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Asked Nate if I could tweet about his experience after being confirmed as a presumptive positive as an essential worker. Thread.
First things first: we only called the doctor again because his boss had him scheduled to work today. So he called and requested a doctor& #39;s note. I went to pick it up at a clinic.
He called his boss, who, while being a sweet man most of the times, doesn& #39;t really get what& #39;s going on here. He said what lots of people have: "well, it& #39;d be nice to know one way or another... Can you get tested?"
But we do know. The doctor said "positive."
Boss follows up with the company& #39;s HR to see if Nate qualifies for the company& #39;s emergency paid sick leave policy. Nate starts looking into testing.
Nate finds at least 3 testing facilities in our area. All but one have logical stipulations (healthcare, over 60, etc.) He calls the one.
They say, "Sure. We& #39;ll get you in tomorrow." I was kinda shocked. I thought it wouldn& #39;t be an option.
Boss calls back, Nate qualifies for 1 week paid sick leave. Doctor& #39;s recommendation states to stay home for 1 week after the cough starts, so great. Done and dusted. But the boss still wants to know.
Nate& #39;s a little suspicious about the testing, so he starts trying to find out how much it& #39;s going to cost. HR for his company hasn& #39;t had a case yet, so they don& #39;t know.
He calls the insurance company, who gives him the run around. They state if the doctor ORDERED the test, it& #39;ll be 100% covered, but if not, he has to pay the full amount.
(and almost his whole office is out on paid vacation taking care of their kids, so he& #39;s one of 3 guys. And pipeline projects are starting. He& #39;d have to meet up with project managers from other companies. They "need" him.)
So now my wonderful sick guy had a choice to make: risk taking a test (results in 1-2 weeks) only to be stuck with a $3k bill, possibly extra money in unemployment? for something he knows he has but his boss wants to "know for sure." Or take 1 week paid and go back to work.
He was on and off the phone all day yesterday. He must& #39;ve recited his date of birth 15 times. He was exhausted by the end of it, and not just because he has corona.
