Approved by Insurance

I received a letter from my insurance company on Saturday. They said that they will approve kidney transplant surgery when it comes time for me to have one. This is another step in the process of getting to a transplant. I think the next step will be to get tested so that a type match for me can be found.

My heart rate was still high at dialysis on Saturday. They raised my dry weight to 68.5 kg, but that did not help. I left with a pulse of 130 beats per minute. The nurse said that I should go ahead and schedule an appointment with my cardiologist so that she can see if there is anything that can be done to fix my crazy-fast heart rate.

I had to call my previous insurance company this morning. I was covered by this company from August 2005 – mid-October 2005. The dialysis clinic was out-of-network for this insurance, so my total out-of-pocket expenses should be $4000. Now, I understood this amount, and can accept it as company policy. However, I received a bill from the dialysis clinic on Saturday totaling over $16,000 in patient responsibilities (that’s me!). The bill is for 08/02/2005 – 09/29/2005 and came to $46,890.25. The insurance company is listed as paying $24,758.19 and writing off $6,089.52. This (supposedly) means that I have to pay $16,042.54. I called the insurance company and asked them (again) what an “out-of-pocket maximum” means. The agent told me that there most have been some mistake in the billing system and that they would look in to it. She also told me not to pay anything yet, as they are going to have to figure out what went wrong that kept them from stopping my bill at $4000. So, I will continue to go to dialysis and not pay them for the time being. At least this won’t be as difficult with my new insurance, as MediCare started picking up a portion of the bill in October.

Here is something that I was reminded of again on Sunday:

Philippians 4:4-7 (the Message)
4Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! 5Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! 6Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. 7Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.

It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
The reminder is, of course, to pray in all situations. And, to not fear or be anxious about that for which you are praying. So, in my case, it is my responsibility to pray to God, and to tell him that I have a terrible kidney disease, and that I want Him to do something about it. It is not my responsibility to make suggestions to God, or to worry about my kidney disease. I am also not to worry about paying my medical bills, getting on the transplant list, or anything related to my disease. I am just supposed to pray to God and tell Him that I have this problem and that I would like for Him to do something about it.

So, when you pray for me this week, don’t tell God what to do. Don’t limit Him by giving suggestions of what we think is the best thing. God has a greater perspective on time and space than we do, and He knows what is best for us. Please, continue praying, and ask God to do what is best in my situation. Thanks!