BEWARE YOUR DENTAL HMO!

     Unlike millions of Filipinos, I am blessed with some kind of health protection via my HMO; HMO meaning “health maintenance organization”.  My HMO is part of the employee benefits that Second Daughter (SD) enjoys from a company she has served for almost eight years now.

     I get to really appreciate the HMO most when I or The Hubby meets a health emergency.  I once slid and broke my wrist and the HMO covered all my hospital expenses such as the emergency room services, x-rays, scans and subsequent medical consultations.   SD likewise gets to benefit from the HMO whenever she twists her ankle accidentally.  Note that she has the predisposition to do so every year or two.  Thankfully, the HMO covers even the costs of physical therapy. 

     The Hubby and I, however, much to SD’s frustration, have never been inclined to use the HMO services even as aches and pains manifest.  Maybe because of our senior years, we tend to be in denial and refuse to consult even while symptoms develop.   Unless, of course, the pain gets too excruciating that there is no way out except the hospital!   At any rate, suffice it to say that we are so far contented to use our HMO card only as needed.   Often, of course, we pray that we will never need it!

     The Dental HMO, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired if not totally turning out to be a rip-off. 

     For several years, dental services were okay.   As long as the dentist consulted was accredited with the HMO you may continually visit them for the necessary and covered services.  Came time, however, when the HMO subdivided dentists into several sub-groups; so much so that even if the dentist you want to consult is accredited with the HMO you carry, you will still have to check if this dentist is part of the sub-group that has been assigned to your account.  And, that was when we started having problems with our dental needs!

     For more than two years, we have been playing Russian roulette trying to find satisfactory dental service from the HMO’s accredited sub-group’s dentists.   

     Time after time, we have had such bad experiences that I cannot seem to decide which of our annoying mishaps to start relating.

     For instance, there was this time when SD and I went in for prophylaxis with an accredited dentist whose clinic was located at the Robinson’s Galeria.  After the clinic’s receptionist had both of us sign the necessary documents, the dentist started with SD.  When SD stepped out of the dentist’s cubicle, she whispered that the dentist was heavy handed.  I, nonetheless, decided to go ahead since we were already there and we already signed the charge slips.  When I was with the dentist, she asked me if I had any heart condition and whether I had clearance from my doctor to undergo dental prophylaxis.  WTF!  Whoever heard of asking a doctor for clearance to have one’s teeth cleaned?   She simply refused.  I got this feeling she was in a hurry to get somewhere because she was constantly on her cell phone while she was doing SD! 

     The Hubby, though, is the one who bore the brunt of all the inefficiencies of these accredited dentists.   His horror stories are limitless – until the time when he decided he will never, ever avail of the HMO dental services.

     One time, Hubby and I went to a dental clinic in Shang Mall to have (again!) prophylaxis.  Two young, lady dentists, who seemed to have come in after a shopping spree, attended to us.  They were just totally engrossed with their own chitchat while doing the cleaning.  Afterwards, the dentist who attended him simply informed that she damaged one of his fillings.  Oh, is that all!  Being the pacifist he normally is, The Hubby just took the information quietly.  Until the tooth started to ache! 

     The Hubby requested for me to find him an accredited dentist nearby.  I guess that at this point, he was starting to develop an aversion to dentists who practice inside malls.  Luckily, or so I thought at that time, I found an accredited one in a nearby subdivision.  Off Hubby went to consult and have his tooth filling repaired.   What bothered him afterwards was that the tooth still ached even after the so-called repair.  Upon inspection, he found that the dentist did not repair the tooth in question.  The man did the tooth right beside it!  Note that it was a perfectly okay tooth – no caries at all! 

    Right there and then, we decided to forego the dental benefits of our  HMO cards.  SD and the rest of our brood question our judgment and cannot seem to understand the rationale of having to pay for services which we can avail of for free.

     Fast forward to September 2012 - SD requested to find an accredited dentist under the HMO.  She wanted a tooth extracted because she previously refused to shell out Sixteen Thousand Pesos to have root canal.  According to the dentist she consulted before, that tooth had four canals!  Since it was an inner tooth, she decided she will simply have it out and maybe pay for retainers so that her teeth will not rotate. 

     At any rate, when I called to make an appointment with a dental clinic in Megamall, I specifically said that this is for extraction.  The receptionist simply instructed for the patient to get there at appointed time with her HMO card.  No other information was provided.

