Poor folks need not apply for prescription help.

a reply to: TheRedneck

I had high triglycerides for years and the doc said it had nothing to do with diet. Well I was on lipitor for it for awhile. One day I quit drinking soft drinks like coke and to my surprise when I went back for lab work I had normal triglycerides. Just thought I would mention it. Turns out it did have something to do with what I was taking down the pipe. I drank a lot of coke or pepsi though.

Blimey that ducks would cost me less then 10 quid.
You lot need something like our healthcare system.

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: eeyipes

Wow, that is helpful! Thank you! They are sampling me for the three months I need them, but just in case that runs into a snag...

The thing is, even the hospital and the doctor couldn't tell me about this card. I have ATS, but how many people don't?

TheRedneck

Man I hope this works out for you! The system sure is ludicrous. Fleece as much as possible from as many as possible, in as many ways as possible. "... and I'm proud to be an American, where at least health care's not free..." Ahem...

Eeyipes, nice share!

Good luck Redneck!

Go ATS!

originally posted by: NarcolepticBuddha
a reply to: TheRedneck

I don't understand a lot of things about insurance, mmkay? I'm just too stoopid I guess. I really don't understand 5,000 dollar deductibles--which is what I have. Doesn't that pretty much mean I have insurance, but can never use it? I certainly can't afford 5,000 a year. I just never understood it. If it's too difficult to understand, it's probably a scam.

I had a $5000 deductible for ten years. The way I figured it, the difference in rates between full coverage and the $5000 deductible policy was enough to pay for the deductible in the first year. I basically saved $50,000 over the ten year period. If I had gotten deathly ill, I would have spent the $5000 for the deductible, then the insurance would have kicked in, meaning I was in a break-even situation if I got sick.

Think of a $5000 deductible as catastrophe insurance. It's not going to pay for every hangnail you get and run the the ER for. People expect insurance to pay for every aspirin they take and then wonder why the cost is so high. People get used to never seeing a bill because the Cadillac plans offered through many employers never send you one. This is a disservice to you because you never see what this stuff costs.

It is neither difficult to understand nor a scam.

a reply to: schuyler

As long as health care insurers enjoy geographic protection from true competition, the entire system is absolutely a scam.

Moreover, can someone identify for me any other consumer market where the expense of what you purchase is not disclosed in advance of purchase?

In my view, if you eliminated the geographic protections insurance companies receive and force health care providers to publish their rates on nearly everything, the health care system in this country would be vastly improved.

a reply to: TheRedneck

Wow thats crazy.

Would you mind giving some info regarding your diet, weight, exercise level and demographics so we can guage our own risk for similar situation?

originally posted by: loam
a reply to: schuyler

As long as health care insurers enjoy geographic protection from true competition, the entire system is absolutely a scam.

I just got through explaining to you exactly how I was able to use the system to save $50,000. The person I was replying to suggested that because he didn't understand it, it was a scam. That reasoning is not logical.

Moreover, can someone identify for me any other consumer market where the expense of what you purchase is not disclosed in advance of purchase?

Huh? I know exactly how much health insurance is going to cost a year at a time. It IS disclosed.

In my view, if you eliminated the geographic protections insurance companies receive and force health care providers to publish their rates on nearly everything, the health care system in this country would be vastly improved.

Insurance companies do publish their rates. It's not a secret. However, I absolutely agree. And why is that the case now? Because the State governments seek to "regulate" the insurance business and restrict who is authorized to sell insurance. They act as barriers to entry. There may be reasons the states need to oversee insurance companies; I don't deny that, but they do far more than that. In my state we have an "Insurance Commissioner" and a vast bureaucracy that regulates and "approves" insurance rates, yet insurance rates are higher as a result. The State is the one in the way here. They stifle competition with predictable results.

a reply to: TheRedneck

May you remain healthy! Being ill can really help us remember what is important in life.

A number of years ago, I received an infusion of a drug called "Remicade", that at the time was a relatively new treatment for Crohn's Disease (as well as other nasty stuff). The treatment cost in excess of $30,000 and the medicine arrived in a tiny vial that contained maybe one good cry's worth of liquid. I remember thinking how much I would love to spend that $ on something fun, but... how do you put a price-tag on something that may (or may not) give you more time on this planet?

a reply to: schuyler

Please reread my post. My comments relate to insurers and healthcare providers- two separate groups.

With respect to the latter, show me where hospitals and drs publish their rates for consumers.

a reply to: TheRedneck

The purpose of this policy is not charity but to increase revenue to the pharmaceutical manufacturer.

The idea is that they make their money from the insurance reimbursement, but some patients can't afford the co-pay and then ask the doctor to prescribe something cheaper.

With the 'help' the patients get the original med and the insurance pays the pharma more. It's bribing patients to choose a more expensive med that somebody else pays for.

A cash-only patient doesn't qualify---that's just giving them a straight up discount and they won't do that because it hurts their pricing power with the insurance companies and Medicare.

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: Cheddarhead

That may have been the reason he wanted me on Effient: I don't bruise easy. I left with one bruise from an IV... nothing from the cath.

If there is a problem getting the Effient, he's already told me Plavix is an option, just like if the Lipitor becomes too expensive, there are other statins cheaper, just less effective.

TheRedneck

Lipitor is now availble as a generic: atorvastatin. 100 tablets, 40 milligrams: $35 at Costco.

a reply to: TheRedneck

The top 10% of income earners in the US live 14 years longer than the bottom 10% on average.

You might as well accept it.

a reply to: avgguy

I don't know. I am pretending this didn't happen to me. Thanks for caring-I'm all shook up.