| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| prariehawk |
Posted - Jan 31 2012 : 5:07:02 PM
I've been trying to get some medicine for my asthma/bronchitis, which has caused me to miss a week of work. The insurance wouldn't pay for one of the meds. so I finally convinced my dr. to call the insurance co. Now they're going to pay for it but I have to wait four business days! This is just so crazy! It's a med. that's supposed to help prevent asthma in the first place, so you'd think they wouldn't have such a problem with it. If I could cough up two hundred dollars I could pay for it out of pocket, but I don't have the extra cash, and my paycheck this week is going to be low cause I've been off work. Thank you for letting me vent--we need some kind of healthcare reform in this country. I don't know what the answer is, but no one should be held hostage to an insurance company. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure--why can't they see that?
Cindy
"Vast floods can't quench love, no matter what love did/ Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid"--Sinead O'Connor
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
| 23 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Bear5 |
Posted - Feb 09 2012 : 11:59:26 AM
I agree with every word you have said. I have had nurses tell me they don't need to wash their hands. I tell them I need them to wash their hands. It is getting worse down here, for sure.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| Joey |
Posted - Feb 09 2012 : 11:16:09 AM
I have been a nurse for almost 40 years. When I started in this business it was a "calling." I took care of patients and I loved doing so. Sometime in the 80s it became a "business" and hospitals began doing things on a business model. Then the insurance companies got involved and things got worse. It is terrible. There are not enough nurses and that is usually what hospitals cut first because it is the biggest drain on the hospital budget, but it REALLY affects patient care. It is/will get worse. Most nurses are baby-boomers who will be retiring soon and there are not enough nurses being trained to replace us. PLEASE, if there is anyway possible, please take someone else with you to the doctor and the hospital. Challenge everything. Make sure your meds match the med you got yesterday or ask the nurse to open the packages in front of you and be sure that you are getting wat you should. DON'T take a pill you've never seen before until you get them to verify that med is for you. Write down your questions and make sure you get answers before you leave the doctors office and in the hospital. The MOST important way to prevent illness is handwashing for at least 20 secs. DOCTORS are terrible about handwashing. In the hospital I make everyone who intends to touch me wash their hands first. I agree with everything everyone said but remember, it is going to get worse and we will all need to be aware of protecting ourselves so we don't go to the doctor or the hospital. Joey
Well behaved women rarely make history. |
| FarmDream |
Posted - Feb 08 2012 : 10:09:17 PM
Cindy, any "insult" or injury to the lungs can have lasting long term/lifetime effects. Pneumonia is either viral or bacterial, the same germs that cause the common cold or flu. There's also fungal, which is rare. Asthma can be developed at any time during a persons life and can also disappear, i.e. childhood only asthma. You're right to start excluding asthma triggers from your life. This includes foods, smoke, pollens, other things that trigger an attack. You might want to keep a record of when an attack occurs and what you were eating or other factors at the time. If you Google "Nutritional value of ____" you can find a chart that has not only nutritional value but also inflammation factor. This should help you eliminate foods that can cause inflammation.
We've seen our premiums go up and I believe this is in response to anticipation of Obamacare. (Not saying I'm either for or against it, just stating what I've seen with my premiums)
~FarmDream is Farmgirl Sister #3069
Live Today, Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow
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| brightmeadow |
Posted - Feb 07 2012 : 7:25:03 PM
this year things have changed, last year being on my husband's policy should've costed the same amount, this year much less.
I have eliminated the group policy coverage from my own insurance, I hope that is not a mistake
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blogs at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com (farming) http://brightmeadowknits.blogspot.com (knitting) or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
| brightmeadow |
Posted - Feb 07 2012 : 7:18:14 PM
I thought our new medical laws would making it better, but instead they seem to be making it worse!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blogs at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com (farming) http://brightmeadowknits.blogspot.com (knitting) or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
| traildancer |
Posted - Feb 07 2012 : 10:11:51 AM
Before getting married (27 years ago) I went on the pill. Insurance would not pay for the pill (preventative medicine) but pregnancy and birth were covered! I am not criticizing having children. But it seemed that prevention, in this case, was far more cost effective than carrying a baby to term, birthing, delivery and subsequent well child checkups. Nevertheless, I had two children, both without insurance.
