Sometimes things get so absurd that you just have to laugh. As my late mother's bills arrive, I've been either paying or disputing them. One bill from a doctor that should have been paid by the insurance company had been rejected, so I called the company. Alas, because I was not the person named on the account, the customer service rep told me that HIPAA regulations would allow her to provide only "yes" or "no" answers to my questions.
Not having the energy to argue -- it would have been futile anyway -- I shifted into "Twenty Questions" mode and phrased my questions in closed-ended fashion, like a careful trial attorney. It was an interesting exercise in efficient communication, and I actually got the answers I wanted. (It helped that the rep was a cooperative human being and didn't stick strictly to the format.)
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