :)

Originally, I was going to bring Claire with me to do the shopping, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it could turn into another circle of Dante’s Inferno. She wasn’t going to be able to keep the items on the list or in the cart. All of these items go into the Community School Supply Closet for the rooms. Gone are the days when you can pick out your own Trapper-Keeper and Unicorn Folders. (What? Those things totally rock.)

So, I decided to go by myself, which was a treat in and of itself. I chose to go on a day when Daddy and Claire were going to be playing while I went to an appointment. Alone in Target AND I get to shop for office supplies? Pinch me. I must be dreaming.

Sadly, it turned into a nightmare.

It started out innocently enough. Glue sticks… Check. One box of 8 Classic Color Crayola Washable Markers… Check. One package of napkins… Check.

One small bottle of Elmer’s Glue…

What do you mean, you’re out of Elmer’s Glue?! Who runs out of Elmer’s Glue?  Even the “store brand” was gone.

There wasn’t any back in the Back-To-School Free-for-all Zone.
So, I went all the way to the other end of the store, and there wasn’t any in the Office Section either.

So, I found a red-shirted khaki-panted person. They checking their little handheld devices. There were none.

While I had that person’s attention, I asked about the paper cups. No, not any kind of paper cups. They had to be at least 90-count 5oz. paper cups.

Not a single one of those in the entire store.

Sweet. I was running out of time. What was supposed to have taken 15 minutes was bordering on 45, and this was getting to be ridiculous, even for someone who totally digs shopping for office supplies.

I called it a day, with those two items still unchecked. Do you know how painful it is to leave items unchecked?

I wanted this done! I wanted to turn all of this in at the Open House and not worry about it! This was supposed to be easy!

That weekend, with Claire in tow, because I had no other choice, we went to four different stores. We finally found the glue at a grocery store (obviously, why not?), but even the grocery stores in our area were out of the 90-count 5oz. paper cups.

Who knew this would be what finally put me over the edge?

When I was checking in yet another Target store (they were completely sold out), they got an alert saying that the original store I’d been to finally got a shipment in. We went up there that day and purchased an elusive box.

Success!

My Insane Scavenger Hunt for School Supplies was over!

Oh wait…not quite. Next item on the list to find? My sanity.

A GREAT hotel in Vegas…to AVOID!

Published on Friday, July 10, 2009 in Travel and Venting. 5 Comments Tags: .

They say, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas…” and that may be true. But, we found the PERFECT hotel…to AVOID in Vegas, so regardless of what or who stays in Vegas, I wouldn’t recommend staying there.

Do NOT stay at Blair House Suites, 344 E Desert Inn Road, Las Vegas, NV 89109.

We were in Las Vegas over the 4th of July Weekend for a Wedding Ceremony. I researched and reserved rooms super-early so that we’d be sure to be close to the wedding. The wedding was going to be at the Wynn, which is a little too rich for our blood.

Imagine my delight when I found what I thought would be the perfect option, just around the corner: Blair House Suites. It wasn’t a casino, so we wouldn’t have to worry about walking through it with our preschooler. It wasn’t on The Strip, so we didn’t have to deal with the challenges there, but it wasn’t too far from The Strip, because that wouldn’t be good, either. And, it was close to the Wynn.

I emailed them directly for rates (as requested), and they offered me a great deal. I checked and double-checked the photos and reviews, and all seemed in order.

Perfect!

Let me start out by saying, I’m not a terribly picky person. (Please stop laughing…that’s not nice.) No, seriously. I understand that you get what you pay for. I used to be a Front Desk Clerk, so I know there are things you can complain about, and things you can’t get resolved, no matter how hard you try.

I have a list of criteria in my head, and a couple things off the list are allowable. I’ll let some things slide. But, a whole handful of things? Even after changing rooms? Even I have my limit.

Yes, I considered changing hotels. Yes, I could have demanded an even bigger discount, but I decided to do something else. Something a little more powerful:

The online review. Oh yes. I’m gonna go there.  I have to! Had someone else told the truth about this hotel, we could have been spared! :) In fact, I posted a review on tripadvisor.com and the Yahoo Travel Site…and guess whose review shows up in the top search results for that hotel…in a general search, even!?  :)   (Expedia.com, orbitz.com and hotels.com won’t let me post a review since I booked directly with the hotel.  Did you know it worked that way?  Hmmm…interesting!)

