When you’re making the decision on which doctor and what facility do not discount a place just because they say they don’t take your insurance. When I was diagnosed I had no idea of where to go. MD Anderson is over 3 hrs from my house but it seemed like the best option. Because it is a comprehensive cancer center I thought it would be easier for me to make decisions about care because their services are all coordinated. I’ve never felt so helpless when this all started.
MD Anderson said they did not take my insurance but they said I should call my insurance company and see if they would cover me. They said yes (scary leap of faith to start treatment and depend on a phone call that costs were going to be covered!) My insurance, one of the UHC Medicare advantage programs, covered everything at an in-network cost.

I’m not sure if anyone else would be amused by my story of how I got there, but here goes. Mammogram showing a problem and biopsy were done locally. I was in Denny’s restaurant with my 3 year granddaughter when they called with the results. I was pretty sure it would be negative, and who wants to wait anyway, so I said, yeah, give me the news. Hmm, DCIS intermediate grade.

How do you get care at MD Anderson - well, there is a link on their website that says “do you want to be a patient?” I’m so glad they asked 🙂
I filled out everything I could. They called me two days later on a Friday. I was standing in the grocery with a full basket of food, just checked out. She asked if I wanted her to call back, but I was like no way thinking it will be probably next week and I might be at the end of a queue. I stayed on the phone with her in the grocery parking lot for 1 1/2 hrs giving her insurance info and everything I could remember on my past mammograms and the biopsy. Because of the ability for facilities to share health info, with permission, she was able to see a copy of the biopsy pathology (I hadn’t even seen it yet!!) and other health history. Amazing process. I then had a patient ID at MD Anderson and the following appointments, scans, treatments take on a life of their own, don’t they?

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