office supplies

One of the many hats I wear around here is billing manager of my husband's office. (Sounds more impressive than it is. I manage one person -- me -- though in truth I barely even manage that.)

I have discovered that the process of medical billing is similar to throwing handfuls of popcorn into a large container. Most of it goes in. The occasional one hits a barrier and is fairly easily tossed over. Some refuse to go into the bucket at all, however, and require more drastic measures, usually in the form of a phone call, or two or three or four, to an insurance company. For obvious reasons, I usually let these go until I have a critical mass of them.

I have also discovered you have to be in the right mood to tackle these sorts of problems. For maximum efficiency, a slightly PO'ed attitude is necessary. A certain time of the month is pretty good. Just after your teenage son has ticked you off is also highly effective.

However, I cannot start the process without the most necessary piece of equipment to allow me to cope with the hours upon end that it sometimes takes to track down the answers to the most stubborn problems:

Long wait times on hold with cheesy music? Repeating the same information over and over and over again?

Bring it on.