You Know It's Monday When...

The doctor's office calls you on the morning of your appointment day (after calling and confirming the appointment on Friday) to say that they no longer accept your insurance IPO, and, therefore, the afternoon's appointment won't be covered!  What?

I had received an emailed notice from my insurance saying that the primary care physician I was going to was leaving the system, and they had assigned me to a new doctor, but that was going to be effective only on June 1.  Silly me had assumed (how many times have I told myself, "Never assume anything, Bless") that it meant the current doctor would see me until the end of May.  Apparently, not! 

The person who called me offered to call my insurance and have them switch me over to the new IPO they are under, but that wouldn't work for me because then, I'd need to switch all my specialists, too, including my oncologist, and I am not willing to do that.  In fact, that's the only reason why I chose to keep this insurance company as opposed to switching to the other alternative that was being offered at the time of retirement. 

Instead, I called the insurance company.  The new doctor they had assigned to me is located about 25 miles away!  I asked for a doctor who was closer to me and they emailed me a list of doctors who were closer to me, who were on file with them, and who were accepting new patients.  I picked the doctor who was closest (less than 2 miles away), but, when I called the insurance company back to notify them of my selection, they said they couldn't find him in their system!  Apparently, he wasn't participating in their system, after all!  So, then, I picked someone else, located about 10 miles away.  Online reviews of the doctor either said she was very good or the clinic she worked in was very bad!  Not at all helpful!

I hate having to switch doctors!   I felt all stressed by it, because, how do I know I've picked a good doctor?  And what if she can't see me right away, sometime in June?  What do I do for my prescriptions?  I have enough for the rest of this month, but what happens after that?  Will the pharmacy continue to honor any refills left in the system if the prescribing doctor is no longer enrolled in the insurance program?  I guess I'll cross those bridges when I get to them. At least, I still have medical insurance and there is a list of primary care physicians from which to choose!  Hopefully, it will all work out!  And here I thought everything was going along smoothly!  I guess I was tempting fate by thinking that!  I need to remember what my mother used to say:  "Change is good."  I hate change, but, I suppose things happen for a reason and it is usually for the better. 

I had been planning on driving to downtown and back, this afternoon, to go to the doctor's appointment, which would have given the car a good run, but, since the doctor's appointment was cancelled, I couldn't do that.  Instead, I started the car and let the engine run while I collected more osteospermum seeds from the plants in the front garden to scatter around the backyard.  I don't know if any of them will germinate (the last time I scattered the seeds in the front, along the parkway, a flock of sparrows descended and enjoyed the buffet!), but, hopefully, at least a couple of them will and they will spread in the coming years.  Afterwards, I picked the last four oranges from the tree and ate one.

I took this photo during my evening walk, today, and thought it might be suitable for the Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt, Prompt 3: Repetition:

3. Repetition

The telephone/power poles, repeating every so many feet, stretching down the road. 

With all this excitement about changing primary care physicians, I didn't accomplish much housework, today.  I emptied the waste baskets and the kitchen trash and took the trash can and the yard waste bin to the curb for pick up in the morning.  My biggest accomplishment today was signing up for a new doctor. 

Today's joyful activity was enjoying a freshly picked orange from my tree.

Today, I am grateful for:
- The former doctor's office called me before I left the house
- I still have medical insurance and a list of doctors to choose from
- Helpful customer service people
- Fresh oranges from the tree
- My daughter, who is the voice of reason when I get stressed about something

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Bring the trash cans in
- Do the dishes
- Pet supply store for more kitty litter and flea prevention meds
- Grocery store
- Dusting

How was your Monday?