I talked to the HR people at work, who then talked to their United Healthcare contact about how they had denied my in-clinic sleep study. The United Healthcare flack told them that my doctor would now need to file a formal appeal letter, so I called the office and let them know that.

And then I called United Healthcare again. And pointed out that this was my third call to them and that the person I had spoken to last Friday had promised that we would be hearing back from them by Monday morning and here it was Thursday. And that what they were trying to do was to kill me.

I spent a lot of time on hold.

It appears that the medical director at United Healthcare had decided to overrule the decision that the doctor in the peer-to-peer appeal had made so that I would not actually get the service that they had agreed that I needed. No one said why the medical director had overruled the decision; I can only conclude that this person gets paid by the piece.

However, by the end of the phone call, I was assured that the in-clinic sleep study had now been approved, that my doctor would be notified by tomorrow morning, and that I could have my sleep study.

With any luck, this is all true. :)