Aug 03, 2007 08:33
i hate blue cross blue shield. more specifically, i hate their website that keeps timing out and their busy server when i'm trying to find a lousy dermatologist who got roped into getting screwed over by their contracted rates to treat me for stupid acne that should've gone away when i was 17.
i thought i had found one yesterday. i called to make an appointment smack dab in the middle of business hours. i received a message stating the office does not answer their phones between noon and 3pm.
what?
i can understand taking an hour or so for lunch. but three hours? i would love to be able to leave a message telling people i don't answer my phone for a three hour period each day. if i did, though, i wouldn't be answering anymore calls because i'd be out of a job.
i left a message requesting a return call to schedule a new patient appointment. of course, i didn't receive a call back. bah.
yesterday afternoon, i got to ride along with one of our field reps on a face to face appointment she had with a claimant on a liability claim.
i really didn't realize how sprawling the phoenix area is. before yesterday, i hadn't been west of i-17, so i basically hadn't seen over half the metro area. we drove by the university of phoenix stadium, where the superbowl is going to be. it looks like it's inflatable or something, because it was built with a gray kind of metal, and the structure is kind of round. hm, i obviously didn't explain that well. take my word for it.
anyway, we meet with the lady at her apartment yesterday afternoon. in this case, we insure a restaurant, and a table top from a bar table fell on her foot after she placed her drink on it. at first, she was okay. her foot was bruised and she went to the doctor to make sure her foot wasn't broken.
three weeks later *and after she was undoubetly contacted by somebody telling her she could make some money from this* she answered the door on crutches wearing an air cast complaining about the "worst pain of her life". granted, i'm sure having a tabletop fall on your foot is not pleasant. the first time the field person met with the lady a week after the accident, she was walking on it with no problems. two weeks later, her foot is numb, except when it's unberably painful. right. if people wonder why insurance rates are so high, it's the millions of examples like this, where people make more of their pain and suffering to make some money.
i've had a horrible sinus problem since i moved here. i saw the doctor who gave me zithromax for a sinus infection. the medicine helped, but it didn't competely fix it. i've had nasty headaches almost every night. i looked online for a natural remedy, because i don't like taking too much medication.
i found a 'neti pot', which is basically a do it yourself sinus flush. sounds kinda gross, huh? well, i found a neti pot at walgreens and went to town. it looks like a genie's lamp that's filled with warm water and a little packet of powder that makes it into a saline soultion, much like tears.
the process was awkward at first. it feels like when you get water up your nose while swimming, but not as bad.
but: i had instant relief. i haven't had any sort of headaches or allergies since i started using it. so, if any of you take claritin or lots of sinus / allergy medication it might be worth it to try a neti pot.
i don't have any big plans this weekend, but i still can't wait to get out of here. i'm jealous of all you east coast people, where it's already noon.