rotor wrote: ↑Sun Aug 12, 2018 4:52 pm
Beiruty wrote: ↑Sun Aug 12, 2018 2:50 pm
I am chronic patient with a kidney transplant, if I have to list them the 21 pills, 6-8 meds It would take while. Second, Why in the world Lab tests are so horrendously expensive if your do not have a health care insurance and health cares insurance pay 10% of the bill. I hate most LabCorp and the other one Quest. I called couple times to get my bill reduced as I did not have a health insurance before Obamacare and both did not want negotiate their bills. What a shame. Same labs work, I ordered at an illegal-residents serving clink and I paid $115 instead of bill close to $1,000.
Claiming that you are an illegal resident or acting like one, would save you 90% of the lab work bill and your Dr visit is just $35.
I know what you mean. I bring a copy of all of my meds and medical-surgical history to every doctor visit. They always change their systems (forced to by the government) and the old doesn't talk to the new. Like I said, it is not the doctor bills that kill you but the ancillary stuff. Drugs, lab, ER, hospital, all kill you financially. Your lab bill should never be more than what medicare pays. Good luck trying to bargain for that. My wife gets that shot that saves her a trip to the doctor the next day after chemo, $6-12K for one shot. Same price if she goes in or gets it for home use. Friend takes nausea medicine after chemo, 2 pills cost $700.
If you have insurance I recommend in Texas getting Blue Cross. They drive the best discounts from pharma, hospital, lab and docs and are easy to deal with. Some insurance companies pay much higher rates and you probably pay 20% of a much higher rate. Read your EOB when you get one to fully understand pricing. There is the actual charge, the amount insurance allows by contract, the amount they pay and the amount you owe. I have been going in and getting refunds with my EOB in hand. The actual charge is what the poor guy with no insurance gets and he will definitely be poorer. I am on Medicare but with what the government takes out, plan D and a supplement it adds up. At least my meds are all generic but they don't cover you for dental or hearing and the hearing aid I am getting closer to is pretty expensive. We definitely need a new thread for health care. One more money saving clue, you don't have to use the lab at your docs office. You can go to any lab you want to so get a lab slip and shop around with different labs for the best price if you are cash paying.
Rotor:
There's a lot more wrong with the Medicare system. I am on Medicare Advantage (Part C). I have to see only doctors "in network" which means I can't get the best care available. Also, under a United Healthcare HMO, not only do I need a referral to see a specialist, my medical group has a third party that must approve all referrals, and further limits my choices of doctors. Basically they are making medical decisions that my PCP did not make, nor did the specialist I want to see by restricting me. Also, they severely limit the number of visits I can have with the specialist.
I'd "gladly" switch to Original Medicare if I could get a supplement. Happy to pay the extra cost of that and Part D. But, as I was diagnosed and treated for cancer of an organ 3 years ago, not a single insurance company will underwrite a supplement until I've been cancer free for at least 5 years. Unless my insurance company drops coverage in my area, the only way I could get that supplement now, without having to answer medical questions, is to move out of my coverage area. Under Obamacare, at least they made sure insurance companies could not hold preexisting conditions against you, but under the Medicare supplements plans, they can.
