Last week, I wanted to see what insurance was paying and not paying on my recent hospital stay.
I went to an insurance website where this information could be found and I was given the option of logging in with a username and password or account number and social. I had never logged in so I used the second option and entered my information.
The site said my information was incorrect. This message really annoyed me because I was looking at my information and could see very clearly that it was, in fact, correct. I knew that obviously, their database was somehow, somewhere wrong.
I tried entering Russell’s information, thinking maybe since he is the primary on the insurance that it would only accept his information. It gave me the same error message.
I tried a different browser. Still no luck.
I sent Russell a text and asked if he had ever made an account and what he thought his user name and password might be. While I was waiting for him to text back, on a techie hunch, I clicked the forgot username and password link and was able to send an email to his email account, log in there and reset his password before I ever heard back from him.
You know how sometimes a preacher will preach for 10 minutes and make a point then say, “all that was free” because it isn’t part of the actual message but was just background you needed?
Well, here is the freebie from this post: To save time and frustration, make sure you are giving people the right information to get what you need. In this case, if that web site had given me a message that said, “It appears your information is already linked to an account. Forgotten your username?” It would have saved me some time and frustration.
We do this to people in our lives all the time. I will complain about being tired, but won’t say, “I need help” and then, I’m frustrated that I don’t have help. Be honest about what you need. (That was all free.😊)
Anyway, what I didn’t know was that while I was waiting on a reply from Russell, he was calling them on the phone. Of course, they asked questions about access and he told them I was his wife and he wanted me to have equal access to anything that was his.
He texts back to say I should have full access and by this time I have already logged in. I can see all the claims and my name beside them but in the space where it shows who the claim was paid to, it says private with a little question mark beside it.
I click the question mark. It says that since Russell is the owner of the account, the patient will have to sign a HIPPA release so that the owner can see the claim.
When Russell told them he wanted me to be able to see everything, that only applied to what was his information. The site assumed I was him and he didn’t have access to mine.
So, I printed out a HIPPA release, faxed it in and voilà, I could see my information.
Finally…all of that to get to the main point of this post. If people are married, they shouldn’t have to “check a box” to see each other’s information. You should have to check a box to block your spouse instead. Shouldn’t be assumed that married people don’t care if they see each other’s information? That should be the norm!
The Bible says in Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
The way I read that, we are trans-identity (totally made up word). He is me, I am him. There is no his and mine. There is no me and you. There is only ours and us.
I know the “checkboxes” are really not the problem and they may be a silly example to some people, but they reflect the sad world we live in.
The Bible says in Mark 10, “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder” – meaning separate. Turns out, all we need to be separate us a missing HIPPA release form.
Loved this one. Had lots of frustration with all Mom’s info. Finally just made the croaky voice and pretended to be her.