Cost of Treatment

Hi Izzy

Good topic....

Medical costs and medical billing is a sore subject with me.  Don't get me started. ok..you already did.. I firmly believe that it is the honorable  duty of all of citizens of the world to give everyone equal access to medical treatment.  Medical access should not be reserved just for the rich or the insured.

I am on medicare and that comes closer to equal access than anything  we have come up with so far in the USA.  We need to expand that to each and every citizen. Then we need to take the "bs" out of it.

We have a disfunctional insurance system that becomes obvious when we see insurance bills.

My medical providers (doctors,hospitals,labs techs, etc)  billed approximately .. $88,334.00... for my prostate cancer treatment and diagnosis.(I might have missed something) They were "allowed" a smaller fraction of that amount and I was asked to pay less than $1000 in addition to my $8300.00 in annual insurance premiums.

I encourage all of you to become proactive and contact your congressmen to let them know we need a better way of providing medical care and pharmaceuticals to everyone.

Have an ok memorial day holiday..

bill

Hi Folks

I feel very lucky to be on Medicare because they are covering 80% of the cost of my proton radiation treatments and my supplemental AARP insurance is covering the remaining 20%. You may find this as shocking as I did, but the total cost of my treatments is projected at more than $125,000 based on the bill summaries I have received to date. I know that many private insurers will not cover the cost of proton treatments. The reason the proton treatments are so expensive is that the cost of building a new proton center is $125 million or more. Proton is used for many types of cancers, not just prostate cancer. Where I was treated, many children with brain and other cancers were being treated with proton therapy because it is a safer and more tolerable treatment for their young bodies. Hopefully the cost of this form of treatment will go down to a more reasonable level in the future as more and more proton centers are being opened in the US.

Dave

Hi Daveed,

We have UnitedHealthCare too.  But obviously a different plan!  Do you have a deductible? or was that already fulfilled for the year when you had surgery?  Anyway $100 is great!

Strange enough ours covers viagra, etc. without a "limit" on number per month (I don't know if this is because of our plan, or the state we live in or what??).  I thought we had paid $20 for 30 days, but when I was checking online it said $30 for 30 pills of Viagra and $30 for 20 pills of Cialis.  We don't use Levitra, but when I looked that up on our plan, it also said $30 for 30 pills.

I also noticed they have a "MyRx Choices" thing on the myuhc.com website where you can order 90 day supplies by mail via medco (hadn't really looked into that before).  It looks like for us it is $60 for 90 pills of any of those which is a VERY good deal!! Since it looks like this is going to be a long-term thingy :), I think next time we go to doctor will ask for a 90 day prescription and try the Medco route. 

Tanya

 

IzzyBlizzy,

Many thanks for providing the detailed costs of your significant

other's surgery. I agree with the others that this info will greatly benefit newbies on a tight budget and who may have to start looking for items in the budget to trim.

I had Brachytherapy on May 22 and my wife and I keep wondering what the eventual bottom line is going to be. My pre-therapy folder with BCBS benefit statements keeps getting thicker.   

I'm also with lifeguyd on our dysfunctional health care system.  I don't even want to get started on medical insurance or the lack thereof in this country or the quality of treatment depending on what insurance you may or may not have. I need to stop - my blood pressure keeps rising as I type.