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
| prariehawk |
Posted - Feb 02 2012 : 12:12:18 AM
Jessie Mae--just what is mycoplasma pneumonia? I had pneumonia a couple years ago and that's how all this got started. They never told me what kind of pneumonia it was or how I came down with it. And I know what you mean about getting invoices from out of state. It wouldn't surprise me if some day I get an invoice from a foreign country
Cindy
"Vast floods can't quench love, no matter what love did/ Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid"--Sinead O'Connor
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
| JessieMae |
Posted - Feb 01 2012 : 11:40:03 PM
Something similar happened to me about 10 years ago: I developed asthma after recovering from mycoplasma pneumonia. My doctor prescribed medication for it, but the insurance company refused to cover it unless I could "prove" that I really had asthma. Insurance required a test called a methacholine challenge where you are exposed to a chemical (methacholine) in order to trigger an asthma attack. The test required a full afternoon at the hospital. Then, because the test induced an asthma attack (indicating "positive" for asthma), I had to be treated at the hospital for an asthma attack. So, instead of just paying for a $100 prescription, the insurance company required thousands of dollars in testing and treatment, plus pay for the $100 prescription anyway!
I don't know who is worse, though...the insurance company or the hospitals. A few years ago I had a miscarriage and received DOZENS of invoices, some from doctors in states I hadn't even seen. When I called the hospital--certain that they had made a mistake--they explained that some services are sent to doctors working in remote locations (for example, one ultrasound was sent electronically to be read by a doctor working remotely in Indiana who e-mailed his report back to the hospital in Michigan). And a year afterward, I was still receiving invoices.
Jessie Mae
Farmgirl Sisterhood #134 |
| prariehawk |
Posted - Feb 01 2012 : 10:18:42 PM
I'm going to look into alternative ways of treating asthma. I will check out the lobelia and mullein. I'm also going to try cutting certain foods from my diet, as asthma feeds on sugar from foods. Thanks for all the good advice and support. We just got new insurance at work this year and I think that's part of the problem. If I'm having these problems with it, I'm sure others are as well.
Cindy
"Vast floods can't quench love, no matter what love did/ Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid"--Sinead O'Connor
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
| MrsRooster |
Posted - Feb 01 2012 : 8:29:33 PM
Our insurance would be so expensive that we can't afford it. So I see a doctor that takes cash only. I see her about three times a year. Thankfully, I only take thyroid meds. She is a regular MD Family Practice and will see my seven year old and hubby if they need to be seen.
If something happens, they will take payments like everyone else.
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Farmgirl #1259
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| rksmith |
Posted - Feb 01 2012 : 6:08:17 PM
Samples are getting harder to come by. I know at our office (pediatrics) we are getting less samples and more coupons. You might try adding some lobelia and/or mullein for your respiratory system. Lobelia is also very useful as a muscle relaxant and can help soothe the irritated lungs with asthma/bronchitis type symptoms.
At my job our insurance would cost me 585/month with a 6000 deductible as well. Since DH has pre-existing health problems it would not cover anything for him. If I did get insurance for him in the "high risk pool" it would still cost me 800/month just for him! It is cheaper for me to just not have insurance and set up a payment plan when one of us does need to go to the MD--which is usually my DH. My son and I are both (thankfully)rarely ever sick and then it is mostly just allergy/sinus type stuff.
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
True enlightenment is nothing but the nature of one's own self being fully realised-- His Holiness the Dali Lama
http://madame1313.wordpress.com/ |
| Dusky Beauty |
Posted - Feb 01 2012 : 4:04:31 PM
It's horrible... I am lucky enough to have decent medical. I'm ashamed to say since DH's huge pay cut, the state put us on it's insurance program, and that's the only reason I am able to do things like take my kiddo to Urgent Care when she has meningitis symptoms. (Was just the flu, Thank the Maker)
I don't have dental though, and I'm genetically pre disposed to weak teeth... I've started going to sleep at night with number on my gum and broken filling so the slight nagging pain in my bad tooth doesn't keep me from getting my sleep.
