Reposting from April 2013 birth month board..
Military spouse here, so I don't have much choice in my clinic unless I change my insurance - which is a last resort.
I was referred to a high risk OB on top of my regular OB for this Antibody M that I have that could potentially cause anemia in the baby while I'm carrying him/her. (After birth it would go away). The high risk OB said that I need the levels monitored monthly to make sure that they do not go up, if they go up then they have to go in to more drastic measures to monitor and take care of the baby while I'm carrying. The very worst case scenario would mean blood transfusions for baby every few weeks, yes, while I'm carrying him/her. Little scary. But as long as it's monitored I'm not too worried.
Well fast forward to my regular OB which I have to continue to see for all my regular appointments. They told me they take what the high risk OB said as a "recommendation" only, and my reg OB decides what's necessary. Really? So I finally got the 'ok' today to go in tomorrow and get this month's blood draw done to check the antibody level. But from the way it sounds it's going to be a monthly fight to get them to put the order in for the blood work.
Re: Preg & Frustrations with clinic
The high risk OB is a civilian doc.. so unless I go Standard, I can't see them constantly.
You could bring up your concerns (extra monitoring/blood tests/etc) with your regular OB, or maybe even your PCM if you have a good relationship with them, and see if they will write you a referral for more visits to the high risk OB. If that doesn't work, try the patient advocate. Your current OB shouldn't be so lax about your health concerns.
If none of that works, I think you should switch to standard. Standard has good maternity coverage, so I believe there is very little out of pocket. You can switch back to prime after your year is up (or sooner depending on your spouse's rank).
This is incorrect. I saw specialists that were civilians constantly when I was having thyroid issues. I just got the proper referrals. If your medical condition demands a specialist then they need to provide you with proper medical care.