BC (Before Cancer, that is, until a month ago) I would have been considered a cash cow for the insurance industry. I've paid in hundreds every month for decades, while barely costing them a dime. (Except for the childbirths, about all they've had to pay for are flu shots and the occasional strep throat.) Then I suddenly racked up a stream of four-figure bills -- and those are just the ones that have been "processed" so far. So I was alarmed when, a couple days out of the hospital, I got the message "Your insurance company is on the phone".
I knew that they could no longer throw me off the plan just for getting sick. (Lucky I didn't get cancer in some of the less regulated days). But I was pleasantly surprised to hear that my "complex case manager", while trying to save money, was trying to do it in ways that were good for me too, e.g., making sure my incision didn't look infected, making sure I wasn't at risk of falls... all good things. I asked her if I had any nasty surprises coming up as far as coverage -- e.g., would anyone try to argue that I should have been discharged faster and deny coverage for part of the hospital stay? She told me that she has been in contact with my doctors this whole time, and that if anyone tried to deny coverage she has all the notes to show that everything they have done so far was justified. I believe the words "advocate" were used.
The big guns (surgery bills, hospital bills, chemo bills) haven't even come through yet, so I'll withhold any blanket praise until we're further down the financial line. But I never before have had cause to say "insurance" and "advocate" in the same sentence when I was talking about a for-profit company.
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