An extremely grumpy day.

So I run up to Walgreens to pick up my perscription, which incidentally I found out is working wonderfully – my cholesterol is down to 140 from the two-hundred-eighty-something, “blood as margarine” levels it was before.

“That’ll be $87, the little drive up speaker said….” (WHAT?!) “Your insurance doesn’t seem to be in the system sir… That’ll be $87 please…”

I flipped her a credit card – got my medicine and headed home to find out what the hell was going on.

After a good 30 minutes surfing through the automated customer service robots trying to get to an actual human being – I got my answer: United Healthcare has discontinued individual coverage for self-employed types like me.

This was news to me of course – and I asked the rep why I wasn’t notified..

“Oh – I see here that we sent you two notification letters back in May, but they were returned.”… (we moved our office to the house – but Kevin assures me ALL vendors were notified of the new address).

“Well… If you have a computer paper-trail letting you know this, then what prevented you from picking up the telephone and calling me!?”

(smugly) “We’re only required to notify you by mail sir – and it’s not our responsibility to ensure that we have the correct mailing address for you.”

“You can automatically withdraw $185 from my bank account every month, but your system can’t alert someone to call me when mail won’t go through?” – this was going nowhere… and I realized that this person had absolutely no reason to continue the conversation or be cordial at this point. I was no longer, or could ever again be – a customer of theirs.

The rest of the early morning was spent making brain-pick phone calls to friends in the healthcare industry and shopping around.

I finally settled on Blue Cross / Blue Shield who offers individual coverage at a better rate than I was paying UHC… and from what I can tell – slightly better coverage.

The rep emailed me the 10 page interrogation form and instructed me to mail it back or drop it by their downtown office. “IF” I make it through underwriting – I can be re-insured in three weeks.

In the meantime I have to hold my breath and hope I don’t get hit by a bus.

I’m not blogging – I’m attempting to not get overwhelmed with anger and paranoia.