Quote:
Originally Posted by AOII Angel
The first bold isn't really correct. Physicians elect whether or not to accept certain insurance providers. They don't "make deals" with them. Physicians actually have very little bargaining power when it comes to insurance companies. We can just refuse to see patients from companies that we don't wish to deal with.
The second bolded section caught my eye because I wonder if you told him that you were willing to pay for the tests even if your insurance company wouldn't cover them. I can feel the frustration in your story, but T3 and T4 levels are not covered for hypothyroidism for a reason. If your physician didn't know you would pay for them regardless of the price, and he knew they were not indicated, he probably thought it was best to exclude an unnecessary test rather than have you charged for it. If you did tell him, than shame on him.
Also, your symptoms may not be related to hypothyroidism. The thyroid gets a bad rap for lots of symptoms, ie. fatigue, weight gain, sluggishness. There are lots of things that can cause these symptoms other than the thyroid, and treating hypothyroidism doesn't magically give you tons of energy...that would be giving you hyperthyroidism! My husband is an endocrinologist. He complains all the time about the misconceptions people have about all the magic the thryroid can do.
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So even if you are the best doctor for me, because I happen to work for a place that offers the 'wrong' insurance and chose the 'wrong' company for my own policy I can't see you without paying out of pocket? How is that truly helping the patient? "I'm sorry, but I won't see you because of the insurance you carry and can't afford to pay the bills out of your own pocket.. . ." I understand doctors are running a business, but shouldn't the patients be at the heart of that business? (and I did offer to pay for those tests - and was still given lip service).
How is it my pituitary gland is what is tested to see how my thyroid is working? Wouldn't you actually want to see how the thyroid is actually functioning in order to properly medicate? Yes, I am a silly lay person who has done research by talking to other hypothyroid patients - and only one of the symptoms you listed is on my personal list of concerns. Your responses are why I am going 'outside the system' to someone who will actually work with me about my symptoms and all that - and if it should happen to be something else, let's work on that but most of what I'm experiencing are the same things experienced by other hypothyroid patients - and looking at the whole picture is better than one test of a gland not related to the thyroid. why treat individual symptoms when they can all be related - and you just can't see that without looking at the whole picture?