So I lied...here's a rant about stupid insurance coverage

and another post - today is just one of those distracted sort of days, I guess - though I'm being highly productive between times. =0)

So I had a message last night from the billing department at a lab testing facility saying I had a "severely overdue bill" - but I went through all my mail and there was no bill. So I go online and enter the invoice number given on the message, and enter my zip code as is required, and it pops up with an "invalid zip code" notice. So I call customer service today, and they'd been mailing the statements to the wrong zip code - right address otherwise, just a completely incorrect zip code.
Fine, I can deal with that - they've reset the time limit and supposedly changed the zip code, so we'll see.

But that's not the thing. The thing is that this bill is from July, when I went in for my annual woman check-up, but I decided to go to a more noted clinic than the student health center since I had still been getting stabbing pain in my left ovary-area since I came off Tommy & busted my spleen. Just wanted to check in on that one - good move, on my part... or so I thought at the time. BUT, turns out the student health insurance plan doesn't cover "preventative or routine" exams - INCLUDING FEMALE ANNUALS!!!!!

WHAT!?!

Please tell me I am not the only one who thinks this is absolutely ridiculous - I am trying to be responsible and prevent all sorts of fun diseases - including cervical cancer - that doctors everywhere are so adamant about, and the student health care won't cover it??? So now I get to pay over $200.00 in lab screenings. Yay.
It would have been cheaper to come to the school health center - like, waaaaay cheaper ($150.00 cheaper), but I really just wanted to get another opinion about my pain. Is that so wrong? Well, no - but it'll cost ya'. Well, it'll cost ya' either way 'cause the insurance plan doesn't cover any costs related to annuals.

I am actually quite angry, and I don't get angry. It is so F***ing STUPID. I remember getting worked up about this way back in August when my insurance sent me the statement with the "patient responsibility" portion - but then I never got another statement or proper bill, so I though that just maybe they'd changed their minds. But there's my lesson - I should have read the insurance pamphlet more thoroughly and looked into the lack of a bill way sooner 'cause I bet I could have gotten the women's clinic to change the code of my exam from an annual exam to something else falling into a category that is covered. I could probably still argue it even now, but I have other things to be spending time and energy on. But at the same time, how can they get away with this? Especially covering college females? I mean, c'mon - you think they'd be more than happy to cover annuals if it meant prevention of worse things. But nooooo - they don't cover "prevention."

Grrrrr - time to let this one go for now and get to class. But seriously. PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this is a little ridiculous. Validate me! ;0)