TMJ Update

Well, the specialist submitted the pre-estimate to the insurance company on Monday for me since they (they being the insurance company) said it needed to be done BEFORE any work was completed. I called them today to find out the answer and it was as I feared. No insurance coverage due to TMJ. And my company doesn't have to go by state laws (there's a law in GA that says TMJ HAS to be covered) since they are self-insured.

So, I get to figure out how to pay for this by myself. They do have financing plans but that means I'll be paying for longer and have to pay more because of the interest than I would have otherwise. I'm actually rather upset that I have a genetic deformity that will cause serious problems if I don't get it taken care of now and insurance companies consider it a "cosmetic" thing. I'm sorry but does having a deformity that causes breathing problems and if it continues, will deteriorate to the point where I can't even open my fucking mouth sound cosmetic??

I'm trying not to let myself get stressed out about this, but I can tell that isn't working very well. I want to cry because I feel helpless about it and on the other hand I'm filled with a righteous indignation that this SHOULD be a covered medical problem. Is so little known about TMJ that they seriously think it isn't something that needs to be taken care of BEFORE it causes problems?

I *could* go ahead and file, wait for the denial and then file an appeal. I may end up doing that. Right now I'm just too damned pissed off to even contemplate how much of a pain in the ass it would be and whether it would be worth it to do that or not. And even if they did cover it in the end, I'd most likely still be out of pocket for the interest, because of having to finance it.

*sighs* Oh well. More updates to come as I have them.