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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, September 17, 2010 - 11:00 pm
Kitt, I've been here my whole life and sometimes I still get like that! 2 years ago we had a change to our insurance. Everything (drs, co-pays) stayed the same, except the kids urgent care dr was changed. And the insurance co didn't bother to tell us that it had changed or who the new urgent care was! I had no idea until Dakota got sick one Sunday and I took her to urgent care and they told me they could no longer see her and didn't know where she was supposed to go. Tried calling the insurance co, they were closed. Took her to my urgent care, nope she doesn't go there either. Ended up waiting til Monday morning to get her into her ped. Luckily, while she was sick, it wasn't serious and though we spent a miserable night, she could wait til the next morning. I was mad, her ped was furious, and all I got from insurance co was an, "Oh, oops, a letter should have gone out a few weeks ago!" Yeah, I recieved that letter about three weeks later.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Saturday, September 18, 2010 - 7:39 am
Kitt, you have already done the right thing in looking up your in-network hospital. For all you other mostly healthy Americans with insurance, you need to do the same thing. Find out NOW which hospital you would need to go to for your insurance coverage. Otherwise you could end up bankrupt (of course, if you die getting to the further, covered hospital, I guess that becomes a moot point except for the spouse).
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Saturday, September 18, 2010 - 9:32 am
Juju, I was just going to post the same thing. We all really need to be aware of what our insurance covers. I know at least some insurance companies (hopefully all) will cover if it's a life or death situation with an unresponsive patient. Outside of that, you could wind up in financial ruin forever because of astronomical medical bills over something that you really would think would be covered...or would think wouldn't be so expensive. Pretty much everything not covered is extremely expensive. (I think there is a myth that hospitals and medical facilities are easy to work with and don't charge interest. Maybe, but certainly not always. Our closest hospital won't charge you interest but will sell your account to a collection agency. Then, not only will you be charged a lot of interest, your credit rating will take a huge negative hit. In one case with us, we owed the hospital $40,000 after insurance paid their portion. Their terms were: pay 1/12th of it every month and pay it off in 12 mos. or be sent to a collection agency. If we made less than the min. payment in any month, we would be sent to a collection agency.) Don't take chances unless it is life or death. Always know where to go for whatever medical treatment you need.
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Karen
Member
09-06-2004
| Saturday, September 18, 2010 - 3:13 pm
Holy crap... that's insane Happymom. Who typically has an extra $3000 laying around every month to pay off a hospital bill? Yikes. I'm going on a month in hospital right now, and I can't even begin to think what this would all cost if I lived state-side. Between the government healthcare covering basics and my extended health plan through hubby's work covering the rest like my private room, it's thankfully not going to cost me a penny. I hope your current government can work out a solution to your healthcare situation.
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Sunday, September 19, 2010 - 10:33 am
Karen, not us! I told the hospital they were insane too. No one would be able to pay that. It's a long story but we made it work out. Things will be tight here for a long time. It's ok though. Sometimes you have to tell yourself...it's only money. If you lived down here and had good insurance, you'd be ok. (Not $0 ok though.) You'd be more ok than we were. We thought we had good insurance and found out the hard way that we didn't. We do now. Because of the new law, my oldest will be covered starting next month. With all that is going on with you and little Banana, I am thankful that you do not have the stress of worrying about $ from this.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Sunday, September 19, 2010 - 4:21 pm
Here's a really random question. (I've tried to google it, but got nothin.) Does anyone know the name of a lady who was on Oprah at least once. She was a young mom who was dying of cancer. She was making videos full of different subjects and advice for her daughter for when she was older and her mom wasn't around. For some reason I think her first name was Erin and her last name was something like Crabby???? But I don't think either of those is right. Does anyone know who I am talking about?