     When we got to the dentist, we were told that the HMO will only cover “simple” tooth extraction.  And, before they extract, patient needs to have an x-ray done.  X-ray costs 400 pesos!  And, if the extraction is classified as a difficult one, then it will not be covered by the HMO and one needs to shell out from Two Thousand to Five Thousand Pesos.   

     Because SD had free tooth x-ray done before, she requested the clinic to verify with the HMO if this is indeed not covered.  While we were waiting for the HMO’s response, the dentist offered SD to inspect the bothersome tooth.  SD agreed.  Since SD already had her mouth open, the dentist then offered to conduct oral prophylaxis.  SD again agreed.  Later, the receptionist confirmed that x-ray is not covered by the HMO benefits. 

     I then advised SD to defer on the x-ray because I was aware that the dentist Hubby and I consult charges even less than the cost of x-ray for tooth extraction!  

     The Hubby made an appointment with this dentist shortly so SD was scheduled to have the tooth extraction the following week.  The next morning, however, SD woke up with a swollen cheek on the side of the troubled tooth.  Could this be the result of the poking and drilling during the cleaning process?  Who knows!  At any rate, SD had to rush to our dentist to consult.  Antibiotics were prescribed and SD hopes to be rid of the infuriating tooth by next week. 

     Now, SD is in a foul mood towards the dental services of their HMO!  

     I try to analyze the difference in the quality of service that we receive from the medical and dental service providers of the HMO.  

    I realized that the medical service is normally rendered in a hospital with medical practitioners accredited both by the hospital and the HMO.  Hospitals, being complicated corporate structures, do have plenty to lose if the standards of professionalism and medical ethics are not met.   This alone should prevent any practitioner from taking a short-cut in rendering services.  Worth mentioning, too, is the fact that doctors normally invest millions to be allowed to practice in a particular hospital. 

     Dental clinics, on the other hand, are normally owned and operated by one entity.  Usually, it is the owner’s name, a more senior dentist, that is at stake.  Young, sometimes inexperienced dentists are hired to render the services.  These dentists, unfortunately, flit from one clinic to another and are more interested in acquiring more assignment than establishing a credible practice. You see, while they are part of the dental clinic, they remain unknown and unacknowledged.  In fact, the next time around that you go to the same clinic, you may not find them there anymore.  So, if there should be subsequent problems, the  probability is that they will not be there to respond to your complaints. 

     After all my griping, grumbling and analyzing, I wonder – have they ever heard of dental malpractice?   

PARTY POOPERS!

    After attending a truly enjoyable children’s party, my thoughts meander towards some negative behavioral tendencies of Filipinos …… in parties.

     First offense I immediately recall is our propensity to be late for events.  Without considering it, we add to the concerns of our hosts since they plan and structure the party program following a certain time frame.  As a solution, most invitations announce the event for an earlier time than what it would actually be.  The reasoning is that guests can come late but still be on time; if ever there is such a thing.  As if a wrong can right another wrong!   Sheesh!  A lot of people think it is fashionable to be late!

     This brings to mind a story I read somewhere about ambassadors and members of diplomatic communities cruising around the venue of an event to time their arrival at the appropriate moment stated in the invitation. 

     In ordinary Filipino life, woe to those who arrive on time because they will be met by a somber venue with even the celebrators in absentia!  You will even find the caterer’s personnel in the process of setting up tables, chairs and food dishes.  Now, if the venue is booked for the ACTUAL time that the hosts planned, you will also have to sweat it out because for sure, the air-conditioner is yet not turned on.  Thankfully, the party starts but the room, nevertheless, is half empty.  The hosts are constrained to start so the program commences. 

    And, now I go to our second misdemeanor in parties….

     When the party starts, guests, especially because they arrived late, get so involved in their personal chitchat that you seldom find even a handful paying attention to what the program emcee/party host is saying.  It seems like a most difficult task for the emcee to get the audience and party guests to participate in the fun and games.  Painfully, I have often witnessed party hosts pulling out all the tricks of their trade just to get the guests to dive into the party mood and get things going; just like a dentist extracting a molar. 

     I’ve experienced one party where the party host just totally gave up the idea of games because even with a prepared list of participants, no one stepped up to join!  It looked like the guests were there just to dance to the band’s music.  Segueway to after the program,  the band started to play and only a couple or two stood up to dance.  So it was not the music they were waiting for.  Thus, the party ended with the band, which was booked for THREE (3) sets of play, not even finishing their first set because the room suddenly emptied.  It gave me a feeling that the guests only came for the food which was certainly good, by the way!  What an epic fail of a party and what a waste of money! 

