Health Alliance, Transition of Care and Rod Picott
1. Geesh. I posted only two days ago but I feel as though it's been a year!
2. So...in health insurance news, Health Alliance has filed a lawsuit. I was interviewed by WICD again and the reporter asked me whether I felt hopeful. That made me sigh a bit. I told her that the bi-partisan approach by legislators and the care and effort they have put into this makes me feel pleased and hopeful....but whether that translates into adequate HMO coverage in a couple of weeks? Well....we'll see...... Oh, and they called Ernie cancer-stricken which made us giggle a bit. The boys were impressed seeing me on tv....Owen clapped long and slow and Leo said, "so is Dad the only one of us that has never been on tv?" Ernie just shushed everybody.
3. In one of those serendipitous little connections however, a kind woman named Jean Stoia called me last night. She has been madly researching the insurance options herself and found out from Personal Care that there is a Transition of Care form that can be filled out if you meet certain categories. She said she had been told pregnancy, COPD, congestive heart failure and something else I can't recall. She had been told that people undergoing chemo would qualify as well. Of course sometimes we're told different things by different people but given that the transition of care is something of great concern to a lot of us....this is good to know.
This is part of what the form says:
If you or any of your covered dependents are under the care of a Tier Three physician for an ongoing course of treatment at the time you become a PersonalCare member, your case can be evaluated to determine the level of coverage that will be extended to you for services provided during a temporary transition period (of 90 days from the effective date of enrollment or the date of the notice of a Tier One or Tier Two physician's termination from the health care plan network).Such care shall be authorized by the health care plan for the transitional period only if the physician agrees to accept reimbursement from the health care plan at the rates applicable prior to the start of the transitional period, to adhere PersonalCare's quality assurance requirements, to provide PersonalCare with the necessary medical information related to such care and to otherwise adhere to PersonalCare's policies and procedures including, but not limited to procedures regarding referrals and obtaining preauthorization for treatment. PersonalCare will only provide coverage for covered benefits. To prevent a disruption of services, please fax or mail this form to us before the end of your first month of coverage.
So thank you Jean!
4. Rod Picott's new album was officially released yesterday and YES....you should get it. Thanks to our lovely friend Van we have been listening to it for some time now and have fallen madly in love with it. Of course we do think that's how Owen learned the word 'prick' but well he already knew plenty of comparable words so what the hell. Anyway....I watched the Music Fog video below and in reading their description I desultorily clicked on the link to his dates. And there in black and white it said......July 9, Lubec, Maine. I blinked and I blinked, I hit refresh.....I quickly pulled up our calendar and blinked some more. The first night of our vacation in Maine, Rod Picott will be playing just down the road from where we are staying... Can you say OHHHHH MY GOD!! Because I can! OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!!!!!
5. I love lavender.