Another Day at the Doctor 3/31/09

One of the biggest challenges in infertility is the financial aspect. Most, meaning practically all, insurance does not cover fertility specialists. It is not seen as an immediate medical need. To make a long story short, I have an HMO. With an HMO, you have to get a referral by your Primary physician to do anything. The benefit of an HMO is more is covered...lower deductible. I called the insurance when we were thinking about going to a specialist, and I was told that we would not be covered. We understood at this point that we were going to be paying everything out of pocket (i.e. minimum of $300 a visit + the cost of any treatments, ultrasounds, etc...). IVF (which is where they are pointing us towards for any possibility of getting pregnant) in and of itself starting at $14,000. Seriously, I could by a car.
Anywho! We went to our first appointment in January to the fertility specialist. The people at the front desk were extremely helpful and let me know that there was a possibility I might get more covered under my insurance...all I would have to do is get a retroactive referral from my doctor. Sooooooo....this is what I have been attempting to do for the past three months. I have gone to my primary's office 4 or 5 times requesting that it be done, with no results.
Finally, I decided to be the most proactive that I could think of. I made an appointment and spoke to the doctor face to face.
Blessing: He is putting the referral and retroactive referral today. He was extremely sympathetic towards my situation and very willing to help. He will even be wording the referral very carefully, so I have a higher chance of their (insurance's) approval.
Prayer Request: Please Please Please pray that the retroactive referral goes through and does what it is supposed to do. The doctor seemed worried that this would 100% work. I am praying for a financial miracle here. The costs are extremely high, and we are simply not unlimited in our savings.