Medical Coverage - It's as Easy as V.Z.P. Part III
Who would have thought that this Saga could continue as long as it has? I mean really...in the States, you or your spouse get a job, part of your benefit package is health coverage, you fill out a form, choose a Doctor, and BAM! - you are part of a plan. How I find myself longing for those easy, breezy days as I find that each and every step I complete in obtaining health care only paves the way to new and interesting steps that must be accomplished (read: tyrannical rigmarole) before anything will really occur.
We have been experiencing a taste of Winter here of late, so my plans for getting over to Na Homolce any sooner than Friday were a complete wash out - Literally! We have had rain, cold winds, and temperatures in the 50's and on Thursday morning I found that Alex's bedroom rug was wet from a dripping ceiling. However, I do not feel the need to digress from the current subject as I am sure the circumstances surrounding this problem will lend itself to one or even two blog entries of its own.
Needless to say, I had no desire to traipse out in the rain and bitter cold, dragging Logan, his stroller, and my backpack along for the two bus rides it takes to reach the hospital on Wednesday. However, in a ridiculous attempt to play a game of chance, I did try to make a run for the hospital during a clear moment in Thursday's otherwise blustery weather. I would be cutting things close in picking Alex up from daycare at the appointed time but I felt up the the challenge and really did not relish the thought of getting up at 6:30am the next morning. So, I bundle up Logan, carry the stroller down the 8 flights of stairs, foregoing the backpack because I really did not need any extra hindrances, and we head over to the bus stop. To get there, we must exit our building, take a left, walk about 50 meters (Yes, we have gone over to the dark side mathematically speaking) to the Metro entrance, go down a decent set of stairs, walk to the other side of the station's upper level (there are approx. 8 different ways to get out of the metro and to particular destinations), go up another flight of stairs, and walk to the second of 4 stops. This is no easy feat when you are dealing with lousy weather and people who inevitably stop in your path on a constant basis!
We get to the stop at 3:32...just missing the bus by 1 minute. Of course, I am know cursing the people who inevitably stopped in my path - they easily added about 90 seconds to my journey, thus causing us to miss the bus! I decide not to check out the schedule and see when the next bus is coming...this line runs every 5 minutes in the morning so why would it not be the same in the afternoon? Besides, it is now starting to drizzle and I had scored the only spot left in the covered area. 5 minutes go by and no bus. I start going through how much time I have before picking up Alex (1 hour and 8 minutes) and how much time it will take to make this journey (26 minutes each way, so 52 minutes) and how much time it will take to actually get my results (no idea where I am going for these by the way) and getting the paperwork signed, stamped, and released into my custody (hey, I have 16 minutes to work with this is still looking good). 10 minutes go by and no bus. Alright, I will be down to 11 minutes to deal with the bureaucracy at the hospital, but if I jog down the hallways I can still make it. 15 minutes go by and I, along with the 30 other people around me, are now wondering what major catastrophe has occurred. Seriously - where the heck is this stupid bus?!?!?! Well, no matter because there is no way I can make this work now...not with only 6 minutes to spare for hospital bureaucracy! So, Logan and I walk back the way we came. Thankfully, when I came back up from the Metro to the other side of the street, I was rewarded with the sight of people still waiting for this elusive bus. I now have all the time in the world before having to walk over to Alex's school so we return to the apartment and take a 25 minute break in the comfort of our living room before heading out again. Of course, this now means that I will be getting up at 6:30am Friday morning and waking up Logan right before I am ready to head out the door.
Friday morning my alarm goes off at 6:30 and I get myself ready. I am not in a happy mood because it is still cold and rainy, Alex's ceiling is still leaking, and Logan had been up most of the night so I really was not looking forward to waking him. However, one does what must be done and I really wanted to be at the hospital early...prior to any appointment times...and I still had the trip to the V.Z.P offices ahead of me.
