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Here's to Your Health:  insurance indeed!  |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
 Posted - May 14 2009 : 11:14:25 AM
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As s state employee, our benefits have been altered throughout the years.
Our eye plan is about to be terminated due to the state having to severely cut back on its budget.
So this a.m. I went and had an exam and wanted to include new contact lenses. (Once you have the exam, you can buy lenses via computer up to a year I think---its way cheaper.) I also ordered glasses and of course new lenses for those too.
Total bill was 600.00!!! I just about fell over.
And it didn't help that my eyes were so dialated that I couldn't see at all! Now I know how the owl feels
So is this rate better than nothing at all???
I feel for those who have no insurance.
If the bad economy keeps up, we may not have much either.
Sorry, I'm just reeling from shell shock.
I'll order via internet in a few months and leave it at that for a GOOD long while.
Thank goodness most doctors allow payment installments.
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Marybeth
True Blue Farmgirl
6418 Posts
Mary Beth
Stanwood
Wa 98292
USA
6418 Posts |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 08:40:34 AM
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After yesterdays episode I shouldn't need anyting else for a good long while.
Being able to order more contacts online will also help. It's good to have backups in case they flip out or get lost and you need a replacement fast
It kind of makes me suspicious when the doctor says hard (gas perm) contacts need to be replaced about every other year.
I had one pair for the longest time like for 8 years! They got a little scratched, but the dr. was able to "buff" them out.
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JudyBlueEyes
True Blue Farmgirl
657 Posts
Judith
Spokane
Washington
USA
657 Posts |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 09:20:58 AM
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If you can go to Costco, I had an eye exam and got a pair of glasses, frames & lens, for under $200.
We come from the earth, we go back to the earth, and in between, we garden! |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1403 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1403 Posts |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 09:35:08 AM
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Wait until you get on Medicare. It is almost like no insurance. Some doctors in my area won't even look at you. I feel like a second-class citizen. And my secondary insurance has a ceiling.
Betty in Pasco |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4738 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4738 Posts |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 8:17:20 PM
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My husband works at a national lab. I found it was cheaper not to use the doctors who take our eye insurance and go to a chain place, "For Eyes" instead. Both my husband and I wear glasses. I also wear contacts. I've been very happy with "For Eyes". The last time I went to a regular eye doctor, they got my glasses prescription wrong and charged me a fortune after my so called insurance discount.
Dawn in IL |
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Mother Hen
True Blue Farmgirl
604 Posts
Cindy
Peck
ID
USA
604 Posts |
Posted - May 15 2009 : 11:38:57 PM
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We have NO INSURANCE either, we get our eye exams at Costco and our glasses and even my contacts there, pretty in expensive.
For the dentist, I had to have a bunch of work done and a partial the bill would have been over $2000.00 but we traded hay for the work since he has horses. Whew! Good thing we can barter, now if Costco would only buy animals or our range fed beef we'd be all set.
Cindy
FARMGIRLS CAN DO ANYTHING!!!
I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalms 34:1 |
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Miss2Missus
True Blue Farmgirl
407 Posts
Karen
Asheville
NC
USA
407 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2009 : 3:51:51 PM
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I'm actually stuck in a job and worried about transferring to another state right now mainly because of my insurance. i don't have the best but i have better than none. even then it sucks.
Karen ^_^
http://apple-and-eve.blogspot.com/ |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - May 22 2009 : 12:25:44 PM
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Should have gone to Costco then.
More and more i'm happy to have a membership there
Here;s another tiny tirade....
Last Saturday i got a pretty bad migraine. Took a pill and felt pretty ok most of the day. This was my last pill in a prescription that was a year old. All last year there wasn't much trouble and I didn't get as many headahces so I was able to kind of stockpile the medication and put off seeing the dr.
Sunday morning I made an emergency trip to the local Urgent Care b/c the pain was too bad and I couldn't go home from work for the day.
It made me very happy when that dr. was able to prescribe my meds. Even better was his empathy toward us migraine sufferers and the insurance companies not releasing enough good drug at one time to end our pain.
Usually theb RX only releases 6 tablets at a time. THIS good dr. gave me an RX for the entire box. YEA! So this and one other box by the end of the year ought to get me through.
All this to say again what a racket this insurance stuff is sometimes! |
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Old Spirit
True Blue Farmgirl
1498 Posts
Rae
MN
1498 Posts |
Posted - May 31 2009 : 06:31:32 AM
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Or how about you have some insurance and they run an ad buy one get one free but you can't because..... what a crock. I hadn't gone for 4 years cause ins. only pays so much and didn't have the $$, luckily my eyes had not changed.
