And the Verdict is...

I held the white envelope in my hands and was hopeful for what was inside. But, part of me already knew. I tried so hard to ignore that part as I tore open the back. The first sentence said everything I needed to know: "The request for neurostimulator trial has been denied." My heart sank and I became instantly angry. So angry, in fact, I began to feel hot tears streaming down my cheeks. This had always been a possibility, and I knew it was a long-shot, but I had this flicker of hope that everything would go through. I picked up the letter again. "The reason is as follows: Not medically necessary--the services your provider requested were not necessary. The information sent was reviewed and did not support the request for the neurostimulator trail." I giggled a little through my tears at their typo. "The services your provider requested were not necessary?" What. The. Fuck. Wouldn't my "provider" know my case better than some suit in an office? I know that what my insurance company wants is for me to throw more medication at the problem. What does it matter to them if I have liver failure by the time I'm 30? Medicine isn't always the answer. There are alternative therapies available, but they aren't always as cost-efficient, so too often, they get ruled-out as an option. Well, I'm not just going to grab my ankles on this one. This is a fight worth fighting. They gave me 45 days and two different addresses to which I can write letters of appeal, which I will most definitely be doing. I will be calling my doctors to get medical records tomorrow, just so I can be sure I include all the right facts and my verbiage is correct.

What really makes me mad is that if I had privately held insurance, this probably wouldn't be an issue. But because I'm on BadgerCare, it's a problem. United Healthcare is the insurance company providing the coverage. If I were to take out a policy on my own through United, they'd have no qualms about covering the neurostimulator. But, at the end of the day, it all comes down to money. And BadgerCare - Medicaid - is the least amount of (nearly) free healthcare coverage for the insured at the the lowest dollar for the insurer.

I'm beyond pissed. This is, of course, the more formal way to go about getting things done (if they'll even give my case a chance). What I really would like to do is go for a more direct approach...if you see a brunette on the evening news going down for arson, you'll know why...(sorry, Scott Walker). And cue Talking Heads...now...