Insurance Game

If your insurance is a group policy through an employer, start with the Benefits Coordinator.  That person should be able to help you get an approval sooner.  Don't just take some idiot at the insurance company's word for the final answer.  You'll have to work your way up the food chain to get the right person.  That's where the Benefits Coordinator should help - with the name of a patient advocate to help get this through.

Look in to having a discogram, which can be a precursor to neurosurgery. It involves being partially sedated and having a radiographic dye injected and your reaction to pain monitored. Not all docs think it is an effective diagnostic tool, but it may fulfill your insurance's requirements. It is an outpatient procedure and far less traumatic than some sites portray (at least when I had mine in 2002). If a nerve is irritated during the procedure, the pain lasts for 30 seconds at the most and is a good indicator that a discectomy may be in order.

Stephanie

Chart that is way too long to have to wait for an answer. If this is an insurance thru an employer, you yourself can call and find out what the problem is. If push comes to shove you can always contact the State Board of Insurance for your state. Ins Companies do not like having these folks breathing down their backs. Susie