Dr. Brookhoff

[Lindsay82]

I posted a little earlier about dr brookhoff.. i really need to find a good doctor. I havent been to the doctor in two months because they have been treating me bad, and i cant put up with it anymore. i have read a lot about this doctor and i have to cancel my insurance in order to go to him they said it was illegal to take patients with insurance if the insurance doesnt cover them i am willing to do it if he is a good doctor but i havent heard any of you talk about him. If any of you go to him or have went to him please let me know.. before i cancel my insurance only to find out he is a bad doctor.. thanks so much for any help you can give me! linds

[dyno]

HI Lidnsey,
I am not from your area and don't know this doctor. Let me say this. I would think long and hard before cancelling my insurance. Your bladder problems are only a small part of the human body that may need help. Our problems are big and control our lives but you need insurance honey for the oh so many unexpected things that can come up in life. I would keep trying other doctors on your insurance. I can not believe any health care provider would even suggest somebody cancel their insurance. Arm yourself with knowledge and find someone on your insurance and keep trying but in my opinion it would be a big mistake to cancel that insurance.
Jolene <img src="graemlins/kissing.gif" border="0" alt="[kissing]" />

[Brianna]

There are lots of IC Drs. in Tennessee. I haven't went to him though. What part are you from?
Brianna

[Lindsay82]

Brianna-
I am from Cook****le.. it is between Nashville and Knoxville.. I am on Tenncare right now and I havent been able to find a good urologist that takes my insurance or a good pain doctor that takes my insurance I have already been to sooo many that tell me I need to see a psychologist or that its all in my head.. I am very very desperate to find one that will listen to me I would rather cancel my insurance and go to a good doctor.. to be able to have piece of mind. because right now they are driving me NUTS! They said I would have to cancel it for legal reasons (they cant take patients that have insurance, but the insurance doesnt cover the doctor) if that makes sense. If anyone has any suggestions I would really like to hear them.. thanks a lot lindsay

[dyno]

Lindsey,
My concern in cancelling insurance is the unexpected. My emergency gall bladder surgery this summer would have cost close to $15,000 without insurance. My husband suddenly had rheumatoid arthritis come on and you can't believe the medical expense we would have incurred without insurance. It is bad enough with it. I don't know, it is a tough situation you are in but it would scare me to death to be without it. Unexpected medical expenses can totally destroy lives and marriages. There is nothing worse than worrying about money for bills and what will this do to our credit and will we get in so deep we lose our house and so on and so on. That is what I would think long and hard about. If you become your own best advocate for your care and become informed I would hope between a good internist or urologist, primary care doc or gynocologist you could find someone on your insurance to care for you and not put yourself and family in that precarious postition.
Jolene

[Lindsay82]

Jolene-
thank you so much for the concern.. I can see where your coming from. It scares me to death to think about it too but desperate times call for desperate measures. I have searched high and low for a doctor and to be honest none of them take the insurance that I have, it doesnt pay enough. My last doctor pushed right on my bladder and then wondered why it hurt! I thought to myself "does he even know what i have?" My medical bills are already piling up from a previous insurance that didnt pay. So I could stay on my insurance and get crappy care or go off and maybe get descent care.. I have been trying to weigh it out in my mind for a long time.. it is definetly a BIG decision and thank you for your advise, I will take it into consideration. linds

[jaime15]

Lindsay,
I don't know how dishonest it would be or if it would be considered fraud....but do you HAVE to tell a doctor you're on any kind of medical plan?? Just a thought. I go to a great uro in Knoxville who diagnosed me.

Jaime

[ICNDonna]

When it's suggested that you see a psychologist, it absolutely is not telling you that your IC is in your head. Many, if not most, people with IC need help in learning to deal with a chronic disease.

I was fortunate in having a psychiatrist as a co-worker so I did have someone to share thoughts with and he did help me a great deal in developing my coping skills. It's to his credit that I was able to develop what I feel is a healthy attitude about my IC. And as I became more comfortable with the fact that I have an incurable disease, I became less stressed about it and in turn felt better.

Sending healing thoughts,
Donna

[perpetualstudent]

May I ask how it is illegal to see a doctor outside of your insurance plan? I have TennCare too and they don't care who you pay for outside of network. If they don't have to pay, they could care less.