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Jmm
Moderator
08-15-2002
| Sunday, September 19, 2010 - 4:33 pm
Here you go, Julie. http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Memorable-Guests/7
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Bamaroots
Member
08-30-2006
| Monday, September 20, 2010 - 4:12 am
I started writing about an incident that happened to us several years ago, but it was too long. It would have crashed the board. LOL But I would encourage you when you have a dispute over a bill to write them a letter stating your position and ask for a response. That way you have a record of letting them know your reasons for disputing the bill as well as how they responded to it. Don't call them. You have no proof of what you said or their response to it. Make a copy of the letter you send and keep it with the response from them.If the response doesn't address your concerns or solve the problem, write to them again. If they call you, be sure to get the name of the person you are talking with and take notes of what they say. In a dispute, the office help will sometimes deny they said whatever they did say. They have to agree with the doctor's side or they might lose their jobs. That is why I prefer to put it in writing and request a written response. I used to be a benefits rep at the company where I worked. I kept track of the names of everybody I talked to about a claim and what they had said. If the claim was not handled properly, I followed up with a letter and requested a written response. I can't tell you how many times this proved beneficial to getting claims paid correctly. I keep a notebook at home now and any time I have to talk with any medical or business with whom I am having a disagreement, I write notes on what is said. I then write a letter using the notes and ask for their response. I have been considering getting one of those tape recorders for my phone and use it every time I have a conversation pertaining to a dispute. Good records are sometimes the only defense.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Tuesday, September 21, 2010 - 8:35 pm
Anybody up for some math? I am trying to figure out which med is cheaper & my brain is just not working tonight. Med A. $36 for 120 grams, dosage is 1 teaspoon daily. Med B. $20 for 20 grams, dosage is 1/8 teaspoon daily. I know grams is a measure of weight and teaspoons are a measure of volume, but both meds are a fine powder so I should be able to figure this out but for some reason I just can't think tonight.
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Jmm
Moderator
08-15-2002
| Tuesday, September 21, 2010 - 8:49 pm
Ok somebody check me because math is not my deal. Med A 120 grams gives you 25.29 doses Med B 20 grams gives you 33.72 doses So I say that Med B is better for the money.
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Kitt
Member
09-06-2000
| Tuesday, September 21, 2010 - 9:29 pm
Say there are X g of medicine per teaspoon, then Med A = 120g = 120/X teaspoons = 120/X doses. $36/(120/X) = $(0.3X) per dose Med B: 20g = 20/X teaspoons = 160/X doses. $20/(160/x) = $(0.125X) per dose whatever X is, if it's the same for both medicines, then Med B is much cheaper per dose than Med A (~38cents/dose compared to ~90cents/dose if the density is similar to flour).
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Christy358
Member
07-10-2007
| Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - 12:30 am
Both are correct on the math. However, I say ask your Pharmasyst. (I know that is not spelled right) They, or your Dr, should be able to answer this question and perhaps give other info on one med vs the other. The choice of treatment is often very personnal and not dependent on money.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - 4:29 am
Jmm, Kitt, & Christy THANKS! My brain was all gaga last night from a pain pill. But I couldn't go to sleep until I figured it out. Christy it's for my pupdog. Med A is what I originally was told by vet in Iowa to use but declined because it was all cosmetic at the time, and since we moved it has then become medical so purchased same product online - hecka cheaper than what old vet quoted. Med B is from new vet we visited yesterday here in KY. [OMG I LOVE HER! How lucky was I to choose an awesome vet first time around?!!!] Only difference in meds is obviously Med A has filler and flavor as it's a bitter powder & the dosage is 8 times Med B, but the actual medicine itself is the same dosage in both Meds, just Med B doesn't have filler or flavor. But since I mix it with a spoon or two of wet food, it shouldn't matter. So when I run out of Med A, I'll be getting it from new vet which I will feel more comfortable with for one, and for two it will be hecka cheaper than even getting the other stuff online. & since the might or might not be on it the rest of his life, cheaper is a good option. [Tho new vet did state that Med A was safe to use too so it was up to me which I chose. She wasn't going to tell me what they offer over what I can get elsewhere just to make money. SO different than our last vet! I love small town/country vets vs city vets! Our vet in Iowa was good, but they always pushed the most expensive products.] Thanks again all! T
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - 5:27 am
I would be careful about mixing bitter meds in with a spoonful of food. One of Costa's heart pills was really bitter, and even ground up in a mortar, he could still taste it. Then again, dogs seem to scarf things down faster than cats, so it may not matter. Personally, if you think to switch to the unadulterated version, I'd ask for a small amount in the prescription because if he doesn't like it, you'll have wasted $$. What is the medicine? Is it specifically for dogs and only available from vets? You might want to check with your own pharmacy. Some of Costa's meds were cheaper from my pharm, even though they wouldn't let me put him on my medical insurance! <wink>
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Merrysea
Moderator
08-13-2004
| Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - 7:15 am
Serate, if mixing the meds in his food doesn't work, try using Pill Pockets. My dog thinks he's getting a treat when I have to give him medicine.
