A Stronger, More Independent Woman

So, Doug has been gone now for 11 days.  When someone asks me how I am doing, I usually say something like, "I am becoming a stronger, more independent woman." and fake a really nice smile.

Well yesterday, I decided that as a "strong, independent woman," I should go ahead and fill up my own tires.  (I've been talking about doing this for months, but I was hoping that Doug would do it for me when we stopped to get gas, but it didn't happen before his trip.)

So anyway, I was driving by the Sheetz where they have a free tire pressure thingamajig and I decided that I was going to do it.  ALL ON MY OWN.  My hesitation was always that I didn't know how much to fill up my tires.  One time when I was expressing this concern to Doug, he told me that I could probably read the number that is listed on the tire. (Ahem... not such good advice.)

So, I get to the gas station and read my tire. (Max 44 psi)  Okay?  So, I decided that I didn't want to fill it to the MAX and only set the machine to fill it to 42 psi.

So apparently, that's WAY too high and Doug practically flipped when I told him how much I inflated them because now I have an increased danger of having a blowout. (Great!)  If you're wondering how full you should inflate YOUR tires, it's usually about 32-35 psi.  You can check your car's owner's manual or there's usually a sticker on the inside of the driver's door.

OOPS!  Well, now I know!  I just need to go BACK to the gas station and deflate my tires...

Good thing I'm becoming a stronger, more independent woman.

FYI Dental Insurance

I blogged a while ago about worries that I had with dental costs here. I've now completed "My Treatment Plan" which included 2 crowns and 3 fillings. Yuck!

I had already paid $800 for my treatment and my plan covers 80% of the stuff I was getting done, so according to some calculations I did it looked like I might actually get a little money back. Last week, I received a $1,300 bill from my dentist. Yeah, I was surprised too.

I started by calling my dentist who let me know that the claim for one of my crowns had been denied. Denied? Um, how can your insurance deny something that they say that they cover?

I learned a bit more about the insurance process today while I was on the phone and I can now answer that question. So if you go or will ever go to the dentist, this might be some helpful information. I know it all seems very basic, but I really did think that my insurance would cover the procedures that it listed on my policy. Silly me!

Each time a dentist submits a claim they need to attach x-rays and such showing why they needed to do 'X' treatment. The insurance company then has their consultants look over this information and decide whether or not the procedure was indeed "necessary" before they will cover it. If the consultant deems it UNnecessary, then the patient (me in this case) will need to pay the full cost of the treatment.

This all sounds VERY reasonable and I understand why they need to go through this process because dental insurance companies don't want to pad the pockets of dentists that are doing unnecessary procedures. When I talked to my insurance company on the phone, they told me that it was good practice to have any procedure over $250 pre-approved with them before actually getting it done. Once again, excellent information, but 4 months too late.

Now what do I do? Well, the insurance company told me that I need to have my dentist office file an appeal explaining why my treatment was indeed necessary. You can file up to two appeals. If the appeal is granted then the insurance will cover it. If not... well I guess I will have a big unexpected bill coming up.

So hopefully this will be a positive learning experience and my claim will be covered. What can you learn from this and why am I sharing? Make sure that you get any procedure pre-approved EVEN if your policy says that it is covered.

Lesson learned.