The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (TRBBT)

I've recently been burned rather severely by the bureaucratic machinations of health insurance.  Several appointments, once made, could not be kept.  

Coverage for some types of providers seems to be dynamic--ever changing, unstable, volatile, and untrustworthy.  The metaphor that springs to mind every time that I receive a new and interesting Explanation of Benefits (EOB) is a monster--a giant bureaucratic beast, all hairy arms and big teeth. Rather than beating my breast or playing supplicant to the beast in a suitably melodramatic "hair shirt," I've chosen to arm myself with knowledge and humor. 

Knowledge is perfect armor and a wonderful lance to lob at the beast.  My care provider refers me to a doctor and I double check the data.  Everyone wins.  Even the health insurance company is happy to be a part of this cycle of information, because it does push my specialist appointments out further, meaning that costs to my health insurance company get billed at a later date.

Humor is essential, because without it I would quite literally scream and shout.  I have decided that Health Insurance Bureaucracy is a beast.  Specifically, it is the bureaucratically-referenced beast from Douglas Adams's "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."  In short, it is The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.  If we turn this into an acronym, it is TRBBT.  If we pronounce the acronym as a word and not as the names of its individual letters, the beast is named "Tribbit."

I am off to do further battle with Tribbit.  Join me, my fellow Introverts, as we silently scour the internet for further knowledge to lob at the fearsome beast...