posted
I know this is under the wrong subheading, but I was unable to post this under another. Website problems.
A friend of mine is being treated by an area doctor, though he is not a proclaimed LLMD, and I called this doctor, hoping to see him instead of having to drive 3 hours each way to see mine, who does not seem to be taking my equivocal malaria result seriously enough to return my calls.
I don't think it's too much to expect a phone call within 24 hours when I call complaining of a black tongue from my minocycline.
Nor do I think it's too much to ask for my malaria retest slip to be mailed sometime prior to leaving for vacation, especially when I'm holding off on starting meds because of it.
Anyway, the receptionist answered, and one of my first questions was whether or not he accepted Medicare - and he did.
When I mentioned I had Lyme, however, the receptionist suddenly had to check with the office manager to make sure they accepted my secondary insurance.
I thought this was odd since my secondary automatically pays the 20% if Medicare pays the 80%.
When nobody had called me back, I called again and spoke to the office manager. She asked a lot of questions - who was my current doctor, how long have I been ill, etc... - enough to get me to dig my own hole so she could toss me into the 'oh, this is way to complicated for a family doctor' pile.
Keep in mind that, throughout this conversation, I am aware that this doctor is treating my friend for her chronic Lyme, but I did not disclose this to her.
I challenged her and asked her to check with the doctor, but she persisted with her recommendations that I continue with this doctor, even when I told her I was not happy with the lack of communication and the drive?! Then I was given basically a physician's referral number.
I played along with her for a little while and just couldn't take it any longer. I pointed out to her that initially the only question here was whether or not my insurance would cover the visits, yet somehow it had evolved into some big conspiracy over the condition being treated.
I was accused of being combative - and I was! - but how couldn't I be? I ended up screaming something about Lyme politics at her and hanging up.
My question - how can this be legal? If this is supposed to be a clinical diagnosis, how are doctors getting away with not treating this?
This is discrimination - don't you think? I can't find a lawyer anywhere either to take my case.
And if that wasn't bad enough, I can't seem to find a local doctor to even cure me.
posted
Hi Tailz - sorry you had a bad experience with this. When I was reading your story I was thinking about the doctors that I wanted to see when I first was diagnosed. A few were not seeing any new patients at the time at all. It was frustrating.
Then, the one I could make an appointment with, I couldn't see for 4 months - that is how far ahead they were booked. These were Lyme literate MD's. So, I just had to wait it out with my current doctor (who was trying to help me and learn about Lyme as fast as he could).
I don't know the legalities, but I think it is the right of the doctor to not take new patients or to not take on a patient that they believe they are not qualified to treat (or for whatever reason). I mean, are doctors obligated to treat ANY patient that comes to them? I don't know the answer to that question. But if that was so, I would think it would not be legal to "stop taking new patients" either.
Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. That you really are not suppossed to see this particular doctor and that there is another doctor out there for you that would be better suited.
I'm sorry that it frustrated you to the point of becoming combative. I am sure that did not help. Maybe you can try to use this as a learning lesson of what to say and not say to a new doctors office. Please don't waste your energy or time trying to find a lawyer or something. I think you might need that precious energy for finding healing solutions that work for you.
The doctor patient relationship is real and can be very fragile. Both parties need to participate in this relationship in order for it to grow in a healthy manner. It can be very hard to navigate at times.
Sending love and prayers your way.
Robin
Posts: 276 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2006
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tailz
Unregistered
posted
That's just it though - I was very professional when I first initiated the calls. I lose it though anymore when people try to twist things around. It's like kicking a dog 10 times, and the 11th time he bites, so you call him vicious.
I also lose it when people don't just come out and tell the truth.
Instead of just saying, "Dr. So-and-so does not wish to be involved in the care of Lyme patients due to the ongoing debate," she lies and turns it into something that's my fault - my insurance or my being too complicated a case.
Fact is, I don't trust my current doctor. I can tell I'm having liver problems right now, but to call his office and try to get him to order labs would only cause me more frustration and anxiety, and chances are I'll be sitting here the weekend once again with no response.
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5374
posted
It is possible your insurance company has a reputation of reporting or not reimbursing doctors for chronic Lyme treatment. So it might be the doctor sees it as dangerous to take a Lyme patient with your insurance company.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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tailz
Unregistered
posted
No - it had nothing to do with my insurance. I called my secondary. If Medicare pays - they pay - no questions asked. So all I really needed to make sure of was that they accepted Medicare, which they had already told me they did.
I was dropped by my Primary Care Physician when I inquired if he would work with my LLMD. He threw up his hands and backed away--literally. Fine, no problem, I wouldn't involve him in my Lyme treatment. A few weeks later when I wnet ot make an appt. with him, the office manager told me he could no longer treat me. It was something about my heart problems. Well, I saw him one last time and inquired about the heart problems. None of my heart problems had changed at all from when he first started seeing me. He made it sound like I needed someone with more training. Funny, that wasn't the case when he accepted me as a patient a year earlier.
It had to be the Lyme. There is no other explanation. SOme drs. get very scared. Let's face it, many drs. have lost their career for treating Lyme patients. I hope this changes with the lawsuit brought by Blumenthal.
Kayda
Posts: 582 | From midwest | Registered: Nov 2006
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5374
posted
quote:Originally posted by tailz: No - it had nothing to do with my insurance. I called my secondary. If Medicare pays - they pay - no questions asked. So all I really needed to make sure of was that they accepted Medicare, which they had already told me they did.
It was my Lyme - not my insurance.
Tailz, I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. Some insurance companies give a doctor a very hard time if they treat chronic Lyme.
They might pay what they are supposed to, but I have heard rumors that certain companies drop doctors from their network for "over treating" Lyme and rumors that some insurance companies report doctors to the medical board for using too many antibiotics for Lyme.
