Here's one more for 2018: My roommate, who was re-re-re-scheduled for her heart valve replacement tomorrow, just heard that her insurance company is balking at paying for it, so it's being postponed for what, according to my count, is the fourth time.

Why the insurance issue didn't come up before this... no one admits to knowing.

Clearly a new heart valve is elective surgery for vanity purposes. Also, insurance companies are the greatest evil.

Good thing we don't have faceless bureaucrats making life-or-death decisions in this country!

For fuck's sake . . . I want to know what kind of insurance the insurance company executives have.

Timelies all!

{{{Hugs}}} to all who want/need them.

Theo, FWIW, if the surgeon can be made to weigh in it may help. Not even faceless bureaucrats like getting yelled at by surgeons.

Signed,

Once Spent Seven Hours Failing To Wrestle A Day-Before Auth To A Sluggish Insurance Company, Only To Have The Surgeon Verbally Flay The First Person She Talked To And Get The Auth Within 90 Seconds

And my brother is all loaded up on antibiotics and hiding out at our mom's house in Reno; the myeloma treatments are going as well as could be hoped, with excellent blood work and his hair starting to grow back. Just doing a number on his immune system generally. Thanks for the well wishes.

Glad to hear that, JZ.

As a person who has been verbally flayed by surgeons, I do recommend it. I work on contracts that allow our students to practice surgical first assisting. The surgeons are sponsoring. It takes six months until the surgeon yells at me, and then I tell the lawyers there is a surgeon involved, and everyone moves their butts

Got home last night at almost 11, after torrential thunderstorms saw me off from Birmingham & soaked my checked luggage. A few books got damp :( Wouldn't be xmas in B'ham without thunderstorms, tornados or other wild weather.

Why I woke up at 6:15, uhg.