Theo opened the insurer’s letter at the kitchen table because Kellan was still trying to fix the kettle.
The switch had worked loose the night before. Kellan had taken the casing apart, found the broken spring, and decided he could replace it with a piece from an old clip. He was holding the spring in a pair of pliers when Theo stopped reading.
“What does ‘subject to the revised authorization period’ mean?” Theo asked.
Kellan set the pliers down. “Let me see.”
Theo kept the letter in front of him. “I’m reading it. I want you to explain the phrase.”
Kellan pulled out the chair beside him. The insurer had changed the conditions under which it would cover Theo’s ongoing treatment. The notice gave an effective date, a list of requirements, and a number to call for an appeal. One paragraph referred to a review that could take longer than the interval before Theo’s next scheduled care.
“It means they’ll decide again whether to pay,” Kellan said. “The old authorization doesn’t continue automatically.”
“They already decided.”
