Well just took a look at the mail from yesterday and found a letter from Pain Management. Oh well another bill I thought. Nope, actually it was more in the way of an extortion demand. I have written about about my medical bills in multiple diaries. Even with decent insurance I have well over $25,000.00 in medical debt. I am trying to keep up with my current docs as well as paying on past services. So what PM sent me was basically an extortion letter saying pay up in full or we stop providing services. No I have been making payments. In the last 2 months I have paid over $130.00 bucks on it. Yet somehow my balance has come down less than $100.00 bucks. Kind of odd at least to me. More on that in a moment.
Let me tell you how I fell behind on my PM bill in the first place. Last year in September, just after my insurance restarted for the year I was given the choice between getting more shots and dismissal from PM. I sure didn't want the shots and with my insurance just flipping I knew I had to hit a $2,400.00 deductible before the 90/10 kicked in. So what could I do. They pushed hard and finally I agreed to get the shots. It was a series of 3 and once again it helped not one freaking bit. At least it didn't help me. Sure helped them pad their bottom line. Each shot was over $300.00 and I made a $600 buck payment before I had my 2nd shot. I figured I would be okay and could pay down the rest pretty quick. Nope, suddenly my bill was well over $1000.00 and they couldn't show my $600.00 payment. I refused to pay until they could show they had applied my payment. That was fair in my mind. Well we finally straightened that out but I was still over $800.00 in the hole as of January of this year. Every time I went in I paid on my balance. Since I am at the 90/10 point I know my current charges are under $10 bucks a visit.
Kind of funny that their system never shows any payments. They say it is set up to apply the payments to the oldest charges first yet the only payments it ever shows on my bills is from the insurance company. Makes no sense that they can show some payments but not others. I keep telling them I want to see my payments on my bills. They keep saying it is impossible. Some odd accounting software if it won't show payments except from insurance companies. In 2 months I paid $130 bucks they show my bill coming down under$100.00 something doesn't add up. Kind of like how they screwed me into jumping my bill in the first place by forcing me to get shots I did not want but was forced to take to keep getting my pain medications refilled. It is just about impossible to change PM docs. I know I ahave been referred to 2 others and both turned down the referrals since I am currently being seen by my current PM clinic. So I am stuck. Come up with $700.00 quick or get booted and be unable to get on with another PM clinic. So basically extortion. Believe me when I say I would love to get away from this PM clinic. You just have to love a system that is set up to not let you change doctors for any reason, even when you feel you are being mistreated by the doctor. Other PM doctors think you are doctor shopping when you try and change. They think that it is exhibit # 1 in drug seeking behaviour. So they don't want to touch you. Kind of leaves patients between a rock and a hard place. Same when a PM clinic closes, no one wants to touch their patients thinking it is all of the patients fault and not the doctors. This kind of crap needs to stop and NOW