Can't afford insurance anymore!
Does everyone out there have health insurance? For the first time in my life I can not longer afford my health insurance due to ecomomic down turn.
I have applied for the State Insurance for low income people, but it appears that I will be denied. Right now my premuim, just for me is $2,000 a quarter because of my pacemaker and it seems that my ONLY choice is to allow my health insurance to expire as I do nto have any resources to obtain this money at this time.
I am married with two children, and my husband and I are self employeed, so we have to purchase our own insurance. This was not a problem until the economy took a down turn about a year ago, and i have been looking for a job that woulod cover my health insurance ever since, but I have had no luck. My husband is very much tied into our company financially, as we have invested much into it, so he can not seek employment elsewhere with out us declaring bankrupcy to clear all the debt we have, as selling our business and equipment is not happening either in these slow economic times. We actually talked to our accountant about declaring bankrupcy and he stated that we are "not there yet" So we are stuck....
Now I do NOT want this to turn into a polictical post for Obamas health care, I am just wondering if everyone out there has insurance, and if not how they handle paying for their pacemaker checks and such.
So I am thinking that we are pretty much screwed. The way things look at the begining of October I will no longer have insurance, there for I will no longer go for my Pacemaker checks. Right now I ony have about 5 years left on my battery... I am 100% dependant..... :'(
Shelly
4 Comments
MOST UNFORTUNATE
by pete - 2009-09-13 02:09:53
I would hate to be in this situation. I live in the UK so at the moment I should be able to rely on our NHS health service. However I am not one to count my chickens before they are hatched and I do worry about what is install for us down the line. It seems we are all bancrupt but only a few of us know it. Fortunately you have 5 years left on the battery. I would be tempted just to put some money aside every year and go abroad to get a replacement after researching very carefully prices and service. China and India are both options and both have excellent private hospitals that could save you a bomb. Maybe just maybe Obahma may have sorted this situation out by the time you need it. A pacemaker check seems to cost a lot in the USA, far more than it should and that is your only immediate problem. I wish you luck. Cheers Peter
Checkups without insurance
by ElectricFrank - 2009-09-13 11:09:02
Take a close look at your insurance claims statement to see what the doctor is actually paid for a checkup. In my case the doctor bills somewhere around $150, but after the insurance company discounts it they actually only pay around $50. So talk to the doctors office and negotiate a direct payment of the discounted amount. Remind them that you will pay for it at the visit which is a lot better than his waiting for months for an insurance payment. You are in business yourself and I'm sure negotiate such things all the time.
Also, avoid the routine checkups that are just an income stream for the docs office. I'm 79 and grew up in a family with no insurance. In my childhood I probably saw a doctor once every 2 years on average. I did just fine and maybe better. Be sure to turn off all the drug ads on TV. I don't take all the meds for the designer conditions advertised even though these days I have Medicare and senior supplement.
Anyway, you get the drift. Hopefully, in the meantime maybe the insurance situation will improve.
frank
What To Do
by SMITTY - 2009-09-14 05:09:24
Hi Shelly,
I agree you don't need a political discussion on the merits of a government program as your needs are more immediate than what may be available from such program. Anyway according to what I heard in Mr. Obama's speech to congress the other night it seems if he singed the bill today, full implementation would be at least a year away and possibly as much as 2 or 3 years away. With that said, lets see if I can offer anything suggestions for something not already suggested or that you have not tried.
You don't say why you got a pacemaker, so I am going to assume it was for a bradycardia or a slow heart beat. Which to me is the best reason to get one because without the pacemaker your heart beat would simply go back to what it was before the PM. Of course in such an event you may have to be careful about your surroundings in case you are subject to passing out, or you may be tired and run down, but the thing is you could continue to live without a pacemaker. That is what would happen to me and if it did and I had no insurance I would have to go to an ER and become their problem.
Depending on where you live and the type hospitals that are in your area,in other words for profit hospitals or not for profit hospitals would determine how much care you could get. Something I recently learned is that in critical need cases, especially, many hospitals can get grants to pay for all, or most of a patient's needs. I don't mean to imply everything you need would be immediately available, but hospitals have an obligation to do everything within their power to help a sick person get well. And it is surprising to learn how many different sources are available to help the hospital do that.
As for your check ups, as Frank said many times those are just a source of income for a doctor. For example, I have copies of my checkup printouts for the last four years and not one time during those four years was a single change made in my PM settings so I could have done very well with a checkup once a year, or less. In your case, as has been mentioned, I would suggest that you talk to your doctor about your situation and see what the minimum frequency for checkups would be safe for you. If you can't get help from the Dr., you might contact the manufacturer of your PM and tell them what you are facing and see if they can help you find a place to get your checkups for free, or at least the lowest cost possible.
As for the battery having only 5 years left, I was told about 7 years ago mine had 5 yeas left and at my last checkup they said you now have 7 months left. That will make my PM about 10 years old when I must have a replacement. Of course battery life is dependant on the frequency the PM must help your heart. Again in my case I rocked along with mine helping out from 2% up to about 10% for several years, but due to some changes I needed it is now helping the atrial 95%+ of the time and the ventricle about 10% of the time. So, if you don't have the number already, ask your doctor how much of the time your PM works for you.
I guess to try to summarize this, if you have 5 years left on your battery, wait 4 years to start worrying about that. Find out form your doctor just how often you must have a checkup and if all else fails check with the manufacturer and see if they can offer a source of help on the checkups. If you feel you have an emergency (or if anyone in your family has one) don't hesitate to go to an ER and ask for help. There is much more help available at an ER than we sometimes have heard about. Last but not least, let's all pray for a rebound of our economy so that we can all got back to being secure in our daily lives.
I wish you the best,
Smitty
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by ela-girl - 2009-09-13 01:09:53
Hey, Shelly.
I'm sorry to hear of your predicament. I understand your feelings and frustrations. For the first time in my life, I am without insurance. My husband lost his job as of July 1st and our insurance was through him. Neither of us have found employment yet. We also cannot afford to pay COBRA. I am paying for everything out of pocket at the moment. I won't have to have a pacer check until December but plan on paying for it out of pocket if we still are unemployed and without insurance. What else can you do? You have to be checked.
I have heard before how some doctors will give you a % off your bill if you pay in cash for your appointment the same day and are without insurance. I haven't run into doctors yet personally who do that... Doctors can write off stuff, too. Maybe call your doctor's office and explain your situation--perhaps they can offer up some help. I have also heard that when we get insurance again that I may not be covered since I will no longer have had continuous coverage--even if the new insurance is a group plan. Maybe someone can shed soem light on that one?
People should not have to go bankrupt due to medical issues. And how can COBRA insist on such high payments for people who really need insurance and cannot pay Cobra's plan payments while between jobs? I could go on and on and rant, but I won't.
I wish I could be of better help to you. I just wanted you to know that you weren't alone.
ela-girl