I mean, I researched this hotel like you wouldn’t believe, and I was duped! Online, on paper and in theory, this hotel appears fine. It looks good from the outside. But, like most things in Vegas, appearances are deceiving!

So, here’s what happened.

Whenever we travel, I summon my Travel Zen. I know we’re going to have a good time, and we almost always do. Even the challenges that arise can’t knock me out of my bubble. It’s all part of the adventure, and usually, I can laugh it off.

Looking back, over all, we had a good time on this trip.

That being said, it was a struggle.

My bubble got pummeled pretty quickly and once it burst, it was hard to gather the pieces together. But, I didn’t cry. I kept my emotions in check, and Claire (our 3yr old) wasn’t the wiser. I didn’t want to upset her…because there is really nothing worse than adding an upset preschooler to the mix.

We made do. We made the best of it. And, that’s mostly because everything else in the area was either sold out or cost a million dollars*. I know, because I called. *Okay, so maybe other hotel rooms were a little cheaper than a million dollars. A little.

By the time rooms were available, we were already on our “free night.” (The hotel’s deal was pay for two nights at a discounted rate and get the 3rd night free.)

*sigh*

So, what went wrong?

  • Clientele

Now, for the record, we were in Las Vegas. I understand that you’re going to see a wide variety of people in Las Vegas. Meeting an overly-friendly “woman” in the lobby was quite a treat. “She” offered to bring us fresh fruit, and was quite welcoming. In the hotel’s defense, the Front Desk Clerk did apologize for that uncomfortable situation.

The fact that this happened within the first five minutes of our stay just set the stage. Somehow, I’d missed the ominous music that often accompanies such foreshadowing.

  • Define “updated.”

When I booked the room, I was told we would be in an “updated suite.” I looked online and read reviews of the hotel. Everything seemed to be in order. When we checked in, the Front Desk Clerk gave us our room keys and showed us on the map where our room was. We found it, admired the courtyard and plantings outside our room, opened the door and fell promptly into 1983. The furniture was old, outdated and worn. The carpet and flooring were stained.

We were on a time-crunch to get ready to meet the wedding party for dinner, so we quickly got changed and realized that this couldn’t be right. Surely, this wasn’t an updated room. I’m not one to cause a fuss, so I hesitated to call…but I’d been promised an updated room. If this was an updated room, I was afraid to see what the other rooms looked like!

So, I called. I told the Front Desk Clerk that I’d been told we’d be in an updated room, and asked if this was one of those? She gasped. “Oh, no! You’re in a standard room. I’ll find another room for you! I’ll call you back right away.”

Time ticked slowly. Apparently time runs differently when you’re trapped in the 80s. After 10 minutes, I called back.

“I haven’t had a chance to find one yet, but I’m working on it. I’ll have it in a few minutes!”

About five minutes later, she called back. She’d found a new room for us, and we could come get our new keys.

When we got to the lobby, the room was full of angry patrons. Apparently, the key-card maker was down, so no one was getting their keys.

Lovely.

The Front Desk Clerk told us our keys weren’t ready. We had two options. We could go back to 1983 and wait, or she could personally walk us to our room and let us in. We could get keys for the room when the machine was up and running.

We opted for the latter. We were already running late, and had no desire to travel back in time. We had enough time to deposit our things in our room and grab a cab to the dinner.

She walked us to our new room and apologized for the mixup.

This room was not stuck in the 1980s, but it was not what had been pictured online. This was not the room where all those positive reviewers had stayed. It couldn’t be! The carpeting, flooring, and furnishings, though newer than the other room, were dirty and worn.

It appeared to be recently vacuumed, but it was dingy.

  • Air-conditioning

The way the rooms were designed was not conducive to cooling the room quickly. The air-conditioning units were not turned on when we entered the rooms. (This would be understandable since we’d just switched to this room, HOWEVER, the original room’s a/c unit wasn’t turned on either…) The vent from the bedroom into the living room wasn’t cutting it. It took over a day to cool both rooms.