     Anaconda also told of a wedding party where when the groom was to give his thank-you spiel, only members of the couple’s families and some closest of friends remained.  The groom commented that “ay wala nang tao” ( oh, the guests have gone!)  Again, the idea that they only came for the food started to niggle. 

     Third common error we commit during parties is actually just the fault of the sound technicians.  They tend to play some of the loudest music during meal time.  Without realizing that this is the only instance when guests could interact with each other and catch up with goings-on, the sound men, with the blessing of the hosts, come up with a play list of the songs.  Unfortunately, they seem to think that they need to fill the venue with the sounds.  The music just utterly blares that you could hardly hear yourself.  

     I regularly comment to hosts that when guests come to your event, they indirectly honor you and the occasion you wish to celebrate.  Gifts are inconsequential because once a person confirms his/her attendance, he/she starts to incur a sizable expense by travelling to and from the venue on top of ensuring that he/she is wearing the right attire for the occasion.  Hey – have you checked out the prices of fuel and clothes and shoes these days?  It goes without saying that most people move around in the same circle of friends and associates and, therefore, meet the same people again and again in parties.  One, therefore, cannot wear the same attire to each and every occasion. 

     On the other hand, guests should realize that when they are invited, hosts are simply saying that they are an important part of the hosts’ lives and that they would like to share this occasion with the guests.  To return this compliment, guests should immediately take the effort to RSVP or respond to the invitations so that the hosts could draw up an accurate count for their preparations.  Guests must likewise ensure that they are appropriately attired in accordance with the party motif.  Once at the party, it is common courtesy to listen and watch the program that the hosts have prepared.  When called on to participate, do let your hair down and plunge right into the activity.  Allow the hosts to set the party mood and direction.  All you need to do is pay attention and enjoy!  No one wants a killjoy and a party pooper as guest!  It is a sure ticket to being uninvited the next time around and you will stew in your own ignorance wondering why! 

    And, for heaven’s sake, do not make a French leave!  Have the decency to properly say your goodbyes to the hosts.  Express to them how much you have enjoyed the party and the company and sincerely mean it. 

     Keep in mind – tardiness is rudeness.  It is inconsiderate. 

     Remember, too, that you are attending a party and not a wake!  Put your game face on and bring your jubilant party mood for everyone to share!           

CHILD OF THE 21st CENTURY

               

                    

     We reside in a suburban subdivision.  Not the classy, wealthy type of community but the middle class type where almost all members of households need to go out to earn their daily bread.  It is common to see both mother and father travel to work in the morning to come home at night tired and fatigued by work and traffic.  It is, therefore, common, too, for families to rely on grandmothers, grandfathers and any other available member of the family to tend to the upbringing of the young ones.  Because times are hard and maybe not all couples have relatives to depend on for child care, children seem to be too few and too far in between the houses. 

     In our block alone, Little Guy is the only male child.  One neighbor across our domicile has a couple of little girls that even after a few years, I have never personally sighted.  The couple next door has a teenage son while a few kids live two streets down.  Despite the government’s view that our population needs to be curbed, I have one question constantly in mind.  Where are all the children?  I seldom see children running and playing in the streets even when it’s summertime.  This is something quite unlike my own and my kids’ upbringing!

     A few years back, our electric posts had notices of a missing child who was snatched away in our village.   This could be one reason that parents are quite paranoid about letting their children run around the streets no matter how private and safe we may think our place to be.  And, this must be prevalent in most residential areas. 

Sketch made by TitaBoom

Drawing by Little Guy 

How does a child get from being a fat cutie to an       undecipherable warrior freak?

     As a consequence, Little Guy has no real playmate to speak of.  He roams around in his imagination with plenty of virtual playmates.  His days are spent with Ben 10, Ironman, the Ninja Turtles, the Backyardigans, Dora and Boots, Diego the animal rescuer, Tom and Jerry, and even the idiotic Spongebob! 

