Time for a raving rant!

I wanted to live up to my blog's title and do some crazy ranting about health insurance! Not even about the insurance itself, but the crappiest lab known to man.... Quest Diagnostics. As you all may know, I had a small health crisis a few months ago; no one could figure out what was going on so they did some special tests. One test, a general marker for several different autoimmune disorders, came back positive. I freaked out (understandably, I think) about the possibility of having Lupus. It's not a pretty disease and hearing about it every day in medical school didn't help either. I kept picturing my life of debilitating fatigue, horrible joint pain, possible renal failure, lung problems, rashes... the joys of lupus go on and on. In order to confirm the diagnosis the doctor wanted me to get blood tests that were specific for lupus to see if that was the cause. I couldn't wait a week or more to go to Abilene to get the blood drawn, so I went to a lab they have at clinic on campus.... and that's where the saga began!

I waited weeks, at least 4, to hear back about the results... and didn't hear anything. I called my doctor's office to see if they had any results... nothing. The office told me that the results never take this long. (I, of course, assumed that this meant I had the worst case of lupus EVER!) I'm not sure whose blood they were testing, because when my doctor called them to find out where the results were weeks after they were supposed to be back, they'd never heard of me and had no record of drawing my blood. Interesting. I chalked it up to someone dropping the tubes and just pretending like it had never happened. Which totally sucks when you're waiting to hear if you have an autoimmune disease that will forever change your life.

My doctor's office then recommended that I use a more reliable lab, I agreed, had the blood drawn, and got the results back two weeks later. It was amazing dealing with a competent non-shady lab! Then Quest Diagnostics started sending me bills... This is the lab that drew my blood, lost it and then charged me and my insurance company for what... the pleasure of their company?! When I called Customer Service to see why they wanted me to pay for services I never received, Shaniqua decided that she should present her best, fiercest attitude, instead of being remotely helpful. I yelled at her when she wouldn't help me, listen or offer any sort of assistance or lamentation about her inability to do her job. She didn't let me talk to the manager, so I hung up on her. I was so infuriated that I was shaking! I don't usually get bad all that easily... but Shaniqua did it in record fashion; it only took a 2 minute phone call.

At least my insurance company is on my side, they've called Quest Diagnostics several times, explained the situation, and yet I still receive bills. The lady on the phone today said she didn't understand why they weren't getting it and that I shouldn't pay the bill... just like last month! I don't understand how a company can function with such disorganization and blatant disregard of their customers. Is that really what they teach people in business school these days?! I hope not!

Let this be a caveat to anyone reading this: never use Quest Diagnostics if you can possibly help it; they'll screw you over and then charge you for their time. Needless to say, the CEO of their esteemed company will be getting a letter from me!

-End of the Quest Diagnostics review-