Billing Woes

Back in October, around the time that Pa died, Stanford sent me a bill for $324.52. This was odd because I had already paid my max out-of-pocket for the year. When I looked into the claim, it showed an NPI number (National Provider Identifier) for a doctor I've never heard of and was out of network. That's why Cigna only partially covered the claim.

My doctor's name is Jennifer L. Caswell-Jin. The doctor on the claim is Jennifer L. McNally. Same first name and middle initial. I remember having to make several phone calls to Stanford and Cigna and spending a lot of time on hold. Stanford finally agreed to review the claim. I believe I also asked Dr. Caswell about Dr. McNally, and she had never heard of her.

Stanford never got back to me, and the bill disappeared from my account, so I thought they fixed the problem and resubmitted the claim to Cigna. But this morning I received an email about the bill. It's back on my account. Stanford's billing department is closed today for the holidays. I called Cigna (and got a poor Filipina working on Christmas Day). They confirmed that the claim was not resubmitted.

I will have to try Stanford again on Monday. They'd better be open then. If they still give me problems, I can call Cigna and request a 3-way call with Stanford.

Update: The problem was on Cigna's end and has been resolved.

Kaiser Switchover Complete

My insurance coverage with Kaiser started on Nov. 1. I selected Dr. Zhuo as my PCP because I liked her  profile on the website. I had a phone visit with her on Nov. 8. She referred me to the oncologist recommended by someone in my support group. I had a video visit with Dr. Chuang on Nov. 17. 

That same day I also had a video visit with an endocrinologist, Dr. Vu. Unfortunately I could not get an appointment with Dr. Joan Lo in Oakland, the endocrinologist recommended by my Stanford endocrinologist. Dr. Vu said I could continue with the 3 mg Zometa dosage I received at Stanford.

On Nov. 21 I went to Kaiser Santa Clara for a blood draw. Unlike at Stanford, Kaiser does not do the blood draw on the same day as the infusion. That means I have to get poked with a needle twice as often. 

My infusion was the next day. The infusion center has only a few private rooms. Most have beds, but those are given only to patients that need a bed. Only two rooms are available to healthier patients. I was lucky and got a private room, but it was tiny and had a reclining chair instead of a bed. I prefer a bed because it makes it more convenient when applying ice packs to my hands and feet to avoid neuropathy. 

Overall the transition to Kaiser went smoothly, and my infusion was delayed by only five days. I was expecting a two-week delay. It's nice that Kaiser is only 5 minutes away, and they don't charge for parking.