     Because we hope to monitor Little Guy’s development, there is always at least one member of the family that need to sit through all the mindless stories churned out by all the cartoon networks.   There was a time when Ben 10 was banned because in his arrogance, Ben was often insulting to his family.  Whoa!  It’s something we don’t want Little Guy to emulate.  Forever not viewable is Max and Ruby because Max is also a downright foolish and rude kid!  Our own favorites are Finn and Jake of Adventure Time.  Both characters are sweet and always just aim to be good in their adventures as they travel from place to place.  It doesn’t detract from the show too that the characters are quirky and have special features such as one princess who speaks Japanese.  Note that this princess is the girlfriend of Jake the dog!  There is another princess whose “talkies” is dubbed by a male voice!  The latter character has had all of us imitating it from time to time when we are feeling cheeky or playful.  It’s no surprise that even Little Guy’s godmother downloads the episodes for her own viewing when she has the time. 

     Fun as all this may sound, it just is not normal.  One day, Wacky needs to be Raphael to his Michaelangelo while he gets to choose who will be Leonardo and April.  The next day, he wants me to be Gwen while he is Ben 10.  From day to day, the characters change.  Often, he would emerge from his room with the costume of the character of the day; Spiderman, Green Lantern, Ninja Turtle, Ben 10 with his omnitrix, Buzz Lightyear and some other friends that he has met on television.   He would appear with all kinds of props such as sword and long guns (made from folded newspapers!)  The other members of the family would then need to play supporting cast to his character!  When a program is shown on television, he would immediately quip that he is the hero whoever that hero may be at the moment.  I am just so afraid Little Guy is turning into a schizophrenic with multiple personalities!   Just like the typical busy mom, Anaconda (my daughter/his mom) takes this in stride and has informed me that this is normal for kids these days.  Apparently, she has discussed this behavior with a lot of her officemates who have the same experience or who have neighbors who have the same experience.  Oh okay!  If it’s okay with the mother, it’s fine with me! 

     So Little Guy continues his adventures and we try to accommodate his imagination as much as possible.  Of course, it doesn’t stop us from having some fun at his expense such as instructing him to wear his briefs externally when in a hero costume – ‘cause that’s the way superheroes wear them!  Take a look at Superman and Batman!

     To fill his need for real social exchange, Little Guy takes lessons in martial arts where he gets to interact with boys aged 9 to 13.  Hahahahahah - again, ABNORMAL because Little Guy just turned 7!  So we occasionally bring him to Kidz Republic where he gets to play rough and tumble with other little kids.  He comes out exhilarated and tells us he has made a few friends. 

     We ask him, “What’s their names?”

     He answers, “I don’t know.”

     HELP!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LY!

     I often called it “maltiempo” or bad time/timing, as far as I can interpret.  Unfortunately, my cousin, Lyja, is stricken with this.  I attribute it primarily to her being a “menopause baby” with her mother and father already advanced in years when she came into being.  When she was born, her youngest sibling, at that point, was already in his mid-teens. 

     It was no wonder, therefore, that she was always out of the loop with what were happening in their household.  She even ate her meals separate from her siblings because while everybody else was rushing to finish, she was meticulously picking on her food for hours.  She was constantly followed around by her “yaya” Pilang, an old maid who was prone to expressing herself in Visayan terms such as “pisting yawa”, “ ano ba ining bata na ini” and others that I can’t now quite recall.   Yaya Pilang was her companion at all times and she always needed to chase after my cousin come meal times. 

     Because I was an only girl with three brothers, Lyja was naturally drawn to my company.  She would come to our house for dinner bringing her own food in a bowl.  That was because my three brothers would take turns taunting her and pushing her out of the door.  No amount of teasing made her leave because she felt she had a right to be with us.  The attraction may be that we were a younger household.  And, I guess, her right in the family had been installed by Mama, herself, who often declared that she nursed Lyja with her own breast milk when the latter was an infant.  You see, my aunt became ill after giving birth to her and was unable to take care of Lyja.  My uncle felt compelled to give the baby to another family but my strong-willed mother put her foot down and argued that she can nurse my cousin instead.  Of course, it was quite fortunate that Mama was herself in her late pregnancy with my brother, Dick.   As Mama related, there came a time when she was nursing two babies at the same time. 

     Being of the same age, Dick and Lyja started school together.  Probably because my aunt had been weak through her pregnancy, Lyja was sickly too.  That was the reason she had to stop for one year and I caught up with her in school.  I think, having another little girl to play with was just too pleasant for her.  Being the more senior child, she always had her way with me.  Not to mention, of course, the fact that Mama always told me to accede to whatever Lyja wanted since she was often ill.  Mama regretted this instruction when I came home one day with my beautiful long tresses (that Mama took great care to curl and style) cut with a “patilya” or sideburns at the side!  Horrible!  You see, my cousin had and still has one great passion and that is cutting hair!  She thinks she can be one great hair stylist!  

