Should I tell my insurance I have Lyme? & Hyperbaric Chamber Info?

I have Lyme, Bartonella, and probably a few other things including nasal staph! I went undiagnosed for 10 years but I've been infected for around 13-15 years. I've been on two very strong antibiotics for about 2-3 months and I'm soon to be retested. So far, I have not experienced much difference... I think my fingers have become thinner but beyond that I'm not sure if I feel any difference at all. I don't think I've even had a real herx reaction. 2 years ago I was put on disability for POTS and FMS, should I let them know that I also have Lyme now? Should I tell my insurances too? I have Blue Cross Blue Shield as my primary and Medicaid as secondary from my disability. No matter what my test results will show I want to do the hyperbaric chamber, I've heard great results. It says it may not work for everyone but I think it's worth a shot. Can I get it covered or reimbursed by at least Medicaid? If my next test results aren't good, my doctors may want to try me on iv or shots and I'd rather try the hyperbaric chamber first.

I'm still really confused on what I should tell other doctors. My pain management doctor has been very understanding and even suggested I get tested for Lyme but other doctors aren't as understanding and are trying to take my LLMD's license away. Doctors are calling the blood tests "bogus" but I don't understand how they can be when they are legit, labs just don't run fake lab work and research proves they are legit. Unfortunately, some patients are convinced what the other doctors say and they don't get the help they need. Doctors like that are the ones that deserve to have their licenses taking away, I can't believe they can get away with this. They deserve to be jail for what they are doing. My primary care physician dropped me as soon as he heard that I might be tested for Lyme. He did not even call me to confirm, he just dropped me like that. Shortly after that I was in the hospital with pneumonia and they said in my condition, I really need a GP but now I can't get one. It's like since he dropped me, no one else will take me in. It's a small area and I can't go far or outside of the medical group.

I will be reporting this doctor for sure... I wonder if he put something in my file that has pushed other doctors away from me. He has written things in there that I'm not pleased about. Once he wrote about how I dressed, like just because I wore black that day he thought I was depressed. Anyone in my family can tell you I am not that way and I wear different colors, not just black. One time I told him that my pm doc and my other specialist suggested I see a rheumatologist because of the condition of my hands and the autoimmune symptoms and because of that he wrote... "She thinks she has an autoimmune disease." I also told him that I have had multiple positive ANA tests but he brushed it off and said that I tested negative in 2009, completely ignoring the fact that I've tested more positive than negative. He has caused me so much grief...

I just don't know how to handle these idiotic doctors anymore. I just want to be able to afford my treatment so I can get better and get on with my life. My income is only 465 a month and the cost of my treatments cost over that so I've had to rely on family and my savings which I had saved up so I can get out of my current living situation which hasn't been good for my health. I've already had to stop my fluid infusions and acupuncture which has helped me along the way because of money issues. I need the extra fluids because of my low ADH and POTS, now my lips are practically bleeding everyday from lack of fluids no matter how much I drink but that's only a visible symptom. I'm sorry that this has kinda turned into a rant but basically I just need help with the hyperbaric treatments and I'm not sure how to talk to doctors about my position and Lyme. If my LLMD writes me a script for the treatment, can I get it covered? Any advice on what I can do?

Post Edited (Emichuu) : 6/21/2012 6:13:11 PM (GMT-6)

i would not recommend telling your insurance or disability about the lyme. they will most likely cover you for the IDSA's recommended treatment of 14-28 days and possibly one extra month following but if you continue to be ill past that point they may not cover you. i have heard blue cross blue shield is one of the worst when it comes to lyme coverage but i dont know how true that really is...and also the fact that you were untreated and misdiagnosed for such a long period of time will most likely mean that you will need long-term antibiotics to treat you. i know my LLMD is very slick about the way he bills the insurance companies and what he puts in his paperwork for lyme and co-infected patients. he has been under the radar for a long time and i pray he stays there.

Thank you everyone! So far my antibiotics are covered but my co-pays have been in the hundreds... My IV fluids are covered but it's still $38 a week and that's too much for me to pay but they won't cover the cost anymore so I just have to stick to hospital visits. You would think they'd rather pay for the whole thing instead of pay for the expensive hospital visits, I'm going to try to fight with them. Without the extra fluids I'm pretty much a little dehydrated all the time and then there will be times that it gets bad enough that I require going to the hospital. Also, my LLMD printed out this 1500 form so should I use that form or ask him to do it another way? I've already paid him with my savings so I would need to be reimbursed.

How can I get my insurance for hypobaric. Tx. Any suggestiu how to code for payment