[FelineHeart]

Nearly two months ago, I was informed by the new psych-
ologist (who I still haven't been able to see yet) that I would
most likely need to call my insurance company and ask them
who I would need a referral from in order to get an apoint-
ment with him and they told me that it would have to be from
my psychiatrist. Ok, so they tell me at her office that I would
only have to make an appointment with her and bring along
all of the information on the psycologist(i.e. his name, address,
phone, fax# etc.) and give the information to her (psychiatrist)
and she would fax a referral right over to him. Well, about a
week goes by and I dont hear from the psychologist or the psyc-
hiatrist so I called my psychiatrist's office to find out if the
referral was faxed over to the psychologist and they told me that
they had mailed it to him. So he gets the referral. Then he tells
me that he was informed that I would have to make a visit to
my PCP in order to get that referral then I'd have to pick it
up from his office, and then take it to the psychologist that I'm planning to see but need to make the appointment ahead of time
before the lady at my PCP's office can even write that referral.
If getting a psychologist is this much work then I guess I'd better be well prepared because I'm planning to look fora new Psychiatrist
as well. The one that I have now is very cold and nasty and rude
and anxious to get me in and out of her office ASAP as she only
takes care of the meds anyway. I feel like crying cause all of this
crap that I have to go through in order to get halfway decent therapy
from a psychologist is draining me emotionally. I can thank my insurance company for this.

[dottie]

Now doesn't that beat all??!! I'm sorry that you are having to go through this nonsense.

Good luck in the future.

as far as mental health goes, i'm lucky that i don't have insurance. i presented myself at the local clinic as being suicidal and i've been going there since last February. they could not be kinder and more supportive. i'm sorry that your insurance company is such an ***. love, pat

[FelineHeart]

Thank you Pat. That means alot to me.

[bipolar_bear]

I am sorry you are caught in the insurance tangle. It seems at times that the outcome is not good care but good paperwork. I hope that it works out soon and then you find some people that can really help you.

[Hopefull]

I hope it works out for you.
My place can't seem to get it straight what my co-pay is. They want more than what my insurance says it is. The T says that they said it was okey to meet. My EAP said it was okey to meet. I keep wondering what it would be like to do all this to see my PCP. Noone would want to see a physician. AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
So as you can tell, I have a slight idea of what your going through. I hope they get it all straight and you can get good therapy.

[ErinBear]

Hi....

I don't know what kind of insurance you have....if you have some sort of private insurance (Blue Cross, Health Net, etc.), you might look at your policy book and see if they offer a patient advocate or patient problem resolution person you can contact. When I was on a health plan like that, I had some very complex coverage issues, and contacted their "advice nurse" people by phone one time in frustration. They referred me to a special service case manager who helped to resolve various coverage problems in my case, and helped expedite things. They also helped me find new doctors that better fit my needs, because I needed to switch multiple doctors quickly when they transferred networks. If you have something like that in your plan, it might be worth investigating. They might be able to help speed this from the opposite end, and put some pressure on the doctors to get their acts together :-)

Take care,
ErinBear

[FelineHeart]

I have Optimum Choice/Mamsi Erin.
I may be making some headway finally. An appointment was finally set up with the new psychologist and I just phoned the lady who does the referrals at my PCP's office and she said that it would be ready within the next day or two so I asked her to call me to let me know exactly when it will be ready to pick up because she prefers me to pick it up telling me that if it were faxed over to him, then he may not get it so I said not a problem. Now I'm wondering what the next complication will be. It seems to never end.
I did talk to the lady this is likethe head supervisor at my insurance company(just to let you know) and she said that she would mail me a bunch of info regarding what to in this kind of situation so I am making calls and asking questions. If it gets more complicated than this, Then I'll take further measures. It's causing me alot of anxiety but I know it needs to get done. I just hope that when I do finally see this psychologist that he turns out to be a decent one. I also plan to search for a new psychiatrist soon because the one that I have rightnow is nasty and rude. It's all such a nightmare

[ErinBear]

Hi FelineHeart,

I'm so glad you are starting to get some things worked out at long last! This has been such a difficult situation. I'm thankful to hear you have the appointment with the psychologist, and like you said, I hope it will be a good meeting and he'll be a good new contact for you. I also hope you can find a better psychiatrist to work with, since this current one sure sounds like they leave a lot to be desired. Wishing you all the best.....take good care of you!

Take care,
ErinBear

[Hopefull]

It sounds like you are making headway. Insurance is a very hard thing to work with. So, I admire your get involved and find out what I need to do additude.

[FelineHeart]

I'll be glad to finally have someone to talk to cause my husband doesn't really understand my anxiety & depression and my shrink is nasty and rude to me. She only takes care of the medications and nothing more. That's what it's like nowadays. I'm going through alot and I'm really afraid so I really hope this psychologist is a cring and understanding one after all I've been through and with what I'm going through now.

[(JD)]

I hope so too Yes, psychiatrists these days tend to not get involved in the counseling therapy of patients. Talk to your new T about the pdoc at some point, if you wish to change pdocs. Often they have someone who works with them (as psychologists can't sign patients into hospital,they need a psychiatrist to do that.)

Hope it goes well for you... keep us posted.