Cousins

     At any rate, Lyja always had them all fooled.  She looked frail and weak but deep inside was one naughty, fighting, little girl.   My brother, Dick, must be able to attest to that because she pinched him every time she didn’t get her way.  She also picked fights in school and brought him to her enemies so he could box them.  Of course, by the time we were on the same grade, I was the one doing all her boxing for her!  Hahahahahahah…..  those were fun times because the fights somehow satisfied the war craving in me! 

     Looking saintly with a little devil peeking out, Lyja got into plenty of exploits with me as accomplice.   One really funny episode in our student life was when we were penalized by being made to commute from school on our own for an entire month.  We were then studying in a Chinese school in the Chinatown district.  The reason for the penalty was that we got too busy watching a volleyball game that we totally forgot about the family driver waiting for us just outside the school grounds.  We got home quite late and both got an earful of tongue-lashing!  True to our mischievous nature, the penalty became one big adventure.  We were quite ignorant on how to commute home so we opted to walk the long, long way home.  Along the various routes we unraveled, we discovered the intricate ins and outs of Sta. Cruz and Quiapo.   The best find we prided in was Little Quiapo, a nondescript restaurant along Rizal Avenue that served a wonderful concoction of halo-halo.   Unknown to our elders, this was where our transportation money was going to.  It was heaven especially for Lyja because she was always forbidden to drink anything cold at home.  Talk of over protection.  I’d say this was one of the best growing up experience both of us ever had.  Not only did we get to see the chaos of city life, it was also the time we discovered we could resell our used books!  There, we found our extra income! 

     Our teen years were unfortunately quite disparate.  Mama was liberal about allowing me to camps, soirees and seminars.   Lyja, on the other hand, had to stay close to home as demanded by her older brothers.  They were very strict with her and life must have been very boring.  She took the strictures with calm acceptance and it was only now and then that a rebellious tendency would show.  It helped that Mama was open-minded about conspiring with us.  All Lyja had to do was ask permission to spend the night with us and off we went to whatever party with our friends and “barkada”.   It was their routine, too, that one of her brothers would call late at night to check on her.  They were no match to Mama, who felt no remorse in lying to them by saying that we were asleep as we got tired chatting!  Dear Mama! 

     I could talk on and on about our escapades but time does not allow it.  Suffice it to say that up to our senior years, Lyja and I are still happily together.  She claims that she never married because she was so intimidated by having to raise a family as she watched me cope with it through the past years.  This, of course, is belied by the fact that she helped me raise my children especially the two youngest ones.  I am grateful that her practicality in life and its options has rubbed off on them.  More grateful am I for how her cool disposition always tempered my fiery take on our day to day experiences. 

     Lyja is much older now.  The devil in her is still hiding and peeking out now and then.  She tells me, “ Don’t be angry.  Make others angry!”  She falls asleep in front of the television and can snore through any program.  Put off the television and she would wake up.  She claims the noise from the boob tube lulls her to sleep.  I snicker over this because I know for a fact that so many other things lull her to sleep.  She falls asleep while reading the newspaper.  Surprisingly, you would find her with her hands still holding the newspaper up.  She also falls asleep while worshipping on her feet with her hands raised up high.  The only time you will realize that she is asleep is when she soft pedals backward!  Mean old me, I snicker over these occasions too!  My bad, really!

     Aging she may be but she never fails to offer her services when she feels it is needed.  If one member of the family falls sick, she is immediately by their side; offering to watch over and care for them.  In our household, she comes up with all kinds of foul-smelling concoctions that surprisingly work wonders on whatever ailments we may have.  She comes up with all kinds of remedies for illnesses and because she occasionally engages in network marketing of food supplement, some relatives misinterpret it as financial motive.   Like me, they can be quite bad!

     What I truly appreciate about my cousin is her capacity to love without conditions.  I love that she cannot seem to find fault with my blatant eccentricities; that she laughs over the cranky comments I make when I get pissed.  She wonderfully thinks I am superwoman and drives me to be such because she thinks so!  I preciously value her presence in my life because she is one person who can see through all of my disguises and still love me.

     Today is her day so I thought to share a little glimpse to the remarkable personality of this wispy and dear cousin of mine.

     Happy birthday, Laly.  Thank you for sharing your life and love with us.  We truly love you!