So, I pack up my bag, wake and dress Logan, and off we go. We walk over to the bus stop and only have a 3 minute wait. We do our transfer to the other bus with a minimal wait and are entering the hospital at 7:55am. I decide to try the Best Health offices since they would surely know where I needed to go for my results. However, there is a line 5 families deep and knowing that each family takes at least 10 minutes to process I am not waiting. I decide to simply head downstairs to the Detske Reception area and see if they can pull up my results on a computer. Down we go and hit the reception area during an obvious coffee break. There are 6 women in there and even though they have all made eye contact with me, they decide to act as if I am invisible. At this moment, Logan decides to greet them with a wail and one woman turns and excitedly calls out "Mrs. Hodson...Mrs. Hodson", waves me over, hands me some forms, and tells me to go down the hall to the Doctor's office. I am not thrown off by the fact that she recognizes me - I truly believe that Alain and I are the only ones applying this week and it is pretty obvious which one was standing in front of them! Down the hall I go and park my self right outside the office door. No one seems to be in and just as I go to knock on the door, a nurse sees me and starts talking in rapid Czech. Proseem, nemluveem Czeske (rough translation: I am not getting a thing you are saying) and she says "Wait there...one moment" and flees down the hall never to be seen again. However, the nurse who works for this doctor is now coming down the hall and I am greeted in English and told that the doctor does not start until 9am on Friday morning...he is at his English Language Lesson and will not be available until 8:40. She also asks if I have my results. I let her know that I had no idea where to go but that my results should definitely be available. She steps into the office, logs on to her computer, and retrieves the information needed to finalize the children's application forms. I am then told I should go wait in the cafeteria but I just want to stay there and get Logan fed. While not happy with my decision, the nurse walks away and leaves me to enjoy the next 35 minutes in peace and quiet.
I am rewarded with my obstinate behavior when the doctor actually walks down the hall 10 minutes later. After a short 5 minutes behind closed doors, I am called into his office. He greets me, confirms that my test results were indeed negative, and types out the final information on the two forms. I then sign the two forms, he tells me that I need to go to V.Z.P. in - can you guess? - no later than 3 days (what is it with the 3 day thing?) but better if I go today and I would pick the time period of coverage, pay for it, and the kids would be all set. Great!!! As I leave, bonus, Alain and kids are coming off the elevator for their appointment. We make plans to trek to IKEA when we are finished with our respective 'next steps' and it looks like it is shaping up into a good day after all.
Logan & I head home so he can get fed and changed, I can eat breakfast and get the remaining paperwork together, and off we head to the V.Z.P. offices. On a nice day it is a pleasant walk to their location but on a day like this, we Metro it the one stop. As we head toward the building, I wonder if the new lift they were installing on our last trip here was finished...it was not. So, up we go the 3 flights to the waiting area. Proud of myself for remembering the procedure, I push the button for 'Comprehensive Care' on the ticket machine and get my number...Oh Joy - Lucky 13!!! We head for the stairs and I see that they currently are working with Clients 11 and 12 so it should be any minute now. 10 minutes later, a woman walks out and the number 13 lights up on the board. I start heading in and some woman barrels right past me and sits down at the available desk. I get strange looks from the two administrators - I mean really, how rude of me to walk right in when this woman was clearly next. So the one who I had met before asks me to please go out and take a number and wait my turn. I brandish my #13 in the air indignantly...this should surely win me back my rightful place! "Oh, yes, well...would you mind going back out in the waiting room until we call you in?" This is yet another example of how queuing really does not work here but that will all be covered in another post.
Finally, I am called in. The woman who took my place at least had the decency to apologize and even holds the door for me. I go to the desk and star putting all the paperwork down. The woman who is behind the desk is no-nonsense...not from rudeness, but because she only has about 25 English words in her repertoire. So, she begins asking the following: Doctor's Forms? - right here. Original Forms? - right here. Your passport? - No, but I have my form with me and the number is on it so she uses that. Any idea how long you want coverage for? - 6 months, please. Okay come back next Thursday. What?!?!?!??! Apparently they need to now send the doctor's forms and my forms to their 'specialist' who will go over the information and approve them. I need to go back next week to sign even more things and pay up front for the 6 months coverage. Will I have cards given to me at that time? Maybe, but I am beginning to think that will be yet another step in this drawn out comic tragedy that is The Quest for Ex-Pat Health Coverage.