Hopefully I can get treated at the dental school soon.
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
| lisalisa |
Posted - Feb 01 2012 : 09:12:22 AM
I wouldn't say I'm crazy about it, but we pay for our own health insurance (family-package) which is expensive! However, I have a pre-existing health issue which needs injectable medication. Co-pay is $40 (whew!), if we didn't have insurance, it would be $4,276.99 per month (I just read it off the receipt to be exact!). So, boy am I glad we have something! |
| magnoliakathy |
Posted - Feb 01 2012 : 06:17:36 AM
Yes, it is awful, hubby had a stress test yesterday, $326, an echocardiogram a week ago $50, office visits $30 times two, plus he is seeing a hemotologist every 5 Fridays for iron supplement IV, $30 every time he walks in the door. So, January cost us as much out of pocket as the insurance premium. As bad as it is, I can't even fatham what it would be to not have insurance.
When you free your mind your heart can fly. Farmgirl # 714, |
| FieldsofThyme |
Posted - Feb 01 2012 : 06:17:14 AM
For us, in order to even get the lowest rate, both dh and I must participate in an on-line program each year. First we have to take a survey about our health, then we must choose a program every 4-6 weeks and complete it, for points. We are to each earn a set amount of points by the end of the year, or we don't get the benefits. And even with those, we pay high prices.
Farmgirl #800
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| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Feb 01 2012 : 06:07:25 AM
Try paying $500 a month for a husband and child, then having a $6,000 deductible. We just simply don't go to doctors--how's THAT for preventative medicine? Sure, I do my annual exam at the gyn, and luckily, I ask him to do all my bloodwork and standard testing, but of course, the appointment then gets coded as a visit and I have to pay an extra $185 out of pocket because the annual exam went into something else.
Healthcare overhaul should be our first priority in this country--especially when even with insurance, you can't afford medicines or healthcare.
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
| Farmtopia |
Posted - Jan 31 2012 : 9:32:43 PM
This is really a problem with insurance companies. When the heck did they get to take over?? I finally booted my old insurance when they refused to pay a number of tests I did at my last exam--so much so that it ended costing me as much as I paid for the INSURANCE that year! Sheesh!
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
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| goneriding |
Posted - Jan 31 2012 : 7:14:30 PM
Well, from what I understand, it's gonna get tougher! Now, I have a harder time with insurance since....*the event* (I know I'm not supposed to get political on here, so will leave it at that). Used to be, it was a breeze and now a lot more out of pocket.
Sorry to hear of your troubles. Maybe look more into natural medicines...??
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| Bear5 |
Posted - Jan 31 2012 : 6:51:30 PM
Just downright sad!!!!! Sorry you have to go through something like this in the good old USA.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| knittingmom |
Posted - Jan 31 2012 : 6:03:23 PM
I'm so sorry to hear that, you shouldn't have to worry about basic medical needs and fight with your HMO's all the time (that's what your insurance carriers are called right?).
Farmgirl Sister #3759
"There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world"
"The things that matter most are not really things after all" |
| prariehawk |
Posted - Jan 31 2012 : 5:56:25 PM
Rachel--my dr. had given me free samples in the past but he said they're hard to get now. I've been drinking elderberry juice, which seems to help as much as any med. It's just frustrating being off from work, plus it puts my job in danger cause they don't like it when I get sick. I guess all I can do is wait until I get better.
Cindy
"Vast floods can't quench love, no matter what love did/ Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid"--Sinead O'Connor
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
| oldbittyhen |
Posted - Jan 31 2012 : 5:45:16 PM
We call it "Deathcare", cause they are hoping you die before they have to dish out money on you, and most insurence companys are run by NON_MEDICAL personal, not Dr's and RN's...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
| rksmith |
Posted - Jan 31 2012 : 5:36:10 PM
Your MDs office doesn't have samples? Yes it is beyond ridiculous at what we call "healthcare".
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
True enlightenment is nothing but the nature of one's own self being fully realised-- His Holiness the Dali Lama
http://madame1313.wordpress.com/ |
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