Thursday, April 29, 2004
Privacy
Okay, just one last post.
Can I just say that I've had it up to frickin' here with all of the so-called "privacy" issues and "concerns" that businesses have lately? It's one thing if I called a random number, said I was someone, and didn't have any of the "password" info correct (birthdate, mother's maiden name, etc.), but when I call my insurance company for which I am the primary policy holder and ask for information regarding benefits for the upcoming C-section, what I don't want to hear is:
And has your wife given her consent to release this information to you?
Newsflash assholes, I'm the one paying the fucking bill, so if I have a question about said bill, you better bet your sorry ass that I don't need her permission to release payment liability and insurance benefit information to me over the god-damned phone. Even if we were estranged, or separated, or whatever (which we're not!), the bill's still coming to me, so I have a right to this information.
You might think I'm being a bit overly cranky about this, but when I called the Doctor's office to ask for just simple general information about what's involved in a C-section (questions like "will you lower the surgical screen during delivery so she can see?" or "will I still be allowed to cut the umbilical?" or "how many days is a standard hospital recovery?"), I was told that Illinois state law required that they release that information to no one but the patient. I mean, I'm going to be in the operating room anyway, so you'd think they'd give me answers to these questions.
On a side note, I think I could have been less cranky if the person on the other end of the line spoke English, or didn't ask me to spell my first name. It's Steve. It's not like there's alternate spellings of Steve. If you didn't hear it because I mumbled, just ask me to repeat myself. There's no diving save for "can you spell your first name, please?" when it's something as simple as mine. We all know now you're just an idiot, thanks.