  • Towels

There were TWO towels in the room. TOTAL. *I* use two towels. We made do, and got extra ones when we went to the pool the next day. I cannot confirm that the towels in the room were actually clean. They were stained but smelled laundered, so we used them. *shudder*

Yes, we could have called for more towels, but they’d been slow to respond on other issues, so we didn’t bother.

  • Mold

There was mold on the drain-plug and shower-curtain. Nothing grosses me out faster than mold on the shower-curtain.

  • Bathroom Fan

The mold issues weren’t helped by the fact that the bathroom fan was non-functioning. It was there. We saw it, but it never came on, and there was only one switch for the bathroom.

  • TV Issues

When you go to Vegas with a preschooler, you have to anticipate staying a little longer in the room than you would if you were totally unfettered and free.

This is where the TV comes in handy.

Well, first of all, there were two TVs in the suite. Both were old and grungy and had seen better days. And, there was only ONE REMOTE. Sweet!

Additionally, when we first turned the TVs on, all we got was black snow. Neither TV worked. We fiddled and fiddled and finally I called down to the Front Desk to report this issue. That’s when they told us that the channels start at #14. Once you scroll through the lower numbers and get to Channel 14, the picture comes in just fine. This would have been good information to have before we tried to figure out what was wrong ourselves!

  • Hot Water

“Is there a trick to get hot water?” I asked the Front Desk after letting the water run, with the handle put in all the different spots on the dial. No, there wasn’t a trick…there was just no hot water. There was an issue with the the boiler room to our building, and they finally got it fixed. Because we couldn’t wait any longer for them to fix the issue before we left for the day, my poor husband took one for the team. The first half of his shower was freezing cold, and then in true Murphy’s Law Style, the hot water came back on in the middle of his shower, and he had to take quick action to avoid being scalded.

  • Tub Leaked

If you’re the second or third person to use the tub, beware of the puddle on the floor. You guessed it…the tub leaks!

Eventually, I was able to laugh. The second day, when the water started pouring out of the bottom of the tub during my shower, I started laughing. I laughed so hard my hubby actually came to check on me. It felt good to laugh. It felt even better to check out of that hotel.

  • Was it all bad?

No. The hotel really was close to The Wynn, and it really was walkable. Keep in mind that the sidewalk on that side of the Wynn is also home to those who don’t have homes (unless you call cardboard boxes homes)…so plan your walk accordingly.

And, the pool was actually decent.

Were the location and the pool good enough for me to recommend this hotel? Absolutely not.

  • My advice?

Choose another hotel. It is Vegas, so you’re welcome to try your luck. (Vegas is the city to do that, you know…) But, I’d place my bets somewhere else.

As it turns out, the ransom was pretty cheap after all

Published on Monday, March 9, 2009 in Venting. 3 Comments Tags: , .

Remember the post I published a while ago that caused such a stir?

From “Are you a patient or a customer?”:
I’d never heard of “concierge medicine” or “boutique medicine” or “retainer-based medicine” or “premier medicine.” A search on Google has shown me that this type of thing is either coming to a large city near you, or is already there.

…

We already pay an exorbitant amount for health insurance, and some doctor wants us to cough up an additional $2,600 a year? For doing most of the things he should be required to do anyway? During an economy that is shaky at best?

No way.

So, my task for today is to find a new doctor, one who doesn’t view us as dollar-signs. (Luckily, we have choices! Imagine how disconcerting this would be if we didn’t!) My insurance company provided a nice online list of doctors that meet our geographical requirements, and now I get to call them to find out if they have room for new patients or if they’re only accepting new customers.

Because in our current situation, we’re no longer patients…we’re customers. And, that’s unacceptable.

And…

From “I hate paying ransom”:
I was able to find a doctor that is taking new customers patients! Yay!
But, now my medical records are being held for ransom! Boo!

Imagine how happy I was to hear that in order for the entire record to be transferred, there will be an “administrative fee” of $15 per file (so, that’s $30 for my husband’s file and mine), and that’s if I’m willing to come pick them up. To have them mailed (the new office is literally in the same building), it will be an extra $3.50 per file.

AND, it will take THREE WEEKS! Wow, that’s such speedy service!

Well, for $7, I can pick them up and hand deliver them to the new office…

I hate paying the ransom, but what else can I do?

