Fertility doctor's appoitnment

I finally had my appointment with a fertility specialist this morning and unfortunately things did not work out very well. I had made the appointment a couple of weeks ago, had all of my paperwork filled out and was eager to get some answers. I got to the doctor's office 15 minutes early for my 9 am appointment and was a little shocked to see that the waiting room was full of at least 10 other couples. Apparently the doctor was running late... I signed in and waited...and waited...and waited.

Finally, at 9:45 the doctor came out to get me. He looked over my medical history (no major issues), asked me a few questions about my habits (don't smoke, don't drink, exercise occasionally) and then gave me a pep talk that his success rate is over 60% for women in my situation (under 35, no major health issues) so he's sure that I'll get pregnant quickly. He told me to schedule a semen analysis for my husband and a sonogram and HSG exam for me and that was it. I was out in 15 minutes. He was very positive (although in a very learned manner) so I felt pretty good about him and on top of that I noticed he had been on the cover of the Washingtonian magazine several times as one of the top specialists in the DC area so I walked out of his office in a good mood.

Then I met with the nurse to take care of the details. She gave me a lot of papers to look over and told me to call the office on the first day of my next period. The sonogram is done on a particular day of your cycle and the HSG has to be done after my period is over and before ovulation. I guess the HSG is a little painful because they ask you to take 600 mg of ibuprofen before you go. Bu they say it only hurts a little, like cramps. The semen analysis is the fun part my husband gets to do. As the nurse said - we, women, get to be poked and probed, and the guys just have to masturbate looking at porn magazines, how unfair!

So now on to the bad part - I went to check out and was told that my insurance does not cover this visit so I'll have to pay the full amount in full, approximately $300. Needless to say I was very surprised because I had checked in advance and the doctor was covered by my PPO plan. So I went to the billing department to see what's going on and the woman there told me that my insurance covers exams but not fertility consultations and once you are diagnosed with "infertility" they do not cover anything. I told her I was not aware I was diagnosed with infertility and I was referred to them to have some tests done to find out whether I had infertility. She was very rude and told me that if I have been trying for a year and not gotten pregnant I was considered infertile. I got very upset and asked to see a manager, which wasn't much help at all. I told her that they were supposed to check with my insurance beforehand and inform me if there were nay problems to which she responded that they tried to call the insurance but they must have written their number incorrectly so they could not call them. Considering I made my appointment 2 weeks prior, they had plenty of time to call me and get the correct number, but she said that people are human and make mistakes. By that point I was just outraged by their rudeness, upset that I had to pay over $300 and just generally very emotional so I told her that I do not agree with what they are saying but I will pay the money if I have no other choice. I just wanted to leave! She continued telling me that it was my fault I did not contact my insurance, even though I had already explained to her that I did and I had no way of knowing that I was going to have a "consultation" and not an "exam" which is covered but I was very sad because of the way they were treating me. So in the end, they agreed to try to submit the claim and see what happens but I doubt the insurance will change their mind. So now I'm stuck with a bill for $300 for a 15 minute "consultation" that did not help me any at all.

I am also sad to find out that my insurance has such stupid rules, which means that either I give up the fertility tests or I pay for them myself, which I don't think we have the money for if one 15 minute exam costs $300. I'm thinking of calling the doctor that saw me after my chemical pregnancy - he told me that he could put me on hormones if I wanted to but he would rather wait and he could also do some tests right there in the hospital for me. So maybe the insurance will accept this because it's technically not "fertility treatment". Which reminds me that I have to call the insurance and see what's going on. I'm very bummed out today...not a good day!