Oh well - at least we had the IKEA trip to look forward to!
We have been experiencing a taste of Winter here of late, so my plans for getting over to Na Homolce any sooner than Friday were a complete wash out - Literally! We have had rain, cold winds, and temperatures in the 50's and on Thursday morning I found that Alex's bedroom rug was wet from a dripping ceiling. However, I do not feel the need to digress from the current subject as I am sure the circumstances surrounding this problem will lend itself to one or even two blog entries of its own.
Needless to say, I had no desire to traipse out in the rain and bitter cold, dragging Logan, his stroller, and my backpack along for the two bus rides it takes to reach the hospital on Wednesday. However, in a ridiculous attempt to play a game of chance, I did try to make a run for the hospital during a clear moment in Thursday's otherwise blustery weather. I would be cutting things close in picking Alex up from daycare at the appointed time but I felt up the the challenge and really did not relish the thought of getting up at 6:30am the next morning. So, I bundle up Logan, carry the stroller down the 8 flights of stairs, foregoing the backpack because I really did not need any extra hindrances, and we head over to the bus stop. To get there, we must exit our building, take a left, walk about 50 meters (Yes, we have gone over to the dark side mathematically speaking) to the Metro entrance, go down a decent set of stairs, walk to the other side of the station's upper level (there are approx. 8 different ways to get out of the metro and to particular destinations), go up another flight of stairs, and walk to the second of 4 stops. This is no easy feat when you are dealing with lousy weather and people who inevitably stop in your path on a constant basis!
We get to the stop at 3:32...just missing the bus by 1 minute. Of course, I am know cursing the people who inevitably stopped in my path - they easily added about 90 seconds to my journey, thus causing us to miss the bus! I decide not to check out the schedule and see when the next bus is coming...this line runs every 5 minutes in the morning so why would it not be the same in the afternoon? Besides, it is now starting to drizzle and I had scored the only spot left in the covered area. 5 minutes go by and no bus. I start going through how much time I have before picking up Alex (1 hour and 8 minutes) and how much time it will take to make this journey (26 minutes each way, so 52 minutes) and how much time it will take to actually get my results (no idea where I am going for these by the way) and getting the paperwork signed, stamped, and released into my custody (hey, I have 16 minutes to work with this is still looking good). 10 minutes go by and no bus. Alright, I will be down to 11 minutes to deal with the bureaucracy at the hospital, but if I jog down the hallways I can still make it. 15 minutes go by and I, along with the 30 other people around me, are now wondering what major catastrophe has occurred. Seriously - where the heck is this stupid bus?!?!?! Well, no matter because there is no way I can make this work now...not with only 6 minutes to spare for hospital bureaucracy! So, Logan and I walk back the way we came. Thankfully, when I came back up from the Metro to the other side of the street, I was rewarded with the sight of people still waiting for this elusive bus. I now have all the time in the world before having to walk over to Alex's school so we return to the apartment and take a 25 minute break in the comfort of our living room before heading out again. Of course, this now means that I will be getting up at 6:30am Friday morning and waking up Logan right before I am ready to head out the door.
Friday morning my alarm goes off at 6:30 and I get myself ready. I am not in a happy mood because it is still cold and rainy, Alex's ceiling is still leaking, and Logan had been up most of the night so I really was not looking forward to waking him. However, one does what must be done and I really wanted to be at the hospital early...prior to any appointment times...and I still had the trip to the V.Z.P offices ahead of me.
