jeepers. the only trouble i've had with my t/p-doc's receptionist was over the billing information. i just wanted it to show when i saw him and the full cost of the visit instead of also showing how much money i was giving him. in the spirit of 'keep it simple for the insurance company so we don't confuse them'.

it was a bit of a tricky issue because i feel guilty that i'm not paying him very much money. she said something about 'is it fair for the insurance company to pay 80% of the total amount when you are only contributing xxx'? that really got to me. i got quite indignant. because... i wasn't sure whether it was fair or not either. i justified it of course. the sliding scale rate is something that he offers to me off my contribution to the bill. the sliding scale rate isn't something that he offers to the insurance company off the total bill. the insurance company can afford to pay their 80% of the total bill. i can't afford to pay my contribution of 20%.

the issue hasn't come up again. i told him that i would submit the forms to them but... i've been worrying about the ethics of it myself. not because of the sliding scale thing but because of the fact that the package i'm on has no provision for therapy from a clinical psychologist (the more expensive package maxes out at $500 per year) and the only reason i could submit the claim is because he is a psychiatrist hence a medical specialist and they will pay for 80% of specialist doctors visits. to claim for therapy is going against the spirit of the policy, however. the notion is that i see him maybe once every few months for a medication review. the spirit doesn't include therapy and the next package only makes a token gesture towards therapy.

so... i haven't submitted the claim and he hasn't mentioned the issue since then. i haven't brought it up either. i feel bad 'cause i told him i would submit the claim...

ugh
ugh
ugh

it wouldn't have been a problem if she hadn't said what she did... but then i need to take responsibility for my own actions...

he is bound to bring it up at some point.