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - 8:02 am
You can buy your own gel caps and fill them with that powder. I think they'd be a lot cheaper than pill pockets. Then you can give your pup the gel pills just by pilling him as you normally would. (My husband just puts pills down our dog's throat. I use a tiny bit of peanut butter and scrap it behind her upper front teeth. Twice a day she takes 4 or 5 pills all at once like this. I've used cream cheese in the past too. She takes a powder too mixed into food. For a few weeks she refused to eat it. Making up pills with the gel caps was a pain but her health needed it. She's back to having the powder mixed in with her food. This powder is made to go in food though, so, I don't think it's bitter.)
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - 8:11 am
Bama, good suggestions. Because of good records, we were able to get our full purchase price of a large tv ($1700) back after a couple of years because it was a lemon. (We put it towards a flat screen...so nice! We would not have been able to afford a flat screen (well...only a very small one) if they hadn't done that...and they wouldn't have done that w/o our records of many phone conversations and repair records.) Also, a separate medical issue from my post above (same hospital though)...we were charged thousands of $ for something that the hospital said wasn't covered and the insurance co said was the hospital's billing dept fault for using the wrong codes. This went on for mos. and mos. If I hadn't had the name and phone number of the original case manager/nurse practioner at the insurance co. in another state that I spoke to at the beginning of all of it...we would have had to pay. That part at least was covered 100%. So, ita that it's so important to have good notes!
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - 9:03 am
Costa, Merry, Happymom, thanks for the suggestions. It's an mild anti-biotic, and it's supposed to be just sprinkled on his food - even the stuff from the vet. I tried that but he eats dry and it was too messy plus alot stuck to the bowl so he didn't get it all. I guess it's not that it's bitter, it's just the meds from the vet is pure so no flavor has been added. He has no problem eating it in wet food. Thinks that it is a treat. lol Cats had their appointment today & I when I was telling the vet the cost per dose she pointed out that I had the dosage wrong for the med I would get from her. Instead of 1/8 of a teaspoon it will be 1/16 of a teaspoon. So a $20 bottle should last me over 6 months. Longer if I can get it down to every other day which is the goal. But since his is medical not cosmetic vet says it might not happen. ETA: just an FYI our vet in Iowa suggested the med we have him on now because of tear stains. I did not want to put him on an anti-biotic for cosmetic reasons. But he's now developed an allergy or irritation to the yeast his eyes produce, and it has became a medical problem, one that could become very serious if we don't take care of it. Do not want my pupdog to become blind! Thanks again everybody!
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Thursday, September 23, 2010 - 5:20 am
One thing to note about gel caps... at least here in California, you can no longer buy gel caps at your pharmacy. You can buy them at Whole Foods and places like that, but they are HUGE. They wouldn't have worked for Costa. However, I would've been able to buy gel caps from his vet, I think. Expensive though ($25 for 100). For cats, gel caps are the way to go. Once you get it in their mouth and it gets wet, it almost always just goes right now. Much easier to use gel caps if you have several meds to give at once. Pill Pockets worked for Costa for about a year. Till he figured out how to eat around the pill inside. He'd eat the Pill Pocket and then spit out the pill. Then again, he was a cat, and a smart one at that! LOL!
