The American Medical System - Part 1

 Oh what fun it is to navigate the American Medical Care system.  Shouldn't I be getting paid for this?

I am finally getting back to getting medical care that I know will help me with any potential new surgeries to clear out the Giant Cell Tumor or PVNS or whatever they are calling it these days.  I haven't had an MRI or follow up since about 2018.  It's now December 2025.  I feel things are going on with my knee and when I overexert myself, I am now showing off a noticeable limp.  I usually can fake it.  

Getting my preferred surgeon means working backwards to find the right doctor to refer me to him for potential surgery, which in itself can take months just to get in front of Doctor Christopher (my preferred surgeon).  I got my new insurance set up on December 1st.  I then got two letters from Molina, my new insurance provider.  One letter saying that I needed to make a payment and the other letter saying I needed to go online and set up my account.  The one saying to set up an account indicated I could pay the bill from the online account.  When I got on the site it said I already had an account but that it was expired.  I called and they said that the account would only be activated after I paid the bill.  Confusing much?  Why send a letter to set up the account if I had to pay first?  

I get it paid over the phone and go back on and see that of course they arbitrarily selected a primary care doctor for me.  When I looked up this "doctor", her profile says she is a medical professor specializing in drug treatment.  She is a psychologist, not a medical doctor.  I call the phone number for the medical system my surgeon is from as I know I also need to confirm who is taking new patients.  The operator tells me that the first available appointment is in April with a doctor who is operating in an office 3 cities away.  It would be at least a 30 minute drive without traffic.  

I decided to search online from Molina to see who is available for taking new patients.  It gives me a list of doctors who are still in the UW network (who I just got off the phone with).  The rep on the phone said that none of the network doctors at UW are taking new patients in my city.  So why are they listed on the Molina site as taking new patients?  There are also doctors specializing in pediatrics, nurse practitioners, and naturopaths.  Not sure why they are coming up as "primary care doctors".  

This process takes time.  I have to carve out a little time either each day or each week to deal with the ongoing work it takes just to get in front of Doctor Christopher.  I feel like I should be getting paid for my time it takes just to figure this stuff out.   If I'm paying the insurance company, shouldn't they be doing this work for me?