Rae
...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles:...
Isaiah 40:31 |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2009 : 8:23:56 PM
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My hubby just told me our insurance is going up, dental and medical. We have no vision insc. When I got glasses a few years ago with the exam and glasses it was about $300 and I had to wait several months to get them to save up more money. By that time I needed new glasses. But I just got cheap reading glasses for now. I keep telling hubby to take the insc. off for me but he won't. I guess it's a good thing.
When mu hubby went to his diabetes doctor and had to be put on insulin for awhile, the nurse gave him a whole box of the syringes and a month of the insulin! I alway ask for samples when I go. I had to go to an allergy clinic a few years back and the eye drops they prescribed were $50 for the smallest bottle I have ever seen. So every time I went they'd give me some samples. They have plenty and that's what they're for.
We have to have insc. because my hubby has so many things he has problems with. It does help.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2009 : 03:36:57 AM
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And every bit does help.
I just wish it wasn't such a shock.
We also have dental, and thank goodness we get to keep that.
We go evey 6 months like clockwork. Pity hubby has that peridontal disease. Thanks to great genetics, I don't have cavaties, so my portion of the bil us pretty small mpst of the time. They try and get it out of me with x-rays, so most of the time I decline. |
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Contrary Wife
True Blue Farmgirl
2164 Posts
Teresa Sue
Tekoa
WA
USA
2164 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2009 : 06:39:19 AM
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I think insurance is basically a government endorsed ripoff. I would sure like to know what members of our government have "interests" in the insurance business. When I was having a lot of medical stuff going on we got a letter from our insurance company wanting to know if we had any other insurance. Really made me mad. What difference does it make if I have other insurance, I've paid my premiums to them, and I don't ask them if they have any other customers sending them money. Also when they come and talk to you twice a year trying to sell more insurance to you, it's amazing what they tell you, that in reality they have ways to get around not paying when they say they will. Disgusts me.
Teresa Sue
Farmgirl Sister #316
Planting Zone 4
"Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly." The Dalai Lama |
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Old Spirit
True Blue Farmgirl
1498 Posts
Rae
MN
1498 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2009 : 06:49:36 AM
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Something really needs to be done. I think it is rough for me my poor folks really have a time. They carry a supplement and that really takes a big hit on their $$$ THey paid their dues and should have insurance free if you ask me.
Rae
...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles:...
Isaiah 40:31 |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2009 : 03:22:49 AM
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I agree!
Anybody past 60 has certainly paid their dues! |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2009 : 8:00:31 PM
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How sad to read all of this. I agree with it all. Why are there doctors? My goal is to stay healthy so I never have to go to a doctor and get sicker looking at the bill. Shameful. I need to see an eye doctor, but I'll wait another year.
Thanks for the post.
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 |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jun 15 2009 : 03:41:19 AM
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I'm still making payments on the glasses, and had best hurry if our insurance is dropped by July.
Thankfully I'm mostly healthy too.
What a racket |
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SpiritedRose
Farmgirl in Training
22 Posts
Michelle
Chestertown
MD
USA
22 Posts |
Posted - Jun 17 2009 : 07:59:46 AM
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My husband will be getting SS payments starting this winter.... It won't even cover his monthly insurance bill!!
BUT, he has to have a pharmacy item each month, and they pay 80%, so that does save us about $100/mo. :)
Cheesemaker with a supportive husband,
Registered Jersey breeder, AKC Akita breeder, and friend of two favorite cats!
spiritedrose.wordpress.com |
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Amy Warwick
True Blue Farmgirl
102 Posts
Amy
Oakesdale
WA
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - Aug 15 2009 : 07:21:25 AM
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As for eyes, we take our son to America's Best for his glasses. Not sure if you have that where you are or not, but he gets 2 pairs of glasses for $78. And, they are the same brand name glasses that he got for $250 at his other eye glass place. Right now they have a sale going on. 2 pr. for $69, or something like that. Great customer service and they even followed up with us later to see how he was doing!
Amy
For information on SUMMER SNOW please visit www.amywarwick.com
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it ~Aristotle
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Aug 15 2009 : 4:34:22 PM
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Insurance, in my opinion, is THE major rip-off of all time. I fell in the yard some 15 years ago, and was in bed because my back was hurting super bad. I cannot get insurance without paying out of the >>>>>>> because they say that I have back problems. Screw them!
