August & September 2017
"Is infertility a common problem?"
"Yes. About 6% of married women aged 15 to 44 years in the United States are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying (infertility). Also, about 12% of women aged 15 to 44 years in the United States have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term, regardless of marital status (impaired fecundity)." (Source: https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/infertility/index.htm)
"They" (the medical establishment) say to wait one year before going to the doctor to report that you have been unable to conceive. What they don't tell you is what happens next!
In our case, what they do to help you is: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
I only have our case to go by, but if you look it up you'll see that there are Infertility Specialist groups around the country who operate outside the major providers (like Sharp, Kaiser, Scripps etc.).
So if you have an HMO, like we do, that blows you off by saying, "Oh we don't do infertility", then you will likely have the same experience that we did. Your G.P. looks at you in an awkward "my hands-are-tied, I can't help you, what do I do..." kind of way, and that's the first time you start to feel like some sort of weird pariah.
From things I've read, and videos I've watched, I think this reaction is normal from people in our society. But from a doctor, I don't understand it. It's just another bodily system that needs to be checked out, and if they don't do it-- no big deal-- just get me in front of a doctor that does.
It's a simple job for them to do, right?
Well, if this happens to you, then I wish you more luck I had. They had one job--referral-- and they bungled it!
This is my full story of referral, which is really, "Just Getting Started"-- and it took forever:
1) I began the process by emailing my G.P to ask for her advice ("So, it's been a year, what do I do? Do I come see you?")
2) They replied ("We don't do that. You'll need to see an outside specialist. We will refer you.")
3) The OB-GYN Dept called in a few days ("Here is the phone number for Infertility Specialist A. Give them a call to make an appointment.")
4) I called Specialist A and made an appointment. And they sent me a thick stack of forms to fill out!
5) After spending two hours on forms (medical history etc.), I sent them back and was given an appointment. ("We are scheduling 3 weeks out.")
6) One week before my appointment, I get a call from Specialist A ("We contacted your HMO and they said you don't have a referral on file. We see that your health insurance does cover some infertility services at 50% but you need to get a proper referral to have half of the $500 visit covered.")
*** SAY WHAT??***
So... why the hell did the OB-GYN call me and give me the phone number to Specialist A if I didn't have the OB-GYN's official permission to see them?
Me: "WTF? **facepalm**"
7) I decided that the email attempt at getting a referral from my G.P. was a fail-- although it seemed like the OB-GYN Dept. screwed-up-- I decided not to take any chances and made an appointment to go see my G.P. in person
8) I tell my G.P. about my referral experience thus far, and she says like a ditzy blond (which she's not!), "Oh, how strange!"-- yea, it was no skin off her nose!-- and she refers me for infertility AGAIN!
9) The OB-GYN calls me and says, "We received the request for referral for infertility from your G.P." Me: "Yes, I need a proper referral so I can save 50% on the initial office visit." OB-GYN oddly replies: "Most insurance does not provide ANY infertility coverage." (I'm thinking-- "Uh, I just told you mine does... but alright then. -- I guess she thought I was stupid?) OB-GYN continues: "So we are sending the request for referral to your health insurance provider for approval, we will let you know if they give their permission for you to go to the infertility specialist, or if they WILL NOT."
She said that ominously which caused me to feel a small amount of ire. Honestly, I was ready to punch somebody through the telephone-- deserved or not.
10) I get a call from Infertility Specialist B, who I think is still Specialist A. ("Good news, your insurance has approved for you to come see us, and we will need your email so you can fill out a stack of forms!" -- (I'm thinking, "Whaa?") -- So I ask about the doctor I was scheduled to see before the referral-derailment and they reply confused, "Um... that doctor doesn't work here.")
And that's the long and the short of it. -- I was now properly set to work with Infertility Specialist B-- all I had to do was fill out this new provider's flipping fat stack of paperwork ALL OVER AGAIN!!
I filled them out, of course. Can you imagine my relief to finally be set to see a proper infertility specialist after all of this?
Looking back, I saw that I had received the email with forms from Specialist A on 8/4/17-- about a week after contacting my doctor by email. And on 9/29/17, I went to my first appointment at Fertility Specialists Medical Group - San Diego.
It only took two months to get this far!
Out
of Pocket Cost for Today's Medical Services: $219.00
Percent
Insurance Helped Reduce Today's Charges: 50%!
Total
Cost (to-date) to "Build" our Ultimate Pet:
$219.00
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