…Technically, they’re within their legal rights to charge a “reasonable” fee and they have 30-days to turn over my records. They could file for an additional 30-day extension for “special circumstances.”

…

Granted, their definition of “reasonable” is a bit different than mine, but I guess $30 is a small price to pay for what’s left of my sanity…

Well, I think it’s time for an update!

I printed the requisite forms and mailed them in to the office. I even called to make sure they’d received them.  As we approached the 3-week mark, I was anxious to see how this would play out.  I called them to ask about the status of our paperwork. I was told it would be ready by the end of the week.

This was going to work perfectly for us, because we were going to be up in the area on that Friday anyway.

Friday rolled around, and after we ran our other errands, the three of us stopped at the hospital complex. We made our way to the third floor to pay our ransom. That’s when I asked for our forms and was handed two manila envelopes, with “No Charge” scrawled under our names.

“These are the full records?” I asked, wanting to make sure we had the right thing. In our office, you could get the last two years for free but had to pay $15 per file for the entire record.

“Yes, that’s it!” the receptionist said.

I couldn’t believe we weren’t going to be charged!  We thanked them and then hurried out, before they could change their minds.

“Did you see the stack of files!?” my husband whispered to me when we got to the hallway.

“Yes! I counted three piles of at least 10 files each!”

“Well, he has to be crazy if he thinks people are going to put up with this!”

“I know. I can’t believe they didn’t charge us!! Maybe when they saw the shear numbers of the people leaving, they realized it wouldn’t be right to charge us all for something that really isn’t our choice?” I said, just feeling lucky that they’d decided not to hold our files for ransom after all.

Because we were in the same building where our new doctor is located, we weren’t going to go home to make copies and make an extra trip back. So, we stopped at the information desk to see if they had a copy machine for public use anywhere in the complex. We’d be willing to pay for these copies, because these were ones we wanted for our own records.

The nice woman behind the counter had no idea and made a quick call. She told us to go to the Medical Records Office and that they’d be able to help us there. We found our way up there, and the woman in charge was expecting us.

Throughout this whole adventure, Claire was in such a good mood that she chatted with everyone. She was especially charming with the woman in the Medical Records Office, and we’ll never know if that’s the reason she didn’t charge us for the copies, or if it was just our lucky day all around.

Copies in hand, we made our way to our new doctor’s office.  It felt so good to close the file…literally…on what had suddenly become such a huge mess.  We were greeted with smiles in the new office, and we knew we’d made the right choice.  Time will tell what this new file will hold, but it felt so good to be free.

Strangled by the Tangled Web

Published on Thursday, February 26, 2009 in Random Thoughts and Venting. 5 Comments Tags: , , .

I’m stuck in a Social Networking Catch-22 of sorts…

…with Facebook to be exact.

I love Facebook because it’s allowed me to keep in touch with everyone, but finding so many people on Facebook makes it hard to keep in touch with everyone.

When I had 20 friends, it took me hardly any time at all to peruse what they were doing and then comment.  I could stay on top of that with no problems.  When I started to reach 50, I got excited!  I’m touching base with so many people! Then, 100 rolled around.  It wasn’t long before I hit 200.  I was amazed at the power of Facebook and how many people could stay connected.

Currently, I have over 330 Facebook Friends…in just one of my accounts.

Yay!  Isn’t being connected the point?

But, how connected am I?

Actually, the more connected I become, the more disconnected I feel.

I love popping in to check on people, but the shear numbers of the task are overwhelming.  “Oh, boo hoo…you’ve connected with so many people,” you might be thinking.

Yes, there is a tiny violin playing just for me.  Don’t you hear it?  ;)

Where will it stop?  I have no idea.  Will I stop adding friends to the list?  No!  Will I stop worrying about staying on top of everyone’s everything?  Probably.

And, if you’re one of those everyones whose everything got disregarded, I’m sorry.  I didn’t do it on purpose.  It would be so much easier for me to pay attention if I could get these cobwebs out of my hair.

Now, if I could just figure out this Twitter thing…  ;)

I hate paying ransom

Published on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 in Venting. 3 Comments Tags: .

If you pop over to The Denver Post’s parenting blog, Mile High Mamas, you’ll notice that my little situation with our doctor has been highlighted as a Hot Topic!

