Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives Surgery Neurostimulation Devices

Perfect! Thanks - I'll forward that to my cousin asap.

trial was great and I was supposed to have the implant surgery Aug 10th, but found out yesterday my insurance ran out and no one notified me. now I have to wait for my previous employer, whom I field a civil rights violation on, to verify with COBRA that they cancelled my insurance. getting very depressed. I am going to have to reschedule the surgery and push the COBRA people to speed it up. I was so excited, only had 4 more days of misery, now, I don't know how many. It is very frustrating. I know you had some insurance issues as well. I am trying to be positive but all I am feeling is anger and sadness. Hope your implant is still doing great. Jane

Hey Jane,
Man that sucks. Yes I know exactly how you feel and what you are going throuogh. I'm sorry you are going through it too.

COBRA is the biggest joke I have ever ran across, basically all a COBRA admisistrator does is collect 2-5% of the cost of your insurance premium to mail your premium on to your original insurance company. Even with the rise in Postage rates it would still be cheaper for you to send the payment to your insurance company yourself, but that would mean a government backed insurance program would no longer be in business...What a Shame!!

Once you get your paperwork for COBRA filled out FAX it to them, and mail them a back up copy as well, keep a copy for your file, and then call the COBRA administrator to verify that they received it, and explain the situation to them. They will tell you on the COBRA Application that it will take approx 60-90 days for the policy to take effect. I was able to push mine through in 1 week. Stay right after it, and follow the paper trial, because once your COBRA application is processed they send it back to your EMPLOYER for verification and then it is forwarded to their agent to add his 2 cents worth to it. This is the part you have to push on. And this is where my last denial happened. The insurance company said that my insurance had lapsed 2 days before my sheduled surgery, and I knew the COBRA Administrator had done as he said he would and pushed my paperwork through in a week, however when it hit my employer's office it laid there for 3 weeks because they didn't know what to do with it, and rather than call someone, they let it lay there and allowed My insurance to lapse. That cost me another 2 months worth of pay checks, the 3 weeks it laid there, and then another 4-5 weeks to get everyone involved in the surgery onto the same schedule and get an OR booked again. I went through pre admission testing twice because of this mess. Also, if you were approved for the implant prior to your insurance lapsing, DO NOT let your insurance company tell you that you have to start all over again. That approval can and should roll right over because COBRA doesn't change a thing insurance wise. It is just a way for some politcal croanies to make some money for doing nothing. You will have the same insurance, with the same policy and group numbers as before. So really stay on top of things.

The big thing to remember is NEVER trust anyone at this point. Start keeping a file from Day 1. Ask for and demand written conformations all along the way. Keep a written record of phone calls, who you talked to and what was promised, and be sure to cross every "T" and dot every "I". It is a huge game of Cover Your AS* from here on out.

If you have any questions, or just need to scream at someone, please feel free to IM me. The wife and I have become fairly experienced during this ordeal with how you can get screwed over by insurance companies, employers, and government assistance agencies without getting kissed.

Hang in there Jane, its just a big bump in the road. You can amke it work out. Now is when you need to get strong.

Keep Kickin'AS
Chris

thanks for the tips. If they send my stuff to my employer they will burn it!!!!!!no kidding.

I faxed my application yesterday and I am going to start calling both COBRA and blue cross tomorrow and every day until I do get written confirmation that the insurance policy is back in place. good thing I am not working because I would not have the time to keep on everyone's butt. good grief

ok- I am getting a little mad. I faxed my cobra application and the check and mailed the hard copy. then it got turned over to someone else. called blue cross and they can't help me until this third party enters it. this third party assure me that I am currently covered and to go ahead and have the surgery. what? I asked them if they were personaly going to be responsible for my surgery,well, no. then I can't have it until blue cross confirms it. they really have no clue. I can not afford to pay cash, don't know who could. the battle continues today. I am going to be the thorn in their side until they get it fixed. you are soo right about an employer that chooses to have a third party collect the payments. they don't do anything but get things messed up. I am keeping track of whom I call and whom I spoke with, and what they said and when. the stress with my medical condition is terrible as it is, but then the added stress of the whole cobra thing has made me really grumpy.... but I think that is normal. onward......

Hi there,
I had a spinal cord stimulator implanted in 1998. For me, and me only, it is worthless, and the surgery was the most painful of my life. You have to be awake for it, with sedation of course, but with a very narrow spine, I got to the point to where I was cussing at the surgeon to please stop the surgery NOW. I went on and on and he had the anesthesiologist continue to pump me with demerol (this is back when they used demerol), but with my high tolerance it did nothing for me. Since 1998, I've used it 3 times. And that was in 1998! It doesn't work for pain and the SCS only works when I'm standing, in one position, not moving. The doctor did not want to go back in to re-align it due to how difficult it was to implant from the beginning.
Please remember, this only my experience. The doctor will do a 2-3 day trial first, then you make the decision on whether or not it is worth implanting it permanently. Another problem....if you're at the airport or any place where you have to walk through the metal detectors, if you have it turned on, it will sound the alarms. Plus, it shows on the metal detector and they will question you. You are supplied with a medical ID card with the doctors phone number etc. to show when asked.
Im not trying to discourage you, just letting you know what MY experience was. Take care and best of luck to you in your decision.
Sincerely,
Terry

blue cross didn't have the applicaton. had to call the cobra people again. I had to get snotty. I told them to call blue cross. so-after another hour on my cell blue cross verified the insurance is back up. but get this, when I tried to have my rx filled, the pharmacy is getting a policy termed message. I call bx yet again, and the customer serive agent said it takes a day or two to get the pharmacy side going. I told her I have been out of meds for over a week-I guess that is my problem. I wish when it came to insurance, you get what you pay for, but I am paying through the nose and not getting anything today.

I had my implant surgery on 8/24/07, and now 3 wks into recovery, I am very glad I had the surgery. I found this website, and although it is not as complete as kick.as, it has been helpful. here is the website.

raceagainstpain.com

I have used this because my dr. was not the best source of information about how I should be feeling after the surgery. give this website a look if you are thinking about gettin a stimulation device. good luck.