Insurance dilemma!

Hubby finally finished all the necessary tests for the surgery, the doctors office submitted all the paper work, and all we had left was wait for insurance approval. The first time the documents were faxed was 6-16-09. I waited for a letter from the insurance company that never came. I called the doctors office to see if they had heard anything. The answer was "NO, but we could call the insurance ourselves!" So I did, and the insurance said they didn't have anything on file. To make sure the doctors office put predetermination on the top of the fax!

So I called the doctors office back, and was told yes the forms say "predetermination". They called the insurance company and despite their fax saying the forms were sent successfully the insurance company did not receive them. So on July 7th they were re-faxed! I learned a valuable lesson, don't wait for things! So I gave the insurance company 3 days then called, and was told nothing was received. To make sure the doctors office put predetermination on the top, hubby's policy number, group number, social security number, and procedure codes all on the forms. They also gave me the fax number to make sure the doctors office sent things to the correct place. I called the doctors office. All of the information was in the correct place and all of it was on the form. They also said the fax number I was given was the fax they had been sending it to. Not only that but each time they faxed it their fax printed out a confirmation sheet saying the fax was sent successfully! They said they would re-fax it immediately!

At this point I was furious and confused. What the heck were we supposed to do? The predetermination papers had now been faxed three times to the insurance company, and we were at their mercy. For some reason things were not working out. I was no longer going to wait I decided I would call the insurance company every working day until they did something. So Monday I called. They had received the information that was sent for the third time on Friday (finally!) and were processing it! I asked how long I should give them to process it before I call back she told me if I don't hear anything by Wednesday to call back! OK finally some progress!

An hour later hubby called me and said the doctors office called him and the surgery was approved. I thought he was kidding because the insurance company just told me they were processing it. After all that trouble how could things move so fast! I have no idea, but am glad they did!