I’m not sure how long it will be featured on the main page, so click on this photo to go directly to the link:

You don’t have to be from Colorado to give your two-cents, so go check it out!

In the meantime, I have an update to the saga!

I was able to find a doctor that is taking new customers patients!  Yay!
But, now my medical records are being held for ransom!  Boo!

Imagine how happy I was to hear that in order for the entire record to be transferred, there will be an “administrative fee” of $15 per file (so, that’s $30 for my husband’s file and mine), and that’s if I’m willing to come pick them up.  To have them mailed (the new office is literally in the same building), it will be an extra $3.50 per file.

AND, it will take THREE WEEKS!  Wow, that’s such speedy service!

Well, for $7, I can pick them up and hand deliver them to the new office and maybe even fill out paperwork at the new office while I’m there.  But, $30 for copies!?  They just got done putting all of their records into an electronic format, and you can’t tell me that it takes 3-weeks and $15 a file to click on “print” on a computer screen.

I hate paying the ransom, but what else can I do?

I want to turn them in for fraud, but technically, they’re within their legal rights to charge a “reasonable” fee and they have 30-days to turn over my records.  They could file for an additional 30-day extension for “special circumstances.”  It would be my luck that “complaining on your blog about us” would qualify as a “special circumstance” so I should just be glad to get this over as quickly as possible.

Granted, their definition of “reasonable” is a bit different than mine, but I guess $30 is a small price to pay for what’s left of my sanity…

And, just to add to the pleasantness of the entire situation, guess whose office number was busy for a majority of the morning?

Gee, maybe he’s trying to justify charging us $2,600 a year for his personal cell phone number.

;)

Edited to add:  Click here to read the next installment of this saga! :)

Are you a patient or a customer?

Published on Monday, January 26, 2009 in Venting. 27 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

At the first part of January, my husband and I received separate envelopes from our doctor, one addressed to each of us.  Inside was a fancy-shmancy brochure about the new practice he was going to be starting.  He was “announcing exciting changes” and told us that his practice would be “personalized.”  It would also have “limited enrollment.”  He said these changes would be taking place in March and we could call him right now to find out more or we could stay tuned for further details.

We didn’t think much of it.  Is he moving?  If so, we’ll find a new doctor.  It’s inconvenient and annoying to look for a new doctor, but not as annoying and inconvenient as it would be to change locations.

Just this last Saturday, we each got another envelope from our doctor.  This one was thicker, containing several pieces of paper.  This must be the explanation about the new exciting changes!

The letter was lengthy and started out by saying that he’s establishing a “concierge medical practice.”  He will be offering “highly personalized medical care, exceptional service, and a strong focus on prevention and wellness.”

Okay, great!  But, don’t we already get personalize care?  The service is what it is, and I’ve never had any complaints.  Prevention and wellness have always been a priority.

I’m confused.  What’s changing?

He goes on to say something about how he’s been practicing internal medicine for over 10 years, and something about current time constraints and how he will now be unhurried and we won’t have to wait to see him.

The letter is 7 paragraphs long and goes on and on.  It mentions that he has included a detailed description of his new practice along with a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Page.  I skim the rest of the letter, still somewhat confused as to how this is all going to affect me, and then I turn to the accompanying material.

Maybe he’s moving offices?  Well, if he is, we’re finding another doctor.  I love having all our doctors at the same medical park, the same location as our hospital.

Nope, his address is the same.  It’s one of the questions on the FAQ.

Again, I’m confused.  So, what’s changing?

Then, I get to the Patient Agreement Form.

Let me summarize this lengthy and very-legal-looking paper.  Seriously!  It’s longer than a standard 8 ½ by 11 sheet of paper:

In order to remain with our doctor, we need to pay a Patient Membership Fee.  Wanna know what kind of money we’re talking about?  Check this out:

  • Individuals 45-yrs and older**  = $1,850/year
  • Adult Couple 45-yrs and older**  = $3,400/year
  • Individuals 44-years and younger **  = $1,450/year
  • Adult Couple 44-years and younger**  = $2,600/year
  • Unmarried dependent child of member 16 to 25-yrs**  = $300/year

**(age as of March 1, 2009)

WHAT!?

