Do we look like liars and cheaters?

I am so STEAMED about my appointment at the Doctor's this morning! To provide background...my OBGYN's office has informed us a few times throughout the pregnancy that they would like us to pay the Dr's bill before the expected due date. Well, that's nice. We've always told them that we would prefer to see a bill before we pay. They've never given us hassle about it until today when the billing lady in charge comes and talks to us and really gives us the third degree about how we need to pay today and it's an office policy.

Everybody knows I don't have the greatest customer service skills, but I was extra nice when I calmly informed her that we would like to see a bill before we pay and that it is well within a patient's rights to have the doctor's office bill our insurance and then we pay after that. That's the way it works, right? You don't just pay someone money that they say you owe without a paper trail backing it up! She tried to get us to negotiate where we could pay part today and part next time. No! Still not going to pay before we see a bill. Then, she tried informing us that "the amount will be the same whether there is a bill or not"-- well, that's nice-- still not going to pay without seeing a bill! I wanted to tell her, "look lady, it's not a matter of if we have the money today or not. I'm happy to pull up our savings account and you can clearly see that we have the money today!" I just stuck to my guns and told her again and again that we will be paying the bill once we see the bill. Her final word was, "well fine, I'm just going to make a note in the financial comments that you can't be on a payment plan and you have to pay your bill up front when you get it from your insurance." GREAT! That's what we want! We were never planning on doing a payment plan! We're more than happy to pay you, in full, when we see a bill!

That was the conversation...the following is what I wished I would have said also...
1. If it's truly an office policy to pay before the expected due date, why have I not signed a paper saying so?
2. Run a credit check if you're worried about the kind of people coming into your office! She will clearly discover that we've never once been delinquent on any payment for anything!
3. I have a history with this doctor's office. I have seen my doctor for over five years. I've had surgery with him! She could easily pull up my history and see that I've never made a late payment!
4. It's not my fault that you don't bill the insurance until after the delivery. If it's that much of a problem to get people to pay, come up with a new plan!
5. Don't treat me and my husband like we're liars and cheaters and we're the type of people that aren't going to pay our bills.
6. It's not like we haven't paid anything so far in this pregnancy. We've paid the ultrasound bill and all the lab test bills that have come...through our insurance...

You can bet your bottom dollar that my doctor's office will be receiving a letter of complaint about the lovely billing lady in charge. The end.

Happy Anniversary!

Todd and I celebrated our one-year anniversary on Sunday, August 2nd. We kept saying to each other that we can't believe we've been married a whole year. Time has flown! It was very fun to reminisce about our Wedding, honeymoon, and all the fun memories that came with them. I only made us watch our wedding video twice! Also, we finally ordered wedding pictures as a gift for our 1-year anniversary. I made a book on MyPublisher that is awesome. I made it several months ago but just now ordered it. It is beautiful and will be cherished! We also went out on a date on Saturday to celebrate. We went to a yummy Italian restaurant in Salt Lake City, Buca di Beppo. Afterwards, we went to the piano concert on Temple Square by Marvin Goldstein. That was very enjoyable. Later, we got some ice cream cones from Baskin Robbins. Todd gave me a very sweet card that made me cry. We both agree that the last year has been the happiest of our lives.

2 degrees and rising

I finished my second bachelor's degree in Communicative Disorders! Yahoo! It was all online through Utah State University. I started it just under two years ago, and here I am today, two bachelor's degrees. It would be extra cool to say it was a Masters degree because pretty much when you say you are in school for a second bachelor's degree, what people hear is, "I messed up on my first one, so I'm starting over." That's alright. What I've enjoyed about school is the opportunity to learn and be further educated. Pursuing this degree has been very worthwhile most of the time. I lost steam for a while, but I bounced back and finished with a bang. I even had help from my mom since she is a speech language pathologist.