an update

It's been a while since I've posted, now hasn't it. October has basically been a pretty busy month for me. Early October, I flew out to Columbia, SC to stay with a friend for a few nights. We both attended the Hanson concert that was in Charlotte, NC, on the 11th, which was a blast. I took my hearing aid off again for this concert. I'm telling you, when I leave the hearing aid on, everything is just pure noise, I can't tell what is what! But with the hearing aid off, I was able to hear the music well enough. It was a bit quiet for me, but it was still enjoyable. And my friend was able to tell me what song Hanson was playing when I didn't recognize it. It was pretty fun.

After I got back from South Carolina, of course, I had to get my wisdom teeth out. Now that was not a pleasant experience at all, but I got through it and am still slowly healing up today. Also have been keeping busy with work. We have new press machines, so I had to be trained on how to work the machines and on the new system we are to use for printing the newspaper pages. No more negatives! How nice is that?

And now... insurance stuff. Open enrollment for insurance for Lee Enterprises stared last week. I still have no enrolled yet, as I am still trying to find out more information and details. There was a meeting about the benefits that are provided, and I did attend it, but I was just even more confused than ever. So I left the meeting early. Am still awaiting a response from Human Resource with answers to my questions. Also, I did get a hold of, uh, was it WellMark? Lemme go pull up my email. I might as well paste it into this blog post, for progress purpose in terms of the cochlear implant process.

Thank you for your email inquiry. We appreciate you contacting us via the Internet to resolve your questions and concerns.

We have researched your inquiry that is attached to this email reply and have made the following determination:

Please be advised prior approval is recommended for cochlear implants. The medical policy can be found at http://www.wellmark.com/e_business/provider/medical_policies/policies/cochlear_implants.htm
If approved, deductible would apply and once that is met, the coinsurance percentage to the out of pocket maximum. Then Wellmark would pay at 100% of allowed charges. Best benefits if provided by in network providers. If you would like more specifics please advise which plan you are considering, by email, or by tty 888-781-4262.

I got the wellmark.com link through Lee Enterprise's employees website, and contacted them from there. There is also Blue Cross Blue Shield, which I have heard good things about in regards to covering the implant, and that is the actual insurance company Lee uses I guess. I don't know, I'm still a bit confused but am working on getting my confusion straightened out.

I'm getting there, very slowly. The plans/benefits will start on Jan. 1, 2008 and from there, hopefully I can get a move on. The insurance would cover most of the implant, but I do have to pay a copay. Once I figure out what that copay is, then I could work on getting the funding for that. But first, get my confusion straightened out, enroll, GET the insurance... then get the CT scan done and make an appointment with the surgeon so he can look at the scan and we'll go from there.