The Guy With The Lab Requisition Form Is Always The Last To Know

So it's been, what? Four weeks since we started looking for driver's licenses and Alberta Health card numbers?

At the end of January I went to the doctor (while still covered by Sask. Health) for my routine blood work.

The second week in February (when my health coverage was getting a little questionable) I went for the results to find out I was very anaemic. He needs, (he says) to do another certain lab test to make sure the anaemia is not caused by internal bleeding/leakage somewhere.(believe me, I tried to talk him out of this)

I didn't want to attempt another round with the hospital lab until we had certain Alberta Health coverage.

That day we trundled over to the licensing office to get our driver's licenses sorted out, knowing that we'd need the "proof of residence" which a driver's license could provide in order to be finished with our health care forms.

Randall got his license,  but I had to have special paper work filled out by the doctor because I admitted to being Type 2 Diabetic.

Wishing we had gone to the licensing office first, we went back to the Clinic just to see what the chances of getting a signature might be; it would be another 2 weeks before I could get in for the driver's license medical.

After we both had our temporary licenses, we faxed in all the health forms with (what we thought was) all the required documentation. Copies of both the temporary licenses AND our valid passports to cover (so we thought) all the bases.

And then the copy of all the faxed sheets sat on the island in the kitchen.

And sat.

Meanwhile, I've been waiting for word that we're covered and good to go so I can take the lab requisition to the hospital to get that other test out of the way.

Randall's been telling me to phone Alberta Health to check on the status of our coverage, so today I finally did.

To find out that (not sure which it was) either they didn't receive the page with the copy of the temporary licenses, or that those temporary licenses weren't good enough.

I just got back from the office where I took my newly received (only 2 days ago) permanent license and a list of numbers so Randall could photo copy (both sides of) our driver's licenses and fax them in.

By the end of tomorrow everything should be sorted out.

But

WHEN WOULD THEY HAVE GOTTEN AROUND TO TELLING US THAT OUR FORMS WERE ON HOLD DUE TO LACK OF PROOF OF RESIDENCY?!*

They've had the forms since Feb. 9. That's the date that was stamped on them when they got there. (So Pat says) Over a month they've been there.

Over a month.

On one hand all the hoops that require jumping through are making me a little crazy.

On the other hand, the bureaucracy is unbelievable.

That's what gets me.

Our Alberta Health numbers (which have been assigned already) can't be formally activated until we have all the necessary proofs of identity and residency... but no one could be bothered to tell us that what we sent was inadequate.

Frustrating.

And now I wait for a phone call from Pat to say that the faxed forms arrived and have been delivered to her.

Grrr.

* Edit: Apparently today is the day they would tell us that our documentation was invalid. Today,  this afternoon, after phoning Edmonton and getting it sorted (I hope. They still haven't confirmed receipt of those faxed papers) Micah came home from school via the church office with the mail. There it was. A letter each. To let us both know that in order to process our insurance we need to send in one of the forms of ID that are indicated on the second page in the envelope. Which we thought we had done.

Thanks.

Thanks very much.