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How Much Money Do You Think It Costs?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 6/1/2009 2:49 PM (GMT 0)
I looked at my EOB statement last year and I couldn't believe that if I had to pay out of pocket my expenses would have been close to $50,000 US.  I'm in a health plan so that wasn't what was paid out but jeez, no wonder folks struggle.  I had other issues not just IBD but some charges were related..acupuncture, therapist...etc.  Astounding!
Posted 6/1/2009 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
I know what you mean. I've been on vancomycin (an antibiotic) for recurrent c. diff for the majority of the past 4 or 5 months and thank god I have prescription coverage, because if I didn't, I'd basically need a seperate full time job just to pay for this one med (not to mention the 700 other ones I taking or all the doctors visits and tests). I pay $20, but the full cost for one month's supply of vanco is over $2000!
My insurance company sure must hate me...
Posted 6/2/2009 5:51 AM (GMT 0)
i was just looking at the cost of my medicines to?
i thank god that i have a pensioner card that gives me discounts on this because i can tell u know there would be no way i could afford my medicine, i am currently on salofalk and 2 boxes of 400 Tabs would cost $297.00 (considering i take 6 per day)but it cost me $5.40 each box. i cant believe how expensive they are now i understand why i hear so many stories on why some people cant afford they medicine especially chronic people.... i am very grateful for the goverment help i receive every little bit helps.
Posted 6/2/2009 3:50 PM (GMT 0)
It also depends on your insurance. My mother took my sister and I to get our vaccinations a few years back, and I had no health insurance but my younger sister did.
My cost for the shots on the bill said $50.
My sister's? $425.
Thank goodness she had insurance right? e_e
Mom still paid less for hers, but that doesn't explain the billing discrepancy.
Posted 6/2/2009 4:00 PM (GMT 0)

doctors have to submit large bills to up the ante for what portion they get paid.  Insurance companies pay our docs next to nothing as reasonable and customary compared to what they bill.  Most likely out of that $425 the doc will only get $75 but since your sister paid out of pocket the "real" cost is $50.  Honestly with the cost of med mal insurance, running a practice and keeping staff I don't know how these docs pay their school loans off!

Glad I had insurance anyway since my out of pocket was $3600 last year.  Compare that to $50K!

Posted 6/2/2009 4:28 PM (GMT 0)
9 days in the hospital last August costs $46,000. No surgeries, just meds!
Posted 6/2/2009 6:39 PM (GMT 0)
I spent 28 days in the hospital, I didn't have surgery at the time, but only one of the EOB was 121,000!! And this didn't include the Doctors statements (GI, OB-GYN, Infectious Dz Dr) Or the Cat Scan, Echo, ect....Just the meds and for me taking up a room!! Outrageous!! My deductable is 5,000 (and we pay 170 a week for just my husband and I), so you can imagine all my Dr Bills, this isn't to mention the 2300 i owe to another hospital, and then having a baby and surgery the next yr (2009) So my deductable started all over again :) Great huh? But it is what it is, and with all the different statements, they each get 10 a month, LOL. It's crazy how expensive Health care is, and they know we have to have it, rather we have been Dx with something or an accident happens, ya know!!
Posted 6/2/2009 6:46 PM (GMT 0)
INSANE. I have health insurance, and was told Remicade infusions they wanted to start me on are $5,000-$6,000 per infusion. My out of pocket expense w/insurance: $1,000 to $1,200 per infusion, which I understand to be like every 8 weeks = $6,000 per year, not including other meds, co-pays, etc. I was just laid off, too. Thank God my hubby's job seems pretty secure and that I'm on his insurance. I got really choked up at the GI's office when they told me the cost. We are looking at Imuran to begin with first, which should really help with the costs. But I hate it's even in the equation. Meantime, I'm throwing everything at this DD first - supplements, herbs, acupuncture. Acupuncture is NOT covered by my insurance and it is $65 per week. I'm in my third week now and the ankle swelling I've been dealing with for the last 3 months is finally abating. The pain, too. I don't care if it's mental or not, I'll take the relief and $65 per week alternative over immune-modulating meds at $1,000 a pop for as long as I can!
Posted 6/2/2009 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
The whole US health care system is insane. Last year we had hospitalization coverage, but no coverage for docs or prescriptions. We were able to get help from the drug company, but we still spent about $12,000 out of pocket. Fortunately, my hubby got a new job, and we have much better coverage, but still we have a cap on our prescriptions at $2000.00 which won't even cover the Pentasa for a year, and thats one of the cheapest Crohn's drugs. It also really bugged me that when I was paying out of pocket for doctor visits, my doc wouldn't give me a discount, but now he gets reimbursed less from my insurance company per office visit because he participates with our insurance! So it seems that the middle class especially pays for everyone else. Furthermore in my area, very few docs accept Medicaid, the govt sponsored health care for poor people, so even though they are told they have insurance, they have no care! Sorry for the rant, but it felt good to unload :)
Posted 6/2/2009 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
a wisw man once said..... "if you think healthcare is expensive now, just wait untill its free!"
Posted 6/2/2009 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
I am very lucky my husband is in the Marine Corps and ALL my healthcare is 100% paid by our insurance. He is supposed to get out (his contract is over and his family wants him to come home a take over the family buz) in August. We were so excited to go back home. I was dxed a few months ago and he is thinking of staying in so we continue to have such great insurance.
Posted 6/3/2009 1:13 AM (GMT 0)
I would be interested in knowing how much my insurance has paid over the past 12 years of having CD. It must be in the millions...
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