Diagnosis: Pregnancy!

As could have been expected, I've been having a very difficult time getting my insurance company to cover my unconventional maternity care. When I started the authorization process back in July (when I first started seeing Candace), the information I received from BCBS seemed too good to be true: midwives are completely covered as in-network providers! Yipee! It seemed to cut-and-dried...I should have been suspicious.

Just yesterday I found out that because Candace is not a CNM, I have to request an exception for my care from her to be covered. This will be considered out-of-network, which I've deduced means that we'll be paying more and our insurance will be paying less. Between yesterday and today (in all my copious end-of-semester spare time) I've talked to about eight different employees who have all passed the buck to someone else. After all these conversations, I'm still not sure that the authorization process has officially begun. What's worse is that because I've been seeing Candace since July, I have to obtain retroactive authorization as well as authorization for future care. Gah! Obviously, they want to discourage me and make this process impossible so I just give up and pay the full amount (which will still be less than if we were to have Karis in the hospital).

Is it just me, or have you experienced major frustration when it comes to communicating with insurance companies? Don't get me wrong; I'd rather experience this kind of frustration with a private insurance company of my own choosing than have to jump through bureaucratic hoops of the sort I'm sure our new president-elect will establish in the coming years....but that's beside the point. I'm an educated person! Yet somehow the insurance jargon confounds me. I feel like I should know far more than I do, but am prevented from even understanding the basics of my coverage.

Plus, the insurance world simply doesn't appreciate unconventional maternity care. Although my plan covers CNM's, three people I spoke with required education regarding the difference between CNM's and CPM's (Candace's certification), nor will they accept the fact that there ARE no CNM's within a 30 mile radius who will attend homebirths, even if I wanted to be cared by one!

Anyway, I wanted to share a disturbing but hilariously ironic conversational interchange I had with one of the BCBS employees yesterday afternoon. This came after a long explanation of my situation and desire for my maternity care to be covered:

Employee: "Ma'ma, what is your diagnosis? Pregnancy?"
Me: (Taken-aback laugh) "Uhh...yes. That's a funny question."
Employee: (Embarrassed chuckle) "Well, I just assumed..."

Regardless of whether or not our insurance pays us back, I wouldn't have traded Candace's midwifery care for a traditional ob's "care" for anything. I've felt so confident and calm throughout this pregnancy because I have been cared for by a professional who is accessible, knows me, has taken the time to listen to my dreams for this birth, and has exceptional expertise and experience. This is worth almost any price...although I'm still hoping that BCBS comes through for us!!!