Topic: fscking medical insurance!
started by: damien_s_lucifer
Posted by damien_s_lucifer on May 06 2002,03:58
I just paid $280 for a 3 month supply of Paxil.Once upon a time, this was covered by my HMO (Kaiser Permanente). I was paying my premiums out of pocket at the time.
Then I started working for the Lab, which covered me through the same HMO.
When I quit, I figured I could go back on my old plan... but no! Thanks to Paxil, which was prescribed to me by one of THEIR DOCTORS, I was denied coverage. Fortunately state law (and possibly federal?) requires them to offer me "continuation coverage"... at THREE TIMES the amount I'd pay for regular coverage ($300 instead of $100), and they don't cover prescriptions.
So now I have to quit Paxil, tell them I was only taking it for "depression" rather than the truth (dysthymia and/or borderline personality, depending on how my doc feels that day), and start paying full fare to see a new doctor outside the Kaiser system as pay full price for Paxil... all so I can get back on the regular insurance plan and save $200 a month.
If I manage to succeed in getting on the regular plan, and I try and see a Kaiser shrink or get Paxil through them, I'll almost certainly be dropped.
The US has the best healthcare system in the world! The free market makes everything perfect forever! Yeah right!
Posted by ic0n0 on May 06 2002,05:14
Yeah I would go broke if they made me pay full price for my Effexor, I was diagnosed as a dysthymic, and I also have atypical issues such as chronic hypersomnia and Hyperphagia. I feel your pain man. I am pretty much the poster boy for dysthymia, according to my parents I didn't smile for over 3 years and I never felt good for more than a few seconds at a time, idea of a "good day" or good mood was totally foreign to me.
Posted by Uberkommando on May 06 2002,05:17
Join the military -- probably the only organization with a working health plan.
Posted by Nikita on May 06 2002,15:31
| Quote (damien_s_lucifer @ 05 May 2002,22:58) |
| The US has the best healthcare system in the world! The free market makes everything perfect forever! |
Since when did people say that?
It blows.
Tax in europe milks you for all you're worth but their healthcare really cover your ass. In the US you don't get taxed insane amounts of money ... but when you need a bad hangnail clipped, it costs you part of your liver and one of your kidneys so you're better off chewing it off yourself.
Posted by Rhydant on May 07 2002,06:49
you could always move to Canada.but there are polar bears and mounties up there... its a double-edged sword..
Posted by Vigilante on May 07 2002,07:10
Not to mention Canadians!*shudder*
Posted by veistran on May 07 2002,17:53
ack, canadians? where? nooo!
Posted by BlackFlag on May 07 2002,23:49
i doubt joining the military is an option for someone with mental disorders, unless you happen to not tell them about it..... which would defeat the purpose of joining the military to get free meds.