And, it’s NOT COVERED BY OUR INSURANCE.

EXCUSE ME!?

So, let me get this straight.  My husband and I will need to fork over $2,600 a year in order to be seen by our doctor.  Oh, if that amount is inconvenient in one large chunk, you can pay half of that now and another half in September.

This cost is in addition to what we pay for our insurance.  Now, for the record, we have excellent insurance.  My husband’s employer pays oodles-of-thousands of dollars to insure us.  We pay a fraction of that cost, but our portion still equals thousands of dollars a year.  It all comes out of the paycheck, so we don’t have to come up with that money on the fly, but it’s not free healthcare.

And, I dare argue, that there is no such thing as free healthcare.  It costs someone somewhere something…but I digress.

That being said, we get what we pay for; we would be in a precarious position without our coverage.  We have excellent insurance, and I’m so thankful for it.

So, what is our doctor going to be giving us for our $2,600 a year?

Let’s take a look at his handy-dandy little list:

  • Comprehensive annual medical exam
  • Same day or next day appointments
  • Little or no office waiting times
  • Longer appointments when needed
  • Preventative Care
  • Direct phone access to me or my nurse during office hours
  • His personal cell phone number
  • House calls and selected nursing visits (may be offered)
  • Home Rx delivery (TBD on a case-by-case basis)
  • Coverage for when he isn’t available
  • Hospital care (he’ll work closely with the physician on call at the hospital)
  • Your annual exam results will be made accessible to you
  • Convenient email access for non-urgent health issues or questions
  • Focus Group Meetings about health issues.
  • Counseling with patients and families about living wills and powers of attorney

Wow.  That list looks rather extensive!  But, let’s break it down:

  • Our insurance already covers the cost of an annual exam, and it had better be comprehensive.
  • We have no problem getting in to see a doctor if we have an emergency.
  • We haven’t had to wait incredibly long in the doctor’s office, but guess what?  We expect to!  It’s a doctor’s office!
  • I’ve never been rushed out the door because my 15 minutes to talk to the doctor was up.  (In fact, if we’ve had to wait in the waiting room, it’s because appointments ahead of us are taking longer than scheduled.  What goes around, comes around.)
  • I’ve always been able to leave a message for him and his nurse during office hours…IT’S DURING OFFICE HOURS.
  • If he’s been out of the office, it’s never been an issue to see another doctor or a nurse practitioner in the office.
  • In the event that we’d need hospitalization, he would be kept in the loop.  They just put all their medical records into an electronic format to help facilitate that!
  • I’ve always gotten the results to my annual exams.
  • Both our insurance company and the hospital we use provide email and phone support for non-urgent health issues or questions.
  • The part about focus groups was extremely vague, but it looks nice on his little list, and the last time I checked, it was best to get legal advice from a lawyer, not a doctor.  (Plus, we already have our living wills and powers of attorney all set.)

So, by my calculations, we’d be spending $2,600 a year to have his personal cell phone number, have the possibility of a house-call and maybe someone would bring us our prescriptions.

I’m appalled.
I’m flabbergasted.
I’m done with this doctor.

I’m extremely bothered by this, and I can only imagine how I’d feel if I really had a great personal relationship with this doctor.  I mean, we have been seeing him for over five years, but we’re healthy.  We haven’t been in to see him a lot, but he was someone we trusted when we did need to use his expertise.  We ended up with him because he was in the same practice as a doctor that came highly recommended to us.  That doctor wasn’t taking new patients, and this guy was.

I’d never heard of “concierge medicine” or “boutique medicine” or “retainer-based medicine” or “premier medicine.”  A search on Google has shown me that this type of thing is either coming to a large city near you, or is already there.

In my opinion, if my doctor doesn’t want to work with the people who can’t afford his “exceptional” services, I don’t want him as my doctor.  Since when is it okay to check my wallet before you check my blood pressure, especially after you’ve already seen my insurance card?

The ethics on this seem fuzzy at best.  I imagine that he has consulted a team of lawyers and experts on this, so I wouldn’t be surprised if all the necessary ethical and legal matters have been checked off on a list somewhere, but this is ridiculous.

