Immunize This

“Have you ever been vaccinated for Hepatitis A or B?” Sounds familiar, but I have no idea. Since I'm nowhere near my parents' house, I have no idea what I have or haven't been shot up with. So I checked out the U.S. Center for Disease Control web site to see what I should be getting.

http://www.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/India.aspx

Apparently, a lot. In the end though, I took shots for hepatitis A and B, tetanus and polio. I'll be getting malaria pills a month before the trip. The shots themselves weren't bad except for the Tetanus, which felt like a lumpy bruise injected into my deltoid.

It would've been nice to get it all in one place, but unfortunately I'm enrolled in an HMO and it needs to be bureaucratic, for no apparent reason whatsoever. I first called the Straub travel clinic, which most likely had all the shots lined up for me. Of course, the insurance wouldn't cover me. So I called HMSA (a Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance) and told them to direct me to their travel clinic. Of course, there isn't one, and I need to call my primary care physician. I made an appointment with him and got the hepatitis and tetanus shot, but he was out of the polio vaccine. He gave me a prescription for the polio shot, which I get to take at Straub travel clinic, which was the first place I called. Of course, my insurance still won't cover it, and I got a nice $66 polio shot.

But wait, there's more! I got a bill in the mail from the travel clinic with the following charges:
$30: Travel consultation, although I don't recall any sort of consultation at the clinic (unless they're counting, “Take this piece of paper and take it to that window”).
$65: Polio virus vaccine. That is one expensive shot.
$45: Immunization admin. This, I assume, is for the privilege of getting a needle stuck in my arm.

Luckily, I already paid $66 and I got a $12 credit, so now I only owe $62! However, I think they mistook me for an uninsured American. So I called on Friday, and the lines were busy, but I got to leave a message and the message assured me someone would call me within 24 hours (of a business day). On Monday, I got the call, and Straub tells me my cost is actually only $18 now, but they don't have any indication that I have insurance. When I told them if Straub should just charge my insurance provider, they said I should call them first. So I called my insurance, who informed me that they would cover it, but I'd have to call Straub and tell them to bill my insurance provider. When I called Straub, I left a voicemail, and the message assured me someone would get back to me within 24 hours.

And that folks is the American health insurance industry! Why did I choose an HMO again?