September 16, 2010

I am so excited, I have something to report...... I am about to settle my dispute with Health Net. Health Net, as you may remember, misled me into getting cancer treatment at an “out of network” hospital, and then refused to pay about $70,000 in charges for 2 surgeries preformed at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. (This is my side of the argument, theirs is somewhat different.)

HN is not going to pay the bill, but they are going to pay my legal bills to date, defend me in the lawsuit that UPMC will bring against me, and pay any judgement that arises from the lawsuit.

I don’t really see why this is good for HN. I do owe the money to UPMC, (after all, I did sign everything that they put in front of me leading up to the surgery) and they should be able to get a judgment easily. It could be that HN is just using the cost of litigation as a negotiating tool, or just trying to put off payment for a few years.

While this is very good news..... it still leaves me with ruined credit, and having to deal with the legal system for the next couple of years. In any event, this is better than being stuck with the whole bill.

I am making a fairly rapid recovery from my hernia surgery..... I can’t laugh, lift, or cough at this point, but am nearly off of pain meds, and seem to be getting better. I will see where I am after I see the Doc. in a few weeks.

Please join me in a moment of silence for the loss of my navel..... it is not as bad as losing another major organ, but still...... I mean it really didn’t do much except collect lint, but I had it for a long time, and my belly looks a bit empty without it.