BC/BS Insurance Question

[makeitgoaway]

Has anyone with BC/BS ever had approval for a home UVB box?

Thanks,
Steve:cool:

[LynneHella]

I have BCBS but haven't received a prescript for a UVB box. I did have a battle (as did my rheumy) to get Celebrex for my PA. It took about a week of daily correspondence to get the approval. So BCBS can be difficult when it comes to approvals...

Good luck!!!

[makeitgoaway]

Did you have to battle alone or did your Dr. help?

Steve:cool:

[Zara]

FYI
Blue Cross / Blue Shields are not the same corporation from state to state. They belong to a loose association but don't necessarily follow the same policies. In some states they are not-for-profits, in others they are for-profit insurance companies.

Joanette

[LynneHella]

Actually, my rheumy did most of it. He wrote a letter in advance (expecting an issue from them), then sent a fax, then called.

I called, then called, then called. When they finally approved it, BCBS of New England (thank you Joanette - you are absolutely right!) called my pharmacy and asked them to fill it before I got there to pick it up. Probably because my rheumy and I were bugging them and they just wanted to get rid of us!!!:D

Hey, whatever works!

Lynne

[ChuckPerrySr]

Yes, but it took me at least eight months of pushing them before they gave in and paid for the cabinet my dermatologist and I had agreed would be the best for me. They wanted me to get a flat panel of lights. My derm and I had decided on a folding cabinet with 8 tubes that completely surrounds me and then folds flat to the wall when not in use. The flat pannel that BC/BS wanted me to get cost, at that time, around $1500 compared to what I wanted which at that time cost about $4500. After six months of me fighting them even my derm said that I was not going to succeed.

Finally, in a last ditch effort, I found out the name and address of the BC/BS CEO here in Iowa and the address of the State Insurance Commission. I wrote to the person I had been contacting one last time, explaining if they did not approve my purchase my next letters would be to their CEO and the insurance commission. Two days after he got the letter he called the company that makes my cabinet. He asked them if they had a less expensive one. The manager of the company simply asked him, "Which one did the doctor prescribe for him?" The BC/BS representative without anymore questions said to ship me the cabinet and send them the bill. BC/BS sent me a form to fill out and forward to the manufacturer. As soon as they got it the cabinet was shipped.

The moral of this story is, never give up. Persistance pays off.

Best of luck to you.:)