HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

PICC line and INS

Support Forums
>
Lyme Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 5/27/2012 6:33 PM (GMT 0)
LLMD says PICC for a year...INS will only cover a month.  Any advice or ways to get INS to approve?
Posted 5/27/2012 9:22 PM (GMT 0)
I'm interested to hear replies to this. My LLMD wants me on IV's but I cannot afford them. I know I'm likely to only get a month from insurance so then what do I do? I'm afraid to even go through with a PICC line because more than likely, a month will not be enough time.
Posted 5/28/2012 4:46 PM (GMT 0)
Some ins will pay for an extended time after the initial 30 days. Before your treatment is up you will have to go back to your dr and
have them file another claim before you get the line pulled. Do Not get the line pulled if you think you may have an extention. You can keep your line in and just flush it until the ins company decides. Alot of times you can call your insurance yourself and see if they will extend you longer because it is helping and if you stop now you will only regress. But your dr has to claim it as Persistent Lyme meaning
its still there and you need further treatment.

I had my last picc for 9 months so it can happen
Posted 5/28/2012 4:51 PM (GMT 0)
Oh heads up... just to get a picc line it costs $10,000 so if you can avoid having it pulled to find out a wk later you get to continue treatment. So my advise is that you get with your dr and ins company to see/beg for and extened treatment if needed, but make sure
this takes place before your time is finished.
Good Luck
Posted 5/28/2012 4:53 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't gotten it yet but should be getting it within the week I would think...
Posted 5/28/2012 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
Does the Insurance Comp's cover the PICC line to be put in ?????????
Posted 5/30/2012 3:36 AM (GMT 0)
Purplegirl it all depends on your insurance my insurance paid 90% of the picc
and 90% of meds with supplies
Posted 5/30/2012 3:18 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Harleyrider.. You have some good Insurance it sounds like ... I have Blue Cross Blue Shield and I think they spend most of their time fighting against having to pay for anything Lyme related..LOL
Posted 8/14/2012 1:36 AM (GMT 0)
Purplegirl,

I also have BCBS and am looking at needing a PICC line.  Can you tell me if you had any troubles with BCBS paying for your needs?  Thanks so much.

Posted 8/14/2012 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Annfairfax ~ I have been lucky thus far and have not needed a PICC line and they have paid for all of my medications but NOT the LLMD bill... They said he is Out of Network.. I even tried to get a Medical Waiver to allow him to be considered In Network but they told me there were plenty of Infectious Disease Docs in my area that are In Netowrk that treat Lyme and I said , Thanks but no thanks all those Infec Dis Doc just treat for a few months and I have had Undiaganosed Lyme for 4 years.. and then the lady said , Well they will treat as long as you have symptoms and I again said , No thanks Ill go to my own LLMD... the deductible is just higher for Out of Network and then they will pay less once the deduct is met... I sure dont understand why We cant get treated like any other sick person would through the Insurance ....
Posted 8/14/2012 2:26 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Angie ~ Thanks so much for your speedy reply. I'm happy to hear you "dodged" the PICC. The LLMD I'm seeing is also considered Out of Network. You're so right, I haven't been able to get the correct diagnosis from any of the many, many doctors I've seen and the huge list of symptoms I have. Even after loosing my gallbladder this year & the continuation of high liver enzyme numbers, no one tied it together till now. So, in other words, as patients, we need to continue to complain about symptoms to get continuous covered care? That's terrible. I also can't understand either, we're sick like others and desereve to receive treatments to heal our ills and have our insurance cover it as such. Thanks again & be well.
Posted 8/14/2012 1:58 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, your so right.. My thing tho on the "They (IDS docs) will treat you as long as you have symptoms" statement is that I don tbeleive that either because I have read many stories of Lyme patients who did still have symptoms and they were told "there must be something else wrong with you then, it cant still be lyme" ... I dint get into to all that tho with the lady on the phone at BCBS becasue why bother .... LOL What state are seeing the LLMD in ?????
Posted 8/14/2012 3:26 PM (GMT 0)
I have my second PICC in.

I agree that you should not have your PICC removed until you know for sure you're not continuing treatment. This is my second PICC and I will know next week if I need to continue the treatment. The way things are going I think I will be continuing.

My insurance has been covering all of my treatment for the past year but I am now getting denials for the continued treatment. They had approved this PICC then after it was done said they were denying it. To late for them but lucky for me.

Pretty sure that I will have no coverage of the continued treatment but my LLMD has told me that they will work with me.

Hope things work out for all of you.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply