Monday, August 1, 2016
I mentioned that my medical insurance folks try to be very helpful, but next to nobody accepts my insurance. They often send me emails or call me to urge annual checkups and mammograms and the like, and even offer incentives - like after I saw the doctor last month, I discovered a $25 gift certificate in my Amazon account, from them, for having a checkup.
So, anyway, after the past two months of medical excitement, last week something rather weird happened. I had just left the surgeon after the followup visit, was in a store looking for something to drink and munch on, and my phone rang. It was deep in my purse and I had to dig it out, and I assumed it was Daughter calling for a report, so I answered it without looking.
It was my insurance company.
The very young-sounding lady on the phone had called to urge me to get my annual checkup and mammogram, and embarked on an obviously scripted explanation of why it was so important.
I exploded. I'm afraid I was not very gracious. Probably a lot of released tension. I interrupted her and informed her that I'd had a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound six weeks ago, had been diagnosed with breast cancer, had a slew of pre-op testing, had surgery just the week before, and had left my surgeon's office minutes ago, and I'm shocked that she didn't already know that!
This was off script, and the poor girl didn't know how to handle it.
Maybe I should feel bad, but I don't.
.
Showing posts with label medical insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medical insurance. Show all posts
Monday, August 01, 2016
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
5073 Costs of medical care
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
"Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired."
-- Robert Frost --
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I read a NY Times article this morning about the high cost of maternity care and delivery in the US. When Daughter was born 41 years ago, the bill wasn't so terribly high, but I do remember that when I requested an itemized bill, the hospital objected at first, then finally gave in, and I was shocked to find that we were charged for things that we never got. I'd had no medication whatsoever, not even aspirin, and yet we (well, the insurance co.) were billed for all kinds of stuff. I noticed, for example, that we were billed some ridiculous amount for Daughter's blood typing, so I called the hospital and asked what her blood type was. They hemmed and hawed, and finally admitted it had never been done. Buncha stuff like that.
I informed the insurance company of all the bogus charges. I don't know what happened after that. It was like they had a standard list of usual procedures, and just charged for all of it, whether we got it or not.
So, I wondered what the breast business might end up costing. My insurance dealy has me pay 20% for just about everything up to a certain out-of-pocket limit, so I figured out what this has likely cost so far - just through the diagnostic part.
So far, I've had
- a diagnostic mammogram (how is that different from the standard mammo, BTW?)
- ultrasound
- ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy
- fine needle aspiration of a cyst
- MRI of breasts
- associated lab work and technical stuff for the above.
So far, I've paid a bit over $500 to the breast center. If that's 20%, then so far it has cost over $2,500, and we haven't even got to the fancy parts yet. I don't know if I should expect a separate bill from radiologists, but according to everyone I've spoken to so far, no, they are employees of the center, so do not bill separately. The only ones who bill separately are apparently the anesthesiologists. (Incidentally, I did the math wrong first time through, and came up with $10,000 instead of $2,500. Oops. Not so terrible after all....)
Jay's brain cancer was intense, a lot of stuff done, many MRIs, three craniotomies, five different chemotherapies, immune system therapy, several weeks of daily radiation, steriotactic radiosurgery, many stays in hospitals and specialized care centers, many specialists, many expensive maintenance drugs, and yet between late 1998 and the end of 2001 the grand total was less than $300,000.
Wow. I think costs have increased a bit .... especially distressing given that insurance now covers a lot less of the total.
.
I informed the insurance company of all the bogus charges. I don't know what happened after that. It was like they had a standard list of usual procedures, and just charged for all of it, whether we got it or not.
So, I wondered what the breast business might end up costing. My insurance dealy has me pay 20% for just about everything up to a certain out-of-pocket limit, so I figured out what this has likely cost so far - just through the diagnostic part.
So far, I've had
- a diagnostic mammogram (how is that different from the standard mammo, BTW?)
- ultrasound
- ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy
- fine needle aspiration of a cyst
- MRI of breasts
- associated lab work and technical stuff for the above.
So far, I've paid a bit over $500 to the breast center. If that's 20%, then so far it has cost over $2,500, and we haven't even got to the fancy parts yet. I don't know if I should expect a separate bill from radiologists, but according to everyone I've spoken to so far, no, they are employees of the center, so do not bill separately. The only ones who bill separately are apparently the anesthesiologists. (Incidentally, I did the math wrong first time through, and came up with $10,000 instead of $2,500. Oops. Not so terrible after all....)
Jay's brain cancer was intense, a lot of stuff done, many MRIs, three craniotomies, five different chemotherapies, immune system therapy, several weeks of daily radiation, steriotactic radiosurgery, many stays in hospitals and specialized care centers, many specialists, many expensive maintenance drugs, and yet between late 1998 and the end of 2001 the grand total was less than $300,000.
Wow. I think costs have increased a bit .... especially distressing given that insurance now covers a lot less of the total.
.
Monday, July 06, 2015
4064 Medical insurance, care
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Want to know if your medical insurance is good? Don't bother reading online reviews. Spend a few days in the hospital, especially over the weekend.
When I was hospitalized with pneumonia after Hurricane Sandy, I had doctors coming out of the woodwork, at the rate of about 5 a day. Lung doctors. Kidney doctors. Heart doctors. Infectious medicine specialists. Whatever. I didn't know who most of them were, or why they were there. Some didn't do a damn thing, just asked me how I was feeling, and left. Sometimes my "vitals" were taken by four different doctors (not nurses - although they did it too) every day. Of course every single one of them submitted a bill. Also, all kinds of tests and scans were being scheduled - most of which I refused because I saw no reason for them.
The woman in the other bed lived in a badly-maintained low income senior project, and I think she had just medicaid. The doctor who had admitted her never even stopped by, even though she kept asking for him. She was given no tests and no medicine. Every time a nurse came in she told the nurse she still had a lot of pain in her leg, and the nurse said she'd tell the doctor, but the woman was released (pretty much kicked out) before I was, and STILL had not been seen by a doctor. Not one. She didn't even have a diagnosis, and she still had the pain. She cried as she was leaving.
I suspect my insurance and credit rating were much better than hers.
Disgusting.
What brought this up was an online comment I just read. People in other countries do not understand why anyone would be against the ACA. A Canadian wrote that he noticed a big difference between medical care in the US, and in Canada (where it's all free). In Canada the first thing a doctor will ask you is what is the problem, where does it hurt. In the US, the first thing you are asked is whether you can afford the doctor's services, what insurance you have, and you might hear "Oh, oops, I don't accept that insurance, goodbye."
Disgusting.
--------------------------------------------------
Back when Jay was in the hospital so much, I kept pretty tight control of doctors wandering in. I'd ask them who, why, what they plan to do for him, and most of them kind of sputtered and said they'd been looking at Jay's records and thought it was an interesting case, so thought they'd stop by and say hello. And then they'd leave, and they didn't submit bills. After the first day, I guess the word got around that Jay wasn't a free lunch, and we didn't get drop-ins other than his own known doctors.
I kick myself for not managing my own hospital stay as well, but it's different when you're the one in the bed, I guess. I need to get over being so compliant.
.
It takes 42 muscles to
frown, and only 4 to reach out and smack you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
When I was hospitalized with pneumonia after Hurricane Sandy, I had doctors coming out of the woodwork, at the rate of about 5 a day. Lung doctors. Kidney doctors. Heart doctors. Infectious medicine specialists. Whatever. I didn't know who most of them were, or why they were there. Some didn't do a damn thing, just asked me how I was feeling, and left. Sometimes my "vitals" were taken by four different doctors (not nurses - although they did it too) every day. Of course every single one of them submitted a bill. Also, all kinds of tests and scans were being scheduled - most of which I refused because I saw no reason for them.
The woman in the other bed lived in a badly-maintained low income senior project, and I think she had just medicaid. The doctor who had admitted her never even stopped by, even though she kept asking for him. She was given no tests and no medicine. Every time a nurse came in she told the nurse she still had a lot of pain in her leg, and the nurse said she'd tell the doctor, but the woman was released (pretty much kicked out) before I was, and STILL had not been seen by a doctor. Not one. She didn't even have a diagnosis, and she still had the pain. She cried as she was leaving.
I suspect my insurance and credit rating were much better than hers.
Disgusting.
What brought this up was an online comment I just read. People in other countries do not understand why anyone would be against the ACA. A Canadian wrote that he noticed a big difference between medical care in the US, and in Canada (where it's all free). In Canada the first thing a doctor will ask you is what is the problem, where does it hurt. In the US, the first thing you are asked is whether you can afford the doctor's services, what insurance you have, and you might hear "Oh, oops, I don't accept that insurance, goodbye."
Disgusting.
--------------------------------------------------
Back when Jay was in the hospital so much, I kept pretty tight control of doctors wandering in. I'd ask them who, why, what they plan to do for him, and most of them kind of sputtered and said they'd been looking at Jay's records and thought it was an interesting case, so thought they'd stop by and say hello. And then they'd leave, and they didn't submit bills. After the first day, I guess the word got around that Jay wasn't a free lunch, and we didn't get drop-ins other than his own known doctors.
I kick myself for not managing my own hospital stay as well, but it's different when you're the one in the bed, I guess. I need to get over being so compliant.
.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
3810 Estate sale
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Well, I have medical insurance for 2014. I suspect I'm not going to be happy with it, but, we'll see. The cost is low, but it's a Medicare Advantage plan, and it's an HMO. I always swore I'd never go into an HMO, but there it is. The only plan of any type that I was eligible for that allowed me to choose my own doctors was extremely costly. So. At least that's done.
-----------------------------------
The country house is under storm alert this weekend. 10" of snow and then sleet. Since the house is higher up, I suppose there will be at least 12" of snow. We always got about 20% more than lower down. Or more. Temps in the low 20s. I am worried about losing power there. Sigh. Another week I won't be going north.
------------------------------------
I got an email a few days ago from my old auctioneer, George, saying he was going to be on a show on the Travel Channel, so I watched it. It was another of those stupid shows that seem to be so popular recently --- you know, where we follow some "experts" while they buy unseen storage facility contents, or race through antique centers looking for bargains, or poke around mountains looking for gold.
This time, we had three "expert bidders" at George's auction. It was very obvious the whole thing was staged. He had a full room of bidders, but no one else bid on any of the boxes that were obviously solely for these "experts" to battle over.
It was so stupid. THEY were so stupid. They were bidding on unopened boxes and bags, no idea what was in them. Number one, George never sells unopened stuff. Number two, these "experts" didn't do their research. One idiot kept saying "There's lots of mansions in [this village]. Huge estates. This is an estate auction so these boxes are coming from the attics and basements of these wealthy mansions. You KNOW it has to be good stuff!"
First of all, the statement that there are lots of mansions in [the village]. Yeah, that general wider area is full of mansions, yeah, but most of them are run as tourist destinations by the national park service, like the Vanderbilt, Astor, and Roosevelt places, and a few other piles of marble with names and history. There are a few private mansions around, but these days almost all of them are empty, like the place where Chelsea Clinton's wedding reception was held. (It's for sale and the owner volunteered it hoping for free advertising.) So, there's no good stuff coming from mansion attics! Do your research, you fool!
Second, the "expert" doesn't even know what an estate auction is!
"Estate" in this sense doesn't mean mansions and land, anyway. It means somebody's Aunt Sally died and left all her worldly goods to somebody who is now selling off the excess. "Estate" in the sense of the disposals of a legal will. Sheesh. And these folks are "experts"?
(Sometimes George does sell items from a mansion, but when he does, he tells you where it came from, "Sale of the Contents of Blah Blah Mansion", and the auction is exclusively those items. In 10 years, I've seen only two of those auctions - one being Larry (Hustler) Flynt's place. Usually George's estate sale stuff is bits from hither and yon all over the northeast.)
Third, one of the "experts" attempted to figure out what was in a locked duffel bag by SITTING ON IT! Well, there goes that Faberge egg, eh! How stupid is that. The other guy was shaking boxes violently. Duh.
It got to where I was yelling at the TV.
I will never watch any of those things again. Bleck. I will not miss cable.
.
Well, I have medical insurance for 2014. I suspect I'm not going to be happy with it, but, we'll see. The cost is low, but it's a Medicare Advantage plan, and it's an HMO. I always swore I'd never go into an HMO, but there it is. The only plan of any type that I was eligible for that allowed me to choose my own doctors was extremely costly. So. At least that's done.
-----------------------------------
The country house is under storm alert this weekend. 10" of snow and then sleet. Since the house is higher up, I suppose there will be at least 12" of snow. We always got about 20% more than lower down. Or more. Temps in the low 20s. I am worried about losing power there. Sigh. Another week I won't be going north.
------------------------------------
I got an email a few days ago from my old auctioneer, George, saying he was going to be on a show on the Travel Channel, so I watched it. It was another of those stupid shows that seem to be so popular recently --- you know, where we follow some "experts" while they buy unseen storage facility contents, or race through antique centers looking for bargains, or poke around mountains looking for gold.
This time, we had three "expert bidders" at George's auction. It was very obvious the whole thing was staged. He had a full room of bidders, but no one else bid on any of the boxes that were obviously solely for these "experts" to battle over.
It was so stupid. THEY were so stupid. They were bidding on unopened boxes and bags, no idea what was in them. Number one, George never sells unopened stuff. Number two, these "experts" didn't do their research. One idiot kept saying "There's lots of mansions in [this village]. Huge estates. This is an estate auction so these boxes are coming from the attics and basements of these wealthy mansions. You KNOW it has to be good stuff!"
First of all, the statement that there are lots of mansions in [the village]. Yeah, that general wider area is full of mansions, yeah, but most of them are run as tourist destinations by the national park service, like the Vanderbilt, Astor, and Roosevelt places, and a few other piles of marble with names and history. There are a few private mansions around, but these days almost all of them are empty, like the place where Chelsea Clinton's wedding reception was held. (It's for sale and the owner volunteered it hoping for free advertising.) So, there's no good stuff coming from mansion attics! Do your research, you fool!
Second, the "expert" doesn't even know what an estate auction is!
"Estate" in this sense doesn't mean mansions and land, anyway. It means somebody's Aunt Sally died and left all her worldly goods to somebody who is now selling off the excess. "Estate" in the sense of the disposals of a legal will. Sheesh. And these folks are "experts"?
(Sometimes George does sell items from a mansion, but when he does, he tells you where it came from, "Sale of the Contents of Blah Blah Mansion", and the auction is exclusively those items. In 10 years, I've seen only two of those auctions - one being Larry (Hustler) Flynt's place. Usually George's estate sale stuff is bits from hither and yon all over the northeast.)
Third, one of the "experts" attempted to figure out what was in a locked duffel bag by SITTING ON IT! Well, there goes that Faberge egg, eh! How stupid is that. The other guy was shaking boxes violently. Duh.
It got to where I was yelling at the TV.
I will never watch any of those things again. Bleck. I will not miss cable.
.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
3808 Maybe I can see Jasper's vet? He makes house calls....
Thursday, December 12, 2013
A week, already? Egads!
I didn't go north last week. I didn't get everything finished that I had to do before I left, and, in fact, I'm not finished YET.
I really screwed some stuff up. For the past 19 years, along about October, I'd get the package from IBM about the medical insurance coverage for the next year. Choices/changes had to be made by the end of December (earlier, if you wanted the new medical cards by January 1). If there was nothing you wanted to change, you did nothing, and you got the same coverage continued. For 19 years, IBM taught me that the package could be safely ignored.
So I ignored it.
I should have known better. IBM is (surprise) no longer offering the group packages. They have seized the opportunity to dump all the retirees and "allow" us to get individual coverage through an exchange. After all these years of experience with IBM, why am I surprised? I should have expected that.
They are being so gracious about it, they have contracted with a company to discuss our needs with us, and help us choose what works best for us. In other words, they hired people to navigate the government website for us.
So I freaked out last week and started studying the materials. I will still have Medicare, of course, but I still will need a medical supplement, and something for prescriptions, and of course I don't know what I'll do for dental and vision. (Oddly enough, dental and vision insurance coverage is the ONLY advertising junk mail that hasn't been arriving.) And if I don't have the prescription thing nailed down by 12/31 and then find out I have to go with Medicare part D, I will have to pay a penalty for the rest of my life.
So, I read all the materials and went to the recommended we-will-help-you website and tried to set up my profile. Yeah, sure. It wouldn't accept it because "You must provide a number greater than 0" --- but I had filled in every space, and all numbers were greater than 0, and the site wouldn't tell me where I went wrong. Nothing was flagged. I tried everything, including starting over from scratch, and after four hours I gave up.
So I called the we-will-help-you folks, the option for people without computer access. There was only an hour and a half wait. The woman asked me if I had my Medicare card in hand. Well, I said no (I can be stupidly honest. I can't find it, haven't seen it since my hospital stay last January), but I have all the information from the card. She informed me she couldn't help me until I had the actual card, and, in effect, hung up on me.
I called Social Security and asked for a replacement card, was told ok, we'll mail it, but it will take 4 to 6 weeks to arrive! No, they can't expedite it. Yes, if I don't sign up for Part D by 12/31 and it turns out I need it, I will pay the penalty rate every year for the rest of my life.
I freaked out. Then I remembered that my doctor's office had made a copy of my Medicare card, so I called there, and I now have a copy. Not the original, but I'm not going to tell anybody that. Turns out Medicare had screwed up my name slightly on the card, and if I don't use the exact same name nobody can accept it, and I had naively thought they'd used my real name. (I'm beginning to hate the world.)
So tomorrow, I call again, and try again.
--------------------------------------------
In the meantime, cash flow is a problem. I'm waiting for a large check from my investments, but my car insurance and the insurance on the country house were due, so I went to their websites and put those payments on a credit card.
I have only two credit cards, by choice. Also by choice, one of them has a very high limit, and the other has a very low limit, also by choice. I use the low limit card for all low-trust online business and anytime anyone wants to walk away with it so that if anyone "steals" it, they can't get much.
Yup. I screwed up. I used the low limit card for both, and together they are going to blow the limit, so ONE of them will "bounce", but I don't know which.
I spent several hours today on calls to the insurance companies, the credit card company (I had them transfer cash from one of my checking accounts to the credit card, THEN found out that will take 4 to 6 days!) So I tried to have the limit raised, but was told I had to go to the issuing bank to have that done. So, I call the issuing bank. They need to send me an application to raise the limit, which I have to have notarized and send back. (I call B.S. on that! They used to send me letters telling me they'd raised my limit, isn't that wonderful, and then I'd have to call them and say no, I WANT to keep that low.) That's not going to help.
So, one of my insurance policies is in jeopardy, and I don't know which. I guess when I get the cancellation letter, I'll just call and switch it to the other credit card.
-----------------------------------
On top of all that.............................................
Blah.
Let's just say I've been running flat out for more than a week, I'm tired, I still have to get the van inspected, there's four inches of snow out there, the van is covered in ice, the BMW has ANOTHER tire losing air, and we can expect below freezing temperatures (way below average for this time of the year) for the foreseeable future. I haven't made it to the country house yet, so I haven't put antifreeze in the toilets and drains yet (I think I did at least leave the water turned off after the last visit), so if the house loses power, well, I don't want to think about it. Especially if it's that insurance that might get temporarily cancelled.
I am way way behind on correspondence.
I think I'll go to bed now.
.
A week, already? Egads!
I didn't go north last week. I didn't get everything finished that I had to do before I left, and, in fact, I'm not finished YET.
I really screwed some stuff up. For the past 19 years, along about October, I'd get the package from IBM about the medical insurance coverage for the next year. Choices/changes had to be made by the end of December (earlier, if you wanted the new medical cards by January 1). If there was nothing you wanted to change, you did nothing, and you got the same coverage continued. For 19 years, IBM taught me that the package could be safely ignored.
So I ignored it.
I should have known better. IBM is (surprise) no longer offering the group packages. They have seized the opportunity to dump all the retirees and "allow" us to get individual coverage through an exchange. After all these years of experience with IBM, why am I surprised? I should have expected that.
They are being so gracious about it, they have contracted with a company to discuss our needs with us, and help us choose what works best for us. In other words, they hired people to navigate the government website for us.
So I freaked out last week and started studying the materials. I will still have Medicare, of course, but I still will need a medical supplement, and something for prescriptions, and of course I don't know what I'll do for dental and vision. (Oddly enough, dental and vision insurance coverage is the ONLY advertising junk mail that hasn't been arriving.) And if I don't have the prescription thing nailed down by 12/31 and then find out I have to go with Medicare part D, I will have to pay a penalty for the rest of my life.
So, I read all the materials and went to the recommended we-will-help-you website and tried to set up my profile. Yeah, sure. It wouldn't accept it because "You must provide a number greater than 0" --- but I had filled in every space, and all numbers were greater than 0, and the site wouldn't tell me where I went wrong. Nothing was flagged. I tried everything, including starting over from scratch, and after four hours I gave up.
So I called the we-will-help-you folks, the option for people without computer access. There was only an hour and a half wait. The woman asked me if I had my Medicare card in hand. Well, I said no (I can be stupidly honest. I can't find it, haven't seen it since my hospital stay last January), but I have all the information from the card. She informed me she couldn't help me until I had the actual card, and, in effect, hung up on me.
I called Social Security and asked for a replacement card, was told ok, we'll mail it, but it will take 4 to 6 weeks to arrive! No, they can't expedite it. Yes, if I don't sign up for Part D by 12/31 and it turns out I need it, I will pay the penalty rate every year for the rest of my life.
I freaked out. Then I remembered that my doctor's office had made a copy of my Medicare card, so I called there, and I now have a copy. Not the original, but I'm not going to tell anybody that. Turns out Medicare had screwed up my name slightly on the card, and if I don't use the exact same name nobody can accept it, and I had naively thought they'd used my real name. (I'm beginning to hate the world.)
So tomorrow, I call again, and try again.
--------------------------------------------
In the meantime, cash flow is a problem. I'm waiting for a large check from my investments, but my car insurance and the insurance on the country house were due, so I went to their websites and put those payments on a credit card.
I have only two credit cards, by choice. Also by choice, one of them has a very high limit, and the other has a very low limit, also by choice. I use the low limit card for all low-trust online business and anytime anyone wants to walk away with it so that if anyone "steals" it, they can't get much.
Yup. I screwed up. I used the low limit card for both, and together they are going to blow the limit, so ONE of them will "bounce", but I don't know which.
I spent several hours today on calls to the insurance companies, the credit card company (I had them transfer cash from one of my checking accounts to the credit card, THEN found out that will take 4 to 6 days!) So I tried to have the limit raised, but was told I had to go to the issuing bank to have that done. So, I call the issuing bank. They need to send me an application to raise the limit, which I have to have notarized and send back. (I call B.S. on that! They used to send me letters telling me they'd raised my limit, isn't that wonderful, and then I'd have to call them and say no, I WANT to keep that low.) That's not going to help.
So, one of my insurance policies is in jeopardy, and I don't know which. I guess when I get the cancellation letter, I'll just call and switch it to the other credit card.
-----------------------------------
On top of all that.............................................
Blah.
Let's just say I've been running flat out for more than a week, I'm tired, I still have to get the van inspected, there's four inches of snow out there, the van is covered in ice, the BMW has ANOTHER tire losing air, and we can expect below freezing temperatures (way below average for this time of the year) for the foreseeable future. I haven't made it to the country house yet, so I haven't put antifreeze in the toilets and drains yet (I think I did at least leave the water turned off after the last visit), so if the house loses power, well, I don't want to think about it. Especially if it's that insurance that might get temporarily cancelled.
I am way way behind on correspondence.
I think I'll go to bed now.
.
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