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Thursday, September 23, 2010 - 5:39 am
Another possibility (I'm not sure if it works with this med) is to have an apothecary make a salve with the medicine and just rub it into the base of his ear to be absorbed. Sheena gets all of her medicine this way except for her L-lycine, as long as it is fresh she will eat it mixed in with her soft food.
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Thursday, September 23, 2010 - 1:27 pm
I needed gel caps for our big dog, so size didn't matter except for the price, but I do remember seeing several different sizes at the store. They weren't cheap, but cheaper than pill pockets, I think. I bought 300 for about $6 I think. GAL, that is interesting and helpful. I am very scared to pill one of our cats. Neither of them are on any regular pills yet...I am thankful for that! Anyway, I will remember your advice. Thanks.
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Sunshyne4u
Member
06-17-2003
| Friday, September 24, 2010 - 11:29 am
i'm completely cringing. the weights of 120 grams and 20 grams are NOT related to the doseage per tsp at all. You would need to know the actual weight PER TEASPOON to calculate which is the best buy. Med A. $36 for 120 grams, dosage is 1 teaspoon daily. Med B. $20 for 20 grams, dosage is 1/8 teaspoon daily. as part of my job and hobbies i've done tons of calculations like this. MY concern at this time is more about HOW someone is supposed to measure 1/16th of a tsp UNLESS a special measuring spoon was given with med. OH and as for Gelcaps for Cats, they still get stuck in the throat unless you use the Absolutely smallest kind you can find. I personally found my cats HATED them, what worked best was dipping the Gelcap in olive oil and they basically slid down. Pilling cats is not the easiest thing to do. It is way too easy to have the pill NOT go down/ Cats are very prone to hyperacidity in the stomach and throat especially if medicating. The trying to hold them down and using that "technique" to open their mouths is very traumatic. as owners we end up having to weigh out whether the benefits are worth the consequences. I regret the Extra things i did to treat my pets at the end of their lives. My mom's cat just passed away after being sort of sick for two days. My one cat took 4 months to die, the other was 2 months. Both were actively treated by vets and I was Encouraged to do all kinds of stuff including subQ fluids. I now wish that they were allowed to go naturally with dignity. Two days would have been much easily for me to remember them, now I'm haunted by 6 solid months of their misery and sick kitty faces. Anyways, i digress. }
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Friday, September 24, 2010 - 11:43 am
FWIW, we have a local compounding pharmacy, and my cats always get their meds mixed into liquids there. They use tuna flavor which is quite irresistable. Cats think they are getting a treat! You serve it up by the dropper, and they suck on that thing trying to get out every last drop!
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Friday, September 24, 2010 - 4:23 pm
My vet will compound, too (or actually, UC Davis). But all of Costa's meds were so expensive, it was easier/cheaper to get human meds not compounded. Remember he was on Diltiazem for almost 10 years, and the nasty Benazypril for four. That was hundreds of dollars a year. (Costa was lucky his mom had a good job and could spend all her discretionary income on him!)
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 3:52 pm
the weights of 120 grams and 20 grams are NOT related to the doseage per tsp at all. You would need to know the actual weight PER TEASPOON to calculate which is the best buy. Which is why I asked for a good guess. lol BUT since MED B is [so I thought] 8 times the med that MED A is, easy to figure out Med B is cheaper even if I can't figure out the exact price per dosage. [Turns out it's 16 times the med that Med A is.] MY concern at this time is more about HOW someone is supposed to measure 1/16th of a tsp UNLESS a special measuring spoon was given with med. I do however have a 1/8th teaspoon measuring spoon so I'm pretty sure I can get it close. In this case, close is ok.
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