We already pay an exorbitant amount for health insurance, and some doctor wants us to cough up an additional $2,600 a year?  For doing most of the things he should be required to do anyway?  During an economy that is shaky at best?

No way.

So, my task for today is to find a new doctor, one who doesn’t view us as dollar-signs.  (Luckily, we have choices!  Imagine how disconcerting this would be if we didn’t!) My insurance company provided a nice online list of doctors that meet our geographical requirements, and now I get to call them to find out if they have room for new patients or if they’re only accepting new customers.

Because in our current situation, we’re no longer patients…we’re customers.  And, that’s unacceptable.

So, what do you think?  Do you agree or disagree?  Am I totally off-base here?  How much would you pay out of your own pocket to continue to be seen by your doctor?  When is enough, enough?  Please, leave me a comment!  I’m curious to hear your thoughts!

EDITED TO ADD: CHECK OUT THE NEXT POST FOR AN UPDATE

I’d like a tube of blog fodder with my order, please. Yes, I do have a coupon.

Published on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 in Random Thoughts and Venting. 4 Comments Tags: , .

Do you ever go to stores that print off personalized coupons with your receipt?  A couple of the grocery stores we frequent do this, and Target is great about sending us coupon sets in the mail.  Granted, the collection of personalized coupons from Target border on creepy and stalkerish, but they’re helpful nonetheless.

Why, yes.  Yes, I would like a coupon for that item that I hide near the bottom of my cart so no one notices it, thanks!  ;)

I guess more and more places are doing this, and I appreciate coupons as much as the next guy, but sometimes they’re annoying.  The random ones that we’d never use are just wasteful, and the ones that hit a little too close to home make me feel weird.

It’s not that I’m completely offended by things like this (or offended easily in general), but something happened this weekend that made me pause.  I dare say, part of me *was* kind of offended or even almost embarrassed, but that’s not even the right way to describe it.

What’s a good cross between almost embarrassed and offended, without really being either, but teetering on the edge of both?  Ponder that.  And, given that, what would make things better or worse?  I know!  I’ll write about them in a public forum!

I’ve done this before, so this shouldn’t be too shocking.  (No, I won’t link to anything here, but feel free to do a search for chopsticks in the little search-field at the top of the blog.  If you dare.)  This time, I’ll keep the specific details to myself so as not to lure unsuspecting Googlers to the site or totally embarrass Claire when her friends find my blog years from now.

Plus, seeing ads for this particular item on my sidebar would probably make my head explode.  (But, because I’m such a big fan of irony, it would make me laugh…so there is an upside.)

I’ve written before about some challenges that Claire has had in the past.  She’s still following the doctor’s orders, and things are running smoothly.  So to speak. ;) Rather than pay full-price for her medication over-the-counter, we buy a generic brand available through the pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription for a fraction of the cost.  This weekend, Claire and I went to our local pharmacy to pick that up.  I was feeling particularly lazy, and it was snowing, so I decided to go through the Drive Thru instead of go into the store.  The friendly pharmacist promptly handled my transaction and handed me the paper bag.  Stapled to it were my receipts and paperwork.  I didn’t think anything of this.

I get home, and go about my day, and then I’m organizing my receipts, and I notice that this particular store has started printing coupons with the receipts.

When I saw their friendly product suggestion, I gasped out loud and then became equal parts nearly embarrassed and almost offended.

My hubby wanted to know what was wrong, and it took me a while to even explain why I was so taken aback by this.  It was hilarious and not funny at all, all at the same time.  I mean, Claire is three!  Apparently their little computer system doesn’t take that into account.  She’s clueless (thankfully!!) to the stigma attached to her prescription or for the item on the coupon Momma got with her order.  I felt the need to defend her, and us!  I wanted to shout, “She has ABSOLUTELY NO NEED for anything related to her prescriptions, and neither do we!”

But, we already know that.  And, the computer has no idea.  Numbers in.  Numbers out.  I doubt the pharmacist even gave the coupon a second look before he stapled it to our bag.

I guess, if an adult was taking Claire’s Rx, they *might* need what was suggested on the coupon.  Maybe.  But, odds are, they wouldn’t want some computer somewhere spitting out a very blatant reminder.  Would they?

Or maybe they wouldn’t care.  Maybe they’d look at the coupon and say, “Sweet!  My special cream is $2 off!  Let’s stock up!”