So, I pack up my bag, wake and dress Logan, and off we go. We walk over to the bus stop and only have a 3 minute wait. We do our transfer to the other bus with a minimal wait and are entering the hospital at 7:55am. I decide to try the Best Health offices since they would surely know where I needed to go for my results. However, there is a line 5 families deep and knowing that each family takes at least 10 minutes to process I am not waiting. I decide to simply head downstairs to the Detske Reception area and see if they can pull up my results on a computer. Down we go and hit the reception area during an obvious coffee break. There are 6 women in there and even though they have all made eye contact with me, they decide to act as if I am invisible. At this moment, Logan decides to greet them with a wail and one woman turns and excitedly calls out "Mrs. Hodson...Mrs. Hodson", waves me over, hands me some forms, and tells me to go down the hall to the Doctor's office. I am not thrown off by the fact that she recognizes me - I truly believe that Alain and I are the only ones applying this week and it is pretty obvious which one was standing in front of them! Down the hall I go and park my self right outside the office door. No one seems to be in and just as I go to knock on the door, a nurse sees me and starts talking in rapid Czech. Proseem, nemluveem Czeske (rough translation: I am not getting a thing you are saying) and she says "Wait there...one moment" and flees down the hall never to be seen again. However, the nurse who works for this doctor is now coming down the hall and I am greeted in English and told that the doctor does not start until 9am on Friday morning...he is at his English Language Lesson and will not be available until 8:40. She also asks if I have my results. I let her know that I had no idea where to go but that my results should definitely be available. She steps into the office, logs on to her computer, and retrieves the information needed to finalize the children's application forms. I am then told I should go wait in the cafeteria but I just want to stay there and get Logan fed. While not happy with my decision, the nurse walks away and leaves me to enjoy the next 35 minutes in peace and quiet.
I am rewarded with my obstinate behavior when the doctor actually walks down the hall 10 minutes later. After a short 5 minutes behind closed doors, I am called into his office. He greets me, confirms that my test results were indeed negative, and types out the final information on the two forms. I then sign the two forms, he tells me that I need to go to V.Z.P. in - can you guess? - no later than 3 days (what is it with the 3 day thing?) but better if I go today and I would pick the time period of coverage, pay for it, and the kids would be all set. Great!!! As I leave, bonus, Alain and kids are coming off the elevator for their appointment. We make plans to trek to IKEA when we are finished with our respective 'next steps' and it looks like it is shaping up into a good day after all.
Logan & I head home so he can get fed and changed, I can eat breakfast and get the remaining paperwork together, and off we head to the V.Z.P. offices. On a nice day it is a pleasant walk to their location but on a day like this, we Metro it the one stop. As we head toward the building, I wonder if the new lift they were installing on our last trip here was finished...it was not. So, up we go the 3 flights to the waiting area. Proud of myself for remembering the procedure, I push the button for 'Comprehensive Care' on the ticket machine and get my number...Oh Joy - Lucky 13!!! We head for the stairs and I see that they currently are working with Clients 11 and 12 so it should be any minute now. 10 minutes later, a woman walks out and the number 13 lights up on the board. I start heading in and some woman barrels right past me and sits down at the available desk. I get strange looks from the two administrators - I mean really, how rude of me to walk right in when this woman was clearly next. So the one who I had met before asks me to please go out and take a number and wait my turn. I brandish my #13 in the air indignantly...this should surely win me back my rightful place! "Oh, yes, well...would you mind going back out in the waiting room until we call you in?" This is yet another example of how queuing really does not work here but that will all be covered in another post.
Finally, I am called in. The woman who took my place at least had the decency to apologize and even holds the door for me. I go to the desk and star putting all the paperwork down. The woman who is behind the desk is no-nonsense...not from rudeness, but because she only has about 25 English words in her repertoire. So, she begins asking the following: Doctor's Forms? - right here. Original Forms? - right here. Your passport? - No, but I have my form with me and the number is on it so she uses that. Any idea how long you want coverage for? - 6 months, please. Okay come back next Thursday. What?!?!?!??! Apparently they need to now send the doctor's forms and my forms to their 'specialist' who will go over the information and approve them. I need to go back next week to sign even more things and pay up front for the 6 months coverage. Will I have cards given to me at that time? Maybe, but I am beginning to think that will be yet another step in this drawn out comic tragedy that is The Quest for Ex-Pat Health Coverage.
Oh well - at least we had the IKEA trip to look forward to!
posted by Pam at
11:50 AM
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