PLEASE DO NOT DROP TENNCARE!!!!!!!

I have been able to get outside doctors without disrupting TennCare. If it is this doctor telling you this, please call TennCare. If it is TennCare, talk to someone else. There is no reason to drop your coverage.

Take it from someone who had to learn the legal workings of TennCare. You can still see this guy and not lose your coverage.

TennCare is really buckling down and you could find yourself unable to get back on the plan.

Email me if you need help, but there is no such law.

Sorry to sound blunt but I really would hate to see you drop this because some person (doctor, nurse, TennCare CS rep, whoever) did not know what they were talking about.

You have the right to choose. They (TennCare) has the right to choose what they want to cover. It stops at that. I have paid out of pocket many times to see uncovered people. Think about other health insurance companies. If you go out of network, you pay the full amount. It is NOT illegal!

[MSBIGFULTON]

HEY LINDSAY, I AM HERE IN WILSON COUNTY, AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THE INSURANCE COMPANY COULD CARE LESS WHAT YOU DO IF THEY ARE NOT PAYING! I SEE AN EXCELLENT DR. IN NASHVILLE, ACTUALLY IN HERMITAGE, RIGHT OFF THE INTERSTATE( I-40). I HAVE BEEN A PATIENT OF HIS SINCE 1989, AFTER ABOUT 7 YEARS OF BEING TOLD EVERYTHING, INCLUDING IT WAS ALL IN MY HEAD... I WAS REFERRED AFTER MY GYNO COULD NOT MAKE ME BETTER WITH ANTIBIOTICS, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO INFECTION TO FIGHT OFF. I WAS DIAGNOSED BY HIM WITHIN 30 DAYS AND HAVE BEEN UNDER HIS CARE EVER SINCE. HE IS GREAT, VERY KNOWLEDGABLE, UNDERSTANDING AND AN ALL AROUND GREAT GUY! I WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF HIS FIRST PATIENTS WITH IC, AND HE HAD ONLY BEEN IN PRIVATE PRACTICE FOR A YEAR OR TWO WHEN I BEGAN SEEING HIM. HE IS VERY UP TO DATE ON IC, AND ANY OTHER UROLOGICAL ISSUE ONE MAY HAVE ( I ALSO HAVE KIDNEY ISSUES) JUST LAST WEEK HE WENT TO THE CONVENTION ON IC IN MIAMI! HE HAS BEEN A GOD SEND...IF YOU ARE INTERESTED JUST LET ME KNOW! [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[Lindsay82]

MsBIG-
Yes I am very interested in finding all the doctors I can..I called another doctor yesterday and they told me the exact same thing "we cant take you if you have tenncare, its illegal"
If you could maybe tell me who you go to see, I would love to call and make an appt.
I would like to thank everybody who responded and gave me such great advice, you all are a god send!!

[MSBIGFULTON]

<img src="graemlins/hi.gif" border="0" alt="[hi]" /> I have been out of town for a few days, but I am back now! I see Dr. Gil Ezell, he is located at Summitt Hospital doctors building, very close to I -40. You can get his number through Urology Associates or just his name. I can assure you he is very good, now I have no idea about the whole Tn care thing, but I am sure it cannot hurt to call him and see! I sure wish there was an easy answer, but I have learned there are none. I have asked the question before will it never end, or come close to ending, I have learned that being frustrated does nothing but make me feel worse, and I have learned what will work for me, and just try my hardest to keep up that routine. I have been lucky to have adoctor that agrees and knows when I call him or come in, it is because I need something, and he responds. Of course, it took me a long time to get to this point, and I still have problems and issues, but I did finally learn my body and it's ways. PLease understand it is a process and each person is different, but by all means find a doctor you are compfortable with and one who helps you feel good about yourself, without this it makes for long days and nights. Try to hang in there! I promise it does get better! [img]cool.gif[/img]

[ICNDonna]

Just a suggestion: When you call to make an appointment and they ask about insurance, you might tell them that this visit will not be covered by your insurance and that you will be paying it yourself.

And read your policy. It may state there that they don't cover many physician visits, but also probably says simply that you are responsible for the bills if you see a physician who is outside the plan.

Good luck!
Donna