I keep a file of “funny and amazing insurance excuses,” but I had to share this exclusion for an urgent care physician’s charge from our local medical center’s After Hours Urgent Care Clinic:

“YOUR BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD SERVICE BENEFIT PLAN COVERAGE DOES NOT PROVIDE BENEFITS FOR ADDITIONAL CHARGES BY ANY PROFESSIONAL PROVIDER FOR EXTRA CHARGES FOR SERVICES RENDERED AFTER OFFICE HOURS OR ON DAYS WHEN THE PROVIDER’S OFFICE IS NORMALLY CLOSED.  YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE CHARGES.”

I don’t usually laugh, but … if the doctor’s office was open, why would I have to go to After Hours Urgent Care?  (Actually, one of these visits I went because the doctor sent me to the ER and I was hoping to avoid the emergency room, so I went to urgent care; I don’t know if the doctor’s office was open then or not.)

I have a ten-inch stack of medical billing paperwork to slog through again.  This is just wrong.  Anyway, if I didn’t laugh, I’d cry.