Aggravating

Is there anything more aggravating than health insurance? I don’t think so. Today’s aggravation with Cigna comes from them doubling the price of my Synthroid on top of doubling my premiums. Of course, the generic is free, but unlike most drugs, Synthroid and its generic partners are not the same. Unlike other drugs, where generic may be just fine, doctors recommend you stick with what you start with. To change later would be disruptive due to differences between the drugs. This does work both ways, so if you start with the generic, you stay with the generic.

Cigna has been on my shit list for a while now. Firstly, I can no longer use the pharmacy I’ve used for 18 years. I guess they don’t want me using a pharmacy that has a majority stake in Aetna. Moreover, they’re refusing to pay for Hubby’s MRI because apparently, they know more about knee injuries than his orthopedic surgery. I guess they’d rather the surgeon root around in the operating room figuring out the scope of damage instead of the surgeon knowing and planning for it ahead of time. It’s an utter crock of shit.

It’s aggravating because who has the time to fight with their insurance company? I’m grateful that my hubby’s injury isn’t emergent. At this point, we’d be better off playing roulette at the casino to cover our medicine bills than trusting Cigna to do the right thing by my family. After all, I’m on the hook for both the Mayor’s surgery and the Hubby’s. To be fair, I don’t think an insurer that faithfully covers their clients’ medical bills exists in this galaxy. If you find one, it’s like finding the Holy Grail. Anyway, I guess my overarching point is that Doctors should be dictating standards of care, not insurance companies and large hospital systems.

What were your parents doing at your age?

At my age, my parents were working their butts off, so my brothers and I could go to college. Their hard work and dedication to us allowed each of us to be successful. Now, I’m attempting to do the same thing with my boys. Also, when they were my age I used to make fun of them for going to bed early. Now here I am in bed by 9:00 pm every night. I guess we do eventually become just like our parents, which is just fine in my book because my folks are amazing.