Procrastination is a bad, bad thing

I've been so busy trying to deal with Baby E's allergies and everyone's illnesses the last few weeks, that I let the auto insurance stuff slide. So I spent this morning calling various auto insurance companies, an auto body shop, etc. to try to get some of the things relating to being rear-ended taken care of.

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It looks like the car repairs will work out fine. I have an appointment to get the bumper replaced, and the at-fault insurance company will even provide a rental vehicle while it's being repaired. That's really good news.

The bad news is that I'm having trouble getting a chiropractor appointment about the subluxated rib.

Quick recap: I've seen my primary doctor and/or the PA at least 3 times about the pain, and saw a physical therapist for several weeks. But then the PT said I needed to see someone else, because he couldn't treat what he suspected was a subluxated rib. Both he and the primary care doctor recommended that I get Bowen or chiropractic treatments for that.

Since Bowen is usually less painful for me, I called to make an appointment with my usual Bowen practicioner right away. Played phone tag with her for a week or so. Due to extenuating circumstances, she didn't have any openings right away but the receptionist was supposed to call me when she was making appointments again in a week or so.

Now it's been a couple more weeks, and I still haven't heard back from her or seen anyone about the subluxated rib. I've been so worried about Baby E that my own health didn't seem like much of a priority. But now I can't take any ibuprofen or anything else for it, because (of course) they all have corn and/or soy. I've been living with the pain--I'm used to dealing with pain--but I would really like to get it treated, since it is something treatable.

So I called my chiropractor to see if she could get me in. She said that since it's been so long since the accident, they can't see me without a preauthorization from the insurance company. Apparently a lot of insurance companies automatically stop covering injury treatment 2 months after an accident, assuming any injuries would have stabilized by then. So since we're getting close to that deadline (the 23rd of this month will be 2 months since the accident) they won't take me at all without some assurance that the insurance company will cover it.

When I called my insurance company, they said they don't do preauthorizations, period. The best they can do is verify to the chiropractor that there is in fact an open claim that can be billed. The chiropractor says that won't cut it. They insist that the type of preauthorization they're asking for is a common and reasonable thing. The insurance company insists they can't do that.

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do next. I'm going to see if I can talk to someone else at the insurance company, maybe a manager. I really wish I'd been more proactive about getting this taken care of a couple of weeks ago--or just started with the chiropractor in the first place, instead of going with my MD's recommendation to see a phyical therapist that ended up being very little help.

Has anyone run into a situation like this before? I'd appreciate any experience or advice any readers could share.