Therefore, it is possible that Doctor X won't take any Lyme patients who have insurance company Y, because insurance company Y will threaten their license or drop them from the network for treating the patient.
That would explain why they checked the insurance when you mentioned Lyme. It is a possibility. The insurance companies are nasty.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Kayda, I see what you are saying, but at the same time, if there is a trend starting to happen where docs are not even accepting patients for routine care then its going to hurt alot of people.
If LLMD puts son on IV, I have NO local doc to help out/oversee. None will treat us routinely.
Geneal
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10375
posted
I believe this to be a type of discrimination,
However, I would rather drive my 3.5 hours to see my LLMD,
Than let anybody else treat my Lyme and/or co-infections.
If this doctor is not interested in taking you on as a patient,
No matter what the reason, instead of getting mad,
Look at it as a door closing.
There is a reason for you not to be there.
Look for the open windows and open doors.
Those are the ones to go through.
Take this experience and use it as a "Thank God he didn't take me".
Who knows what kind of care you would or would not have gotten.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posts: 6250 | From Louisiana | Registered: Oct 2006
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
tailz, i agree with you. i've called several and they asked what the problem is. i said possible lyme and all of a sudden, they're not taking new patients, they no longer take bc/bs, whatever.
i'm just paranoid enough to believe it's the lyme word.....
unfortunately i don't have enough money to pay 750 for the doc i want to see.
better start saving i guess......
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
I tried to PM you, but your mailbox is full. Basically I wanted to encourage you to look for another LLMD, maybe one in NJ. If you're already driving so far to someone that you don't trust, why not drive to a different doctor altogether?
PM me if you'd like my LLMD's info.
-------------------- Getting older is when we would rather not have a good time than have to get over it. - Oscar Wilde Posts: 386 | From Radnor, PA - where the ticks run free | Registered: May 2006
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tailz
Unregistered
posted
Thanks everybody!
See, I knew it. Initially I thought - hmmm - this is strange - I never had anybody question my secondary insurance before.
It really set in though when I started talking to her, and she asked more questions about my Lyme than my insurance, the reason I was told we needed to talk before I could schedule in the first place.
That's pretty much what she did to me though - tried to tell me I was just too complicated, acting like she was doing me a favor. I couldn't stand to hear another generic lie though!
I have ZERO respect for any of these doctors who are opting out of treating patients with Lyme, making other doctors stand on the front lines for them. That's cowardly.
Kayda - What is that case you mentioned though???
ks mom - That's my fear, too. I mean if I stub my toe and need to see the doctor - or like recently, I was stung by a bee - do I need to drive 3 hours to be treated by my Lyme specialist? This is insane.
As upset as I am though, I'm kind of glad I found out sooner than later. I remember being a skeletal 88 lbs last year around this time, holding on for dear life for the appointment I had made with an ID doc - a 3 month wait!
- only to find out that ID docs were the biggest offenders in all this. That was crushing to learn! I finally knew what was wrong with me, and had no one to treat it.
I have a feeling though that other patients or would-be patients were seen as 'combative' - she seemed pretty well-versed in her excuses.
I'm scared to drive to NJ though. I've never driven out of state alone. Some days I don't even feel safe driving to the store for groceries. Are you referring to the tickborne center though? Thanks for telling me my mailbox was full, too;)
Maybe we should approach this legally from a discrimination standpoint instead? Has anyone with Lyme tried?
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What I meant was my heart condition was the same when he dropped me as when he initially agreed to accept me as a patient one year earlier. So, since that was the same, and the only thing that had changed was a request for him to work with my LLMD, well, it was quite obvious.
A friend explained to me that insurance companies can drop physicians from their networks & if they are dropped, it is in essence the same as losing their job and getting fired. Other networks will also not want to pick you up as readily, either.
It is a big, BIG insurance game. If drs. weren't scared of ruining their careers, they might just band together and try to fight it.
I'm learning to keep my mouth shut when speaking about Lyme with medical care people.
Kayda
Posts: 582 | From midwest | Registered: Nov 2006
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tailz
Unregistered
posted
Kayda - I'm sorry - I was asking about the lawsuit you mentioned.
posted
I see an LLMD for lyme treatement and pay out of pocket-although insurance covers meds.
Otherwise I go to gyn doctor, urologist, endocrinologist,oncologist, cardiologist-all within network.
If I broke my arm-which I almost did tripping over my floor fan (the fan broke, not me) I would go to Patient First or orthopedist.
But I always take a list of meds(mostly prescribed by LLMD) to other appointments.
If I feel so sick I think I need to go to ER I go to the hopsital where (LLMD) has privileges-so any decision about treatment are made in consultation with her.
posted
It's crazy though, cobweb, having to have to see so many different doctors. In fact, I blame being sent to multiple doctors for the reason I've walked around this long with undiagnosed infection.
I went to neurologists, rheumatologists, cardiologists, gynecologists, ENTs. Even the ENT I saw only wanted to look at my ears OR my nose OR my throat - never all three simultaneously.
And if I mentioned my joint pain, he would correct me and remind me he was an ENT, not a rheumatologist. It's dangerous how they are approaching this.
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D Bergy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9984
posted
While I do not recommend people treating their selves. This is why we ended up doing just that.
You can spend months and years looking for a competent doctor that will diagnose and treat you. And even then they may not know what they are doing. In the mean time the person get worse and worse.
I still do not recommend treating yourself but it seems that the powers that be leave little alternative in many cases. Then they complain bitterly about people using alternative or unstudied treatments when little else is available to them. I guess people are supposed to patiently wait to die.
D Bergy
Posts: 2919 | From Minnesota | Registered: Aug 2006
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