Thread by @VetsUnitedMarch

@ThomasKlineMD Amen Doc, went to get nerves burnt in lumbar/sacral the other day&asked my doc abt setting up other 2 procedures cz due, insurance only pays for 3 discs bilaterally, per region ex cervical, thorastic, lumbar/sacral, 2x a yr or every 6 months&they wont let u pay outta pocket if u

@ThomasKlineMD Need more done either, but at least was able to get radio frequency nerve ablation since not a candidate for surgery yet cz they say to young&the severe&rapidly progressing DDD will get worse cz in a healthy spine a fusion causes DDG at fusion site, so wanna delay as long as

@ThomasKlineMD Possible they say cz wont be able help when get older&have a wide array of medical issues besides that, but anyways the doc told me I was gonna have to choose between my neck/cervical&thorastic/mid-back cz insurance is not wanting to pay for them calling both cervical procedures

@ThomasKlineMD Even tho there aren't remotely close&have paid for the areas to be done, have to get special code&doc has to write medically necessary, MRIs, jump thru hoops but it used to get done at least, well was told that gonna have to make choice&wait yr cz even if they deny it&they appeal

@ThomasKlineMD &even if insurance pays for it, they can come back like the IRS&fine my doc&make them pay the $ back for procedures, he said it's not just with RF but also had another patient who gets injections&they'd cover 5 a yr, but they're doing same thing to them too. VA dont offer them&

@ThomasKlineMD Have met other vets who go to VA but have to be sent to a civilian doc for procedures&know some vets use Choice. Well called insurance when got home&then the billing office the doc uses, spent 4days going thru hell asking them to please just contact the provider claim line&they'd

@ThomasKlineMD give them correct coding&walk them thru how to submit coding better so it wouldn't get denied&they'd submit the correction so my doc got paid&could get treatment (already lost 1 pain doc cz this crap&wasnt allowed to even pay for it, so wouldn't treat anymore&hard find doc) well

@ThomasKlineMD Couldn't get them to even call number&ego BS, talked to 3 diff ppl&highest could go at docs billing company, then called insurance back&said they won't call to even check, etc, well then that person (alot them just blow u off when call sadly) didn't seem like they even knew how

@ThomasKlineMD To look at stuff&or understand it, even said can u look back 9 months ago, then back into 2017&see, can go back to 2014, etc, well that person tells me that even though insurance paid for that 2017 thorastic procedure after the denial&appeal, that they decided recently it wasn't

@ThomasKlineMD Medically necessary, so they did ask for my doc to pay it back, but person was so clueless compared to person spoke with on Monday, was like "ok are u telling me that u guys paid for it&then over yr later made my doc pay it all back?" He was beating around the bush bad, said this

@ThomasKlineMD Is why veteran suicide rate is so high, folks already feel like a burden on family&need the treatments&meds&cant even find a doc anymore that does anything cz all the Gov't BS, he asked me if I wanted help finding another doc, Im like it's not that easy&explained how it works&how

@ThomasKlineMD Hard it has been for yrs to even get a pain doc to take care of u, that most just do shots, etc. Well then his lazy ass decided to call the police&I knew he was stalling cz he was getting even more ditzy&not answering questions, having me repeat stuf, etc. So instead of doing job

@ThomasKlineMD &finding someone else who may be able to understand how to do his job, he did that dumb BS, ridiculous, so anyways know most the officers here anyhow, but they had to come check on me&ask me if I felt like I wanted to hurt myself or others, Lol, wasn't their fault they're just

@ThomasKlineMD Doing their job, but I was like no I don't wanna hurt myself or anyone else, been trying to get my treatments&as a matter of fact have been on the phone with this person from insurance forever&was like cops are here&gotta deal with that now since it was easier for u to call them

@ThomasKlineMD Than do your job, been getting these treatments&need them&refuse to be a statistic esp cz ppl just simply are to lazy to even try&do job. 1 officer had just had a back surgery&another knew how hard it was to find docs too&even tried to help me by giving me their docs number, but

@ThomasKlineMD Anyways my 5yr old even told them aloud that the ppl on the phone were mean&to arrest them, lol. It's sad, really is, but anyways they left&could see what it was as soon cz seen me on the phone&I said been on the phone trying to get ppl to simply do a code&or look into it so can

@ThomasKlineMD Get proper treatment, so this is something else insurance companies are starting to do I guess, come back on doctors months&or yrs later demanding them reimburse them for procedures docs did&apparently they also fine the docs. So they're no longer just messing with medications

@ThomasKlineMD But also targeting doctors who help patients with procedures, even if the same procedures have been done through other docs in the past&covered too, for yrs even, it's asinine. So now besides having to worry abt 1 doc retiring, have to deal with this bull in regards to even

@ThomasKlineMD Getting procedures, so they've messed with ppl's meds, they've messed with procedures even&now they're even making docs pay insurance companies back for procedures that are medically necessary&give ppl any quality of life, it's getting worse&its like we can't help we're injured

@ThomasKlineMD Oh&the billing company kept telling me that it was still out to insurance not to worry, it'd get paid, but insurance 1st time said it needed diff code 2b paid, talked 3 diff ppl in 4 days, 1 did billing, 1 did billing for that particular insurance&other submitted the codes but

@ThomasKlineMD but coder wasn't familiar w/insurance) so then 1 person just said to wait&it would take awhile (been 9 months)&when mentioned what insurance said abt codes she refused to call saying it's right codes. But last time it was submitted they did it as 2 cervical procedures instead one

@ThomasKlineMD Cervical&1 thorastic, she kept saying "I worked at that insurance for 15yrs" I said I can't call Provider line cz I'm not a provider, will u plz just call&check, refused, person did the coding didn't even have dates of treatment&when I said Aug&Sept of last yr, she was like when?

@ThomasKlineMD I was like 2018, she's like "well that's why cz its been so long ago" then when she tried blowing it off (she was cocky&acted her having to return my call was inconvenient&even said they process thousands of claims a day, etc&it was bad) I said will u plz look at thorastic date?

@ThomasKlineMD That's another one, she says when was that, said look at Aug or Sept plz, she said "well that's why your insurance is denying it, u cant expect to have these expensive procedures all the time, this is 2 cervicals n 2months" I'm like no, that's what I'm trying to explain to u, one

@ThomasKlineMD Is a cervical way up in the neck, the other is in the T-spine&picked the worst ones which are at T7,8&9, down past middle of back, that's why they said they needed u to call the provider line to get the right code so that it would be paid", she then started telling me how the

@ThomasKlineMD Other person worked at that insurance like mentioned above&she said she'd been doing coding all over 15yrs&she had it on speakerphone even heard it&was finally had enough&was like so ur telling me u refuse to even call the provider line&check, I have 2 kids to take care of&really

@ThomasKlineMD Need these treatments, but ya she was all bragging abt how long she'd been doing coding, yet wasn't familiar with a popular insurance, it was nuts. But not all vets even have another option outside VA&this is how they treat folks sadly, it's not right, cruel&its discrimination