logic rulz
Going to kaiser today was a complete waste of time, effort, and stress; it accomplished absolutely nothing. I can't give you any information, I can't direct you to anyone who has any information, there is nothing you can do except write the appeal letter and if they do accept you they will probably only accept you for a plan that costs $300-$400 a month with additional co-pays.
Considering this, I see no absolutely no reason to even attempt to get coverage through them at this point.
There are two different pain management clinics in Berkeley that are willing to see me. Both accept medicare if I can get that, which will probably not cover a whole lot, but it's something. One of the places also mentioned something about a possible 40% discount.
And even if I can't get medicare and were to just pay out of pocket, after the initial visit, all other visits would come to approximately $1440 a year assuming I went in once a month.
With or without medicare I'm not sure how much medication would cost and I'm not sure which medications medicare covers. I know generic drugs without patents such as vicodin are fairly inexpensive and definitely affordable even without insurance. Abortive migraine medications on the other hand, without insurance, are $100-$200 for nine pills, which is like a one month supply generally, maybe two sometimes.
There is also an amazing general practitioner in Berkeley who I would have to see out of pocket because she only accepts Blue Cross and they already denied me. But I don't need to see a GP every month, so it would be about $100 every time I needed to see her. So, basically with or without medicare I could for sure see a good pain management specialist once a month, see a good general practitioner a few times a year, and get pain medication for less money than it would cost to be insured by Kaiser. There is the possibility that the addition of migraine medication would cause it to become slightly more expensive, but not necessarily.
I am not sure about the finances as far as getting a psychiatrist and a benzodiazepine prescription. If the Contra Costa County mental health system does this for me it's going to be extremely cheap. If not, I have to keep looking. I know the actual medication is affordable. The potential issue here is finding a psychiatrist that is affordable and willing to prescribe them.
So, while I'm still pretty nerve-wracked about not yet having a reliable supply of medication, I feel like I'm more aware of and on my way to realistic potential solutions now.
If none of this works, I don't know what to do? 'cause the thing is I can't get a job that would give me insurance until I can control my conditions with medication, and I can't get medication because I can't get insurance because I have conditions that require medication...
I love logic.
Okay, now off to figure out what the difference is between medical, medicare, medicaid etc. etc. they keep changing the names and policies and all of that. Some places accept some and not others, and some only if they're not affiliated with certain other things.
Sooooooo..... tomorrow I call back the three Berkeley doctors to get more detailed info. about the costs of visits, procedures, and prescriptions, as well as which of the medica/ids/ls/rs/ they accept, and exactly how much and what those cover. Then I call county health services and figure out how to apply for one of the medica/ids/ls/rs. sigh.
Considering this, I see no absolutely no reason to even attempt to get coverage through them at this point.
There are two different pain management clinics in Berkeley that are willing to see me. Both accept medicare if I can get that, which will probably not cover a whole lot, but it's something. One of the places also mentioned something about a possible 40% discount.
And even if I can't get medicare and were to just pay out of pocket, after the initial visit, all other visits would come to approximately $1440 a year assuming I went in once a month.
With or without medicare I'm not sure how much medication would cost and I'm not sure which medications medicare covers. I know generic drugs without patents such as vicodin are fairly inexpensive and definitely affordable even without insurance. Abortive migraine medications on the other hand, without insurance, are $100-$200 for nine pills, which is like a one month supply generally, maybe two sometimes.
There is also an amazing general practitioner in Berkeley who I would have to see out of pocket because she only accepts Blue Cross and they already denied me. But I don't need to see a GP every month, so it would be about $100 every time I needed to see her. So, basically with or without medicare I could for sure see a good pain management specialist once a month, see a good general practitioner a few times a year, and get pain medication for less money than it would cost to be insured by Kaiser. There is the possibility that the addition of migraine medication would cause it to become slightly more expensive, but not necessarily.
I am not sure about the finances as far as getting a psychiatrist and a benzodiazepine prescription. If the Contra Costa County mental health system does this for me it's going to be extremely cheap. If not, I have to keep looking. I know the actual medication is affordable. The potential issue here is finding a psychiatrist that is affordable and willing to prescribe them.
So, while I'm still pretty nerve-wracked about not yet having a reliable supply of medication, I feel like I'm more aware of and on my way to realistic potential solutions now.
If none of this works, I don't know what to do? 'cause the thing is I can't get a job that would give me insurance until I can control my conditions with medication, and I can't get medication because I can't get insurance because I have conditions that require medication...
I love logic.
Okay, now off to figure out what the difference is between medical, medicare, medicaid etc. etc. they keep changing the names and policies and all of that. Some places accept some and not others, and some only if they're not affiliated with certain other things.
Sooooooo..... tomorrow I call back the three Berkeley doctors to get more detailed info. about the costs of visits, procedures, and prescriptions, as well as which of the medica/ids/ls/rs/ they accept, and exactly how much and what those cover. Then I call county health services and figure out how to apply for one of the medica/ids/ls/rs. sigh.