It's all starting to seem real, because I BOOKED MY FLIGHT TODAY! After spending hours on the phone yesterday with travel agents, airline agents, automated ticketing systems (I was yelling "AGENT!" at the recording like it would change anything), I finally found a reasonably priced American Airlines ticket to Hanoi. Fulbright covers my airfare, yes, but there are several stipulations. I have to comply with the Fly America Act, which means that I can only fly on U.S.-flag carriers and that all segments of my flight must either be on an American flight, or a flight with a company that has a code-sharing agreement with an American airline. In English, that means that all parts of my flight have to have American flight numbers. It also means that I can only fly on a few airlines (Delta, United, American), and my connecting flights can be on even fewer airlines (Japan or Korean Air). You'd be surprised how much this limits flight options. And how much it spikes the price.
Furthermore, Fulbright is giving me $3500 to cover all of the following: airfare, shipping, medical expenses (for vaccines, etc), and "settling in". I'm still unsure how they think that $3500 will cover all of that, but I'm stretching that money like a pro. I can only book my flight to Vietnam right now (my return date is too far away to book my flight home), but I think my total airfare will be around $2400. It took me so long to find a way to get my airfare under $3600!
So, now it's official. I'm leaving for Hanoi at 6am on July 31st, and arriving in Hanoi at 9:50 am the following day.
I'm especially glad that I'll have some money left after airfare, because when I returned from spending three weeks in Nashville, I had a few hundred dollars in doctor bills waiting for me. All the charges were from the blood tests, etc from my Fulbright physical. Confused about why my insurance hadn't paid for any of it, I called Humana. This is conversation I had with the woman who took my call:
Me: I dont understand why these things weren't covered by my insurance.
Woman: The diagnostic code isn't covered by your plan.
M:The diagnostic code?
W: The diagnostic code isn't covered by your plan.
M: Ok, but what's a diagnostic code?
W: I'm not at liberty to discuss a diagnosis with a member.
M: It was just a physical. There wasn't a diagnosis.
W: I'm not at liberty to discuss a diagnosis with a member.
M: That's fine, I just don't understand what diagnosis code is.
W: I'm not at liberty to discuss a diagnosis with a member.
M: But I'm the member! It's MY diagnosis!
W: I'm not at liberty...
Maybe I was talking to an automated system and didn't realize it? It felt like something out of a bad skit.... Eventually she rudely dismissed me by telling me to call my doctor's office. The woman there was much nicer and patiently explained to me that since the tests weren't "medically necessary", my insurance wouldn't cover it. You know what I say to that? Damn this system! I think it's pretty medically necessary to make sure I'm healthy before I go to a country with limited health care! It's potentially saving my insurance company a lot of money in the long run, too. You know what else I say about this? My catch-all "expletive" for bad situations: VOMIT.
Oh well. It's not the biggest deal in the world. And it's completely overshadowed by the fact that I'm leaving in 34 DAYS!
Unfortunately that's not quite soon enough to catch the Miss Universe 2008 pageant that will be in held in Nha Trang on July 14th. Shucks.
Until I leave, I'll be spending some time in Lawrencbeurg and make one more trip to Nashville (with my little sister!) after Sam gets back from Europe later next month. Lawrenceburg is pretty boring and a little lonely, but I'm trying to keep myself occupied with the stack of books I want to read before I leave for Vietnam.
I'm also stalking Sam's travels through Europe, thanks to Youtube....
(in Newcastle. He's the drummer.)
(and in London.)
...and we're re-adjusting ourselves to Skype communication. It's wonderful, and a relationship-saver, but it can be frustrating when the internet connection is weak and the video is glitchy. I've made a great discovery, though: Skype Voicemail! It's super cheap (2 dollars a month), and it allows us to leave voicemails for each other even if the other person isn't online. It's like having regular phone! We didn't use the voicemail while I was in Spain but it's making the separation easier while he's in Europe. It's exciting for me that he's touring overseas again, but this is the first time he's been out of the country while I've been stuck stateside. Right now I'm pretty jealous of his situation--on a rock and roll tour through Europe--but soon enough I'll be off on my own adventure.
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2 comments:
Not that it is helpful or useful, but the kind of stuff I work on doesn't often come up in conversation, so... Diagnosis-Related Groups, or DRGs, are the categories that medical billing are thrown into. So insurance companies have a single amount that they pay for someone who comes in with the flu, or someone who comes in with a head injury. Of course, you don't have a diagnosis because you are just getting preventative medicine. That doesn't excuse the woman from being so obstinant.
The policy question that most insurance problems come down to is whether you want to pay for your own tests or whether you want to pay a part of everyone's test in a higher premium for the rest of your life. In your case, you travel frequently so you'd probably come out better if it was paid for.
That's me sucking the humor out of the room. -Brooks
can you call me??? for some reason I DON'T HAVE YOUR NUMBER!!!!!!! miss you.
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