Saturday 9 June 2012

Evil Insurance?

I'm beginning to wonder if insurance companies are borderline evil.  I wanted to give Shawn's insurance company the benefit of the doubt and believe that they were working for our best interest.  We spoke to the nurse that did our assessment on contract for the insurance company.  She told us that they had recommended nursing care for us and had even begun hiring someone on our behalf.  The insurance company decided against their recommendation and proceeded to tell us something different.  Shawn was told that the nursing company had decided the care was not necessary.  Shawn continued his discussion with them on Friday morning but never heard back from them.  At this point, it appears they're going to drag their heals as long as possible and look for more reasons to reject us.  This is all so frustrating and makes us really annoyed.  Every morning that we begin our day exhausted, we like to blame it on the insurance company and not Hope!  Sunlife has a choice, Hope didn't choose this for her life.  

Hope is doing pretty well, she's tolerating her feeds well and is continuing to gain weight...slowly!  We celebrate every gram, it's all better than weight loss.  Hope can be pretty fussy at times in the day and difficult to settle.  Many times we pull air out of her feeding tube and find that she'll settle down.  There are days that are overwhelming with the two girls, but I try to use the evenings to recoup before starting again.

We were accepted by Tiny Light Foundation (www.thetinylight.com) and will have our family photos done on Sunday.  It is a group of professional photographers that volunteer their time for families that have a hard time going to a studio for family photos.  We want to get some pictures of Hope, but aren't able to take her into a studio that is not disinfected and safe for her.  This will be a huge blessing for us and we're looking forward to posting some of the pictures for you all to see.  Hope is still very tiny, but her features are changing as she gets older.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us and lifting up our family.  A specific prayer need today, Sadie has a hacking cough.  We spoke to the cardiology department about moving Sadie out of the house, but they told us that it's too late now that her symptoms are showing.  They don't feel she's contagious any longer and have us just keeping a close eye on Hope.  Please pray that Hope doesn't get Sadie's cold and that we're able to get Sadie better quickly!

6 comments:

  1. Sorry you are frustrated with the insurance company. My husband has worked for Sun Life for 30 years - I don't believe they are "truly evil." I'm sure there is some miscommunication and misunderstanding going on. Hopefully, you will be able to get to the bottom of the true reason for the rejection of the claim and if unjustified they will chance their minds.

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    1. It's true Carol, I don't believe they are truly evil. I think that each night I have less than 5 hours of sleep makes me more and more angry. That makes it hard to keep an open mind about the intentions of the specific agents we're in contact with here in Calgary. It's getting more difficult to be patient, as we become more exhausted. Hopefully it will be resolved quickly and we can talk with someone that can offer more assistance soon!

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  2. Hi Amy!
    I've had a similarly frustrating experience with Sunlife lately...not the same as yours, but frustrating none the less. EVERY claim that I submitted for an entire year was misprocessed, causing me to have to call in once or sometimes twice to fix it. Finally I was put through to a very helpful CSR who had empathy for me. She escalated the issue to a complaints department so that it wouldn't happen again. Now my file is flagged so that only senior people can process my claims. By point in telling you this: continue to pursue escalating your issue. There are helpful people who work there who have the power to change the outcome in an unfair situation.
    You are always in my prayers,
    Kathy Slean

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  3. It's amazing to hear about your journey and learn from your persistence and dedication to the Lord. Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and giggles throughout these posts :)
    PS: I think you should get back to my message if you get the chance. We'd love to bless your family with dinner sometime (also, I have a proposal for you and Shawn!)
    God Bless you and your family!
    Melanie (and the rest of the Anderson's)

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  4. Have you tried home care? I'm not sure if it's the same in Alberta as it is in Saskatchewan, but they might be able to offer you in home respite. Here, there is no charge for a registered nurse visit and a small fee for care aid service. Just a thought!

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  5. Now that I think about it - "respite care" is what we got through Home Care. Have you asked your Home Care nurse about this - because your case worker won't advertise it if you are eligible. It may be different than the system in Ontario - and I think maybe we got some respite care because of Will's aspiration risk and other feeding complications. But this could be another avenue to try if the insurance company denies your appeal. Glad your mom is there to give you a bit of a break and some company :)

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