This past week has had more ups and downs than I would have preferred. It was quite challenging to keep a positive attitude and have faith that everything would be OK. Here is a little summary of our week:
Monday:
I called my REI office and officially ordered all of my medicine to begin our IUI process. It was such a good feeling to put in my order and feel like it was actually happening!
Tuesday:
The private pharmacy company sending me the medicine called to get more information, like my mailing address and insurance details. Progress!
Wednesday:
The company called and told me that my insurance was not accepting my medicine. WHAT? They said they did a thorough investigation, and infertility drugs are not covered by my insurance. I said, "That can't be correct. My medicine has always been covered." They repeated it was in fact not covered, and told me it would be $800 for one box and $60 for my other. They then said, "We have a $200 off coupon, so it would only be $660!" Oh, well isn't that nice. I told them thanks, but no thanks, and that I would be calling my doctor. I called the REI office and talked to their billing lady, and she told me that must be incorrect, and advised me to call my insurance company myself to talk to them. I called Anthem and explained the story and the woman replied with, "No, your medicine is not covered. Fertility medicine is only covered if its for diagnosis and treatment." Okay lady...we are treating infertility! Well infertility treatments are an elective, because you are choosing to have baby. Wow. When I got off the phone with that non-helpful person, it was too late to call my doc back, so I hate to just sit and cry, trying to accept the fact that we may not be able to do this after all. I called Kyhle and told him everything, trying to hold back my tears.
Thursday:
I called my doc first thing in the morning to tell them what insurance had said. She told me to call them again and ask what they have to be treating for it to be covered. So here I go again! I called Anthem again, and this time they were more helpful. The nice woman listened to my story and then said, "Let me transfer you to the pharmacy department, because they will know the answers for you dealing with medicine." So I waited on hold, talked to the pharmacist, and lo and behold...my medicine IS covered! YES!!! However, it's the beginning of the year, and we haven't met our deductible yet. So yes, we will have to pay the $660 out of pocket. So this procedure went from costing us $300, to costing $1000! That's a pretty big jump. Kyhle and I wanted to wait and talk about it some more, because we were not prepared for those unexpected expenses. I called my dad later that night to tell him what was going on and let him know we'd have to wait to do it. He said, "Well, maybe I could just go ahead and pay that, and then we could get our deductible ($700) out of the way. Let me figure some stuff out and we'll see what we can do." Oh, man! That definitely made me hopeful, and my dad was my hero. Maybe we would be able to do this after all!
Friday:
While shopping at Target with my sisters and mom, I got a call from the pharmacy. I walked off on my own to have some privacy and brace myself for what I was going to be told.
"Rebecca, we wanted to let you know we got your medicine processed, and your insurance accepted the payment. Your amount owed today is $56."
I'm thinking, "WHAT? How is this even possible? I am so confused!" I asked them over and over if they were sure that was all I had to pay and that my insurance really did pay for it, and she reassured me it was taken care of. So a miracle happened. I gave her my card number, paid the $56, and that was it. She then told me they were going to ship it overnight to make sure it was here in time for my cycle to start. She took my parent's address, since I am here until Monday, and told me it would be here tomorrow (Saturday) via Fed Ex.
Since I was in Target, I was trying so hard not to cry (happy tears, of course!). How could this all be possible? I was given the run-around by the different companies and really thought it wasn't going to happen for us. I prayed and prayed all week that something would change, and we would be given the opportunity to continue on with the IUI. Prayers are answered! It truly is a miracle to me. I don't know how it happened, but it happened, and my medicine will be here today. I am so anxious, nervous, excited, scared, happy...feeling so many different emotions.
This is happening. I will start my medicine as soon as my cycle starts, and go back and forth between my work and the doctor. I am prepared for the crazy that the next few weeks will bring. Let's make a baby!
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