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

;)

Day Nine – Held Hostage

Published on Tuesday, December 9, 2008 in Christmas, Claire, Parenting 101 and Venting. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Yes, the title of this post is dramatic, but it’s the truth.  It is what it is.  I’m being held hostage, and today is Day Nine.

It started out with the best of intentions.  I decided to walk through the Holiday Aisle at Target one day.  It was a Monday.  Claire was in her Young Preschoolers Class, and it was the perfect time to pick some things up and scratch them off of Santa’s List.

Candy canes?  Check!

What else…what else?

Oh, look!  A Christmas Countdown Calendar!  How perfect!  This would be something fun that Claire and I could do every morning.  Find the day, open it up, see the picture and eat the little chocolate candy.

Awesome!

So, the calendar and my other purchases were hidden downstairs with the rest of the holiday loot.

It wasn’t until the afternoon of December 1st that I remembered I had the Countdown Calendar!  I’d been chatting with one of my friends online, and she mentioned something that triggered my memory.  How could I forget!  Right after Claire’s nap, I got out the Calendar, and we found the little square marked “1″ and opened it up.

Claire was thrilled.

I let her eat the teeny tiny square of chocolate with the little picture imprinted on it.

She was beside herself.

And, then she wanted to open up the next one.  TWO comes after ONE!  Let’s open that one!

Uh, no.  I mean, yes.  Two comes after One, but we have to open it up on December 2nd. Tomorrow. We already opened up the one for today.

So?
Let’s open up Number Two Right Now!
What about now?
Or now?
Could we pretend that today is tomorrow and open up the next one now?
But, there’s chocolate in there!
Can we open it now?
Please, Momma, may we open up the next one!?

Such a polite little beggar.  But, the answer was still no.  Until the next day, in which she got to open up the next little door, and the begging started once again.

And, so began my captivity.
We’ve suffered through nine days.
Today is Day Nine.
ALL DAY.
It is NOT Day Ten.
Tomorrow is Day Ten.
No, we may not open up the next little box.

My husband got a kick out of my predicament…until our captor turned her sights on him.  That’s when he looked at the back of the box and told me that a serving size was listed as 12 pieces.

Thanks, but you’re not helping!  ;)

One a day!  That’s the joy of the Countdown Calendar.
Can’t you feel the joy?
:)

In all honesty, the irony of a calendar causing such frustration to a perfectionist who totally digs calendars is not lost on me, and that does bring me some joy…it’s twisted logic, but it is joy.  :)

I was talking to my sister-in-law the other day on the phone and told her what was happening.  I told her how I’d thought it was such a good idea!  A little countdown calendar to make the holidays fun!

Wrong!
This was not what I had expected!!

She laughed and said that her childhood was full of memories of the countdown calendar and how she and her brothers would not only beg to open more than one door a day, but they would fight over who could open up the next window and who would eat the candy this time.  So, it was good to hear that other parents have suffered before me and that I’m not alone.

I’ll tell you one thing, though.  The Countdown Calendar is working.  I can’t wait for the 25th to get here.  In fact, it can’t get here soon enough.  ;)

Any guesses as to how long the batteries will last?

Published on Friday, December 5, 2008 in Birthdays, Claire, Gift Ideas and Venting. 7 Comments Tags: , , .

So, I’m sitting here trying to BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! type.  I have a lot of ideas swirling around in my head and a ton of ideas in my BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! journal file saved on my computer.  Now would be a good BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! time to get them organized and get some writing pieces BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! completed.

Claire is playing BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! in my office.  I don’t want to wait BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! until her nap to get these writing pieces started.  Now would actually fit well into BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! my schedule.

She is playing with some of the gifts and cards she BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! received for her birthday.  She loves looking at all BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! of her beautiful birthday cards.

There is one card BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! in particular that she really likes.  It’s from one of her BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! uncles.  It’s a magical BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! card.  It is battery operated BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! and plays the sound of a magic wand, followed by a BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! princess speaking.

I’ll give you BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! three guesses BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! as to what the card says, and the first two don’t BRRRUMMM  CINDERELLA WISHES YOU A DAY OF DREAMS COME TRUE! count.