Did I mention that UnitedHealthcare sucks?

Yeah, the problem with giving free tote bags to people when you give crap service is that they might, I dunno, change them. And carry them all over town. A lot. (previous post on UHC saga with advice)

So, UHC lied and said they paid those 3 speech therapy sessions from November 2008. As in, a year ago. The last several times I talked to them they said, "You no longer have coverage with us." And I said, "No shit. I'm still trying to get you to pay for something that every person I've spoken with at UHC says we should be covered for under our gap exception FROM LAST YEAR."

So I heard a rumor that the insurance companies hate it when you file a complaint with the state's Department of Insurance (Illinois). I hear there's loads of paperwork. So tomorrow is my last call to UHC.

Thanks to the power of Twitter, here's just a few of the dates when I've tried to get these claims fixed:

• I'm on hold with United F'ing HealthCare.
  9:43 AM Jul 27th
• Can NOT believe that UHC still hasn't paid 3 Easter Seals bills from November. Q: Could they possibly suck more? A: No.
  7:10 AM Jul 27th
• UHC rejected our 3 claims from November 2008 *again*. They once again assured me that they will be corrected this time! No, really!
  9:28 AM Jul 30th
• On phone with UHC about those 3 November charges AGAIN. Do NOT use UHC if you have a choice! #UHC sucks
  11:59 AM Sep 4th
• Look at me! On phone with United Health"Care"! Again! Person telling me how it's probably my fault November dates not processing. #UHC sucks
  10:05 AM Sep 14th
• Just wrapped up a call with United Health"Care" regarding those same! 3 November! dates. Feel strangely optimistic that they might fix them.
  9:52 AM Sep 21st

We've had BCBS for a year now. It's been fantastic.

Fish, vegetables, recycling

May was Easter Seals month for my little Amazon ad, but sadly no purchases were made. Luckily I had hit up some friends for online donations and we raised $350 dollars that way! Thank you to Tish, Adam, Wolf, Pam, Steve, Greg, John, and Beth. We love Easter Seals and fully believe in their mission, values, and incredible help and support that they make affordable to thousands of families in Illinois and nation-wide.

So now my Amazon link will raise funds for Heifer again. I looked at their WorldArk newsletter today, and there was a lot of useful information. I thought I’d sum up some of it here.

Seafood Watch: eco-friendly seafood selector, including pocket-sized guides you can carry with you.

Plant a Row for the Hungry: how to donate extra vegetables from your garden to local food banks.

MyBoneYard: recycles cell phones, computers, etc. They pay for shipping and then pay you for your device. Anyone use this before? Please report back and let me know how it went.

Sound like the sort of newsletter you’d like to receive? Sign up here!

Links

Fun link for the day. Just let it load and give it a second.

Useful links for the day if you have a desire to search just blogs: Google blog search and Icerocket. Reading blogs is definitely my new addiction. What a fun way to waste the hour(s) that I'm not working, watching the kids, fighting with my sad and pathetic insurance company, or daydreaming.

Blogs I've been visiting for years:
Mimi Smartypants
Defective Yeti
Daddytypes

Here's a few that I've been enjoying recently:
honestpartisan
getting flak
French Laundry at Home
falling down is also a gift