Sorry girls.
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 |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - Aug 15 2009 : 6:36:11 PM
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Amy I really liked America's Eyeglass company you are speaking of. I got my one and only pair of contacts there, and like another person already stated about having her's for 8 years (hard/gas permeable) mine from them even came with a 10 year warranty! And they did the "buffing"/polishing for free, every time I came in! I just had to bring in my card stating when I had purchased them, as they would do it free for up to 10 years! I think I got the best eye exam I ever had from them as well. And they gave classes on how to wear and put and take out contacts before sending you home with them. They were great.
As for insurance, my husband and I were just bad mouthing ours the other day. Here in NYC if you are on medicaid you can choose between two insurance companies your medicaid would come through, one is GHI, and the other is HIP. Both these insurances people can get through work, or pay privately for as well. Well, my husband gets us HIP through his job with NYC transit. I am currently pregnant, so I called up the other day to see if they would pay for me to go to birthing classes, as I had heard they do now. (They didn't when I was preg with my daughter). Well, took the woman about 20 minutes, but she comes back and says no I don't qualify for the birthing classes, because I have the commericial HIP (IE my husband pays for it through his job!), if we were on medicaid HIP I could get it.
Don't get me wrong, I feel strongly that every one should be insured, and get medical care no matter what their financial situation. But, it still burned my buns, that because we are married, and not just living together, and not pretending to the gov. to not be together (like many people I know personally who are on medicaid because of such), that I can not get the birthing classes, but they can! Grrrrr.
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
Edited by - MagnoliaWhisper on Aug 15 2009 6:37:44 PM |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - Aug 15 2009 : 9:00:09 PM
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PS I wanted to clarify, I know not every one on medicaid lie to get on it. In fact, I know most people do not. And I myself was on it as a child. I just also know personal cousins of mine who are lieing to get on it, and they are getting free birthing classes, and because I am honest, I can't get it. And am on my husband's insurance, and won't get birthing classes for free. That was the part that burns me. I think since they are getting it for free, and my husband is having to pay for the same insurance, we should at least get equal benefits.
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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Old Spirit
True Blue Farmgirl
1498 Posts
Rae
MN
1498 Posts |
Posted - Aug 16 2009 : 04:59:55 AM
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Heather it is frustrating when people do lie though as I have seen it here as well. ALso for the subsidized housing, it isn't right. You are going to continue to have kids make a commitment. Ooops sorry I hope I don't start off something bad here but just my thoughts.
Rae
Farm Girl #647
...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles:...
Isaiah 40:31
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Caron
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
Caron
Orange
Texas
USA
535 Posts |
Posted - Aug 16 2009 : 07:47:46 AM
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Because my husband was laid off, and with that our insurance ended, it made it so expensive to get my high blood pressure medications. Right now, I'm grateful my nurse-practitioner lets me come up to the office and she gives me some of the free samples of my medicine the pharma company gives to her. I'm really thankful for that!
Caron
"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation".
Farmgirl #254
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - Aug 16 2009 : 08:16:30 AM
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Exactly Rae. I live in subsidized housing and we pay a fine for making too much money to live here. When we first moved in, we were in the correct income bracket, and because my husband gets over time sometimes (not always!) they go based on the most amount of over time he "could" have, doesn't mean he gets it! And then we have to pay a fine. While there is others here that I know from the cars they drive, the clothes they wear (all name brand and spanking new, were my husband and I wear thrift store clothing!), etc, that they have got to be lying on their paperwork. There's just no other way to explain it. Cause they are always shocked we pay a fine....and they don't. And frankly I am too. In fact my husband knows for a fact some make more then him, because they work together and they are his bosses! And my husband is the only one with a job in our family-I am a SAHM, and with these other people they have their wives working too. So we don't get it. If we lied we would be caught! lol hahaha
Oh Caron, how nice! That's wonderful. However, the pharma companies have really cut back in samples the last few years. The FDA is coming down hard on samples, and really the pharma companies giving anything for free to drs. If you ever have problems with medications in the future and can't get samples. Almost all companies have a certain amount of patients they will give the medication for free to based on income and drs filling out paper work. A good dr will be more then happy to fill out the paperwork for you. Mostly this is for name brand drugs, usually the dr has to say that you wouldn't do well on the generic. (even though generic can even be astronomical in price!) and fill the paper work out once a year for you to continue to get it. Then the company sends the meds directly to your home in the mail for free.
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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Here's to Your Health: insurance indeed! |
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insurance indeed!
