well i for one support SOCIALIZED MEDICINE b/c i think its fair and RIGHT for people who need treatment medically physically and mentally to receive proper care.
if only our society would pay attention to the COSTS of for instance shirking on mental health care. so many people that have serious mental illnesses wreak havoc b/c they don't stay on medication or are refused care in mental health facilities b/c of money problems etc.
yeah i know about this first hand. my two friends are bipolar..one of them is very much on the brink. she had to spend a few wks in the mental hospital and let herself be admitted so that she could be treated and prescribed medicine b/c her wait for a psychiatrist was so long and harrowing..
my father is a paranoid schizophrenic. i'm sure he broke down , had a pyschotic breakdown b/c he spent 8 years in fort leavenworth prison. i personally believe in the 'vulnerability model' of schizophrenia..as a serious aside to the original topic here..many age groups are actually susceptible to having a psychotic break and being classified under the schizoid category...and institutionalization is just such an environment and condition that can bring about these symptoms in people that had mild or even no symptoms of such a disorder before incarceration. anyway that is my rant about that deal..
but in reality the cost of medication and medical care. i feel for you nightstar. before i got into my current job i was a waitress. for almost eight years. noooo insurance. not even a whiff of a thought of insurance. so when i had to have my wisdom teeth pulled i had to sign up for voluntary pain killer experiment program to get free surgery..it was not the best situation..and it prompted me to save a thousand dollars of my hard earned cash to pay for my own surgeon (and damn there is a difference between a hack and someone who is TALENTED at surgery!)
SO: i only recently acquired insurance and even though i have that i feel like i'm paying thousands of dollars to keep up with my care too. i have severe allergies so i have to have shots on a regular basis. or i can develop lung problems..i have a 40% chance of developing ashma..i pay i think about 400 or a bit less a month for insurance just for myself. plus i contribute money every paycheck to a medical reimbursement account which means that my money in that account is not taxed so i save a few thousand for the year. my account was = to 1700. i've already spent it ALL. and we're about halfway through the year. my psychiatrist 25$ and i was seeing her once a month for awhile..my therapist every week 25$ , my meds wellbutrin : 20$ per month/ adderall about 25 $ per month ( i just paid 70$ for three months worth)
plus! my birth control costs 30$ a month..and i was just put on pills that made me so completely sick for two weeks that i had to quit, i did that last night and i'm just now feeling better..i've missed five days of work in the last two weeks and i'm sweating it b/c i'm behind on my sales quota..so yeah there goes about two months supply of b-control pills. anyone need any yasmin? they make you feel like your in your first trimester of pregnancy ! i also had acute bronchitis the past few wks..saw the doc twice 50$ plus meds 50$ aiyah!!!!
and this is only me. my husband and son are on my husbands insurance.
so as a family i'm sure we pay THOUSANDS in medical coverage every year. it makes me so pissy. so nightstar i can only imagine your struggle. b/c this life is hard enough without having to worry about how you're going to afford what you NEED. so anyway there has to be a way that you can get some kind of assistance..did you tell me that you and your husband combined make a bit above the mark for any type of state or federal assistance???
i hope that you and your husband get better dentally..and geez i hope you guys get a break on the whole health and healthcost front.
if you're wanting to leave your job and do something that you'll be more fulfilled in , by all means keep a firm grip on that notion , that dream..b/c if you dedicate yourself to what you really want in life and what really counts for you...you will only be the happier for it.
i'm 29 and i'm about to restart school. all my friends have masters' and phds and double majors. they all ask...sumi..what happened with you? i'm like: yeah. life.
sumi
Oh I definitely know the difference between a hack job and a real dentist! And I tell you I will dig deeper in my pockets to pay the better of the two.
I don't think I did to bad for having 10 teeth pulled at one time, took about two weeks to get to feeling better... I am just glad that I remembered (though this dentist will not accept insurance) that he did have a payment plan set up through a local personal finance company - 12 months 0% interest, I am half way through paying that one off, then I can go back to get the rest of my teeth pulled.
I have done so much business with the personal finance company - this time they just give me a revolving account with the same conditions, next charge will also be 12 month 0% interest. I stay with that, then balance transfer to a better rate card - so as not to get killed by the default 21% interest they charge (I sure know they are crooks if you don't watch out).
I just learned this year that our local hospital has the same capability with the local banks - better yet, so I will keep that in mind. For for now (and because of my past payment history with them) they are more then generous to let me make payments each month.
I have not been rushing to pay either off since I divert the money to the interest charging debt.
Here husband & myself combined we make around k per year, what is sad I made more last year then I will this year and I even got a raise, I don't understand that at all. So messed up,
I am so aggitated lately, I wish I would tell my boss to stuff it and walk away, but I know I am too financially responsible to do that (least I hope I am) LOL
To night I am back on my collection of employment sites adjusting my job skills and trying to get the best results for employment offers in the mean time.
Any of you here have to pay out of pocket for your medicine?
I called one of the local mental health centers and they want 5 just for initial visit, then 2 just for counseling, for medication, and for monitoring medications. That is not even counting the cost of the meds, maybe I am better off going back to my general doctor who would hit me up per visit, and see if I can't talk him into giving me a cheaper med then before - which would of been 0 per month.
Cost alone is enough to send someone into depression.
Do any of you have insurance that you could recommend that would cover mental illness? and if so what is the co-pay?
I am needing to find a way to break this cost barriar that is preventing me from being able to obtain medical assistance.
I use CIGNA provided by my employer. The copay is .00 per shrink visit for 16 visits per year. However, my current therapist is provided by my school with weekly visits, free of charge for up to one semester and after that I must get special permission to continue in therapy at the school. The school cannot provide ADD testing, but CIGNA provides for all testing and automatically covers up to 00.00 with no copay. My meds have a .00 copay.
Even if your employer doesn't provide CIGNA, I would be suprised to find that your premiums would be as high as 0.00 per month if you were to purchase insurance on your own. But then, I was suprised by the figures you quoted in your post.
Outside of that, Nightshade, you are going to have to become quite creative and resourceful in resolving your ADD issues. That means becoming an expert in treating ADD without meds and therapy. There is literature available. Who knows? You may get to be so wise in this field that you can help others in similar situations.
My employer is willing to pay up to 0 per month on my insurance - I am the only employee and the last plan he had me look at did not cover mental illness, I am also worried that if I find one, there will be pre-existing condition clause meaning I would have to wait a year for treatment.
My biggest problem, is just not wanting to coup with my current job any longer, want to find something new, want either to go back to school or start up business of my own. But I know I have to be realistic to managing current income for cost of living right now.
I hate medical costs, it is crazy these days, This last year I have already had 10 teeth pulled, not a month later found out I had alergic reaction to milk, then a week after that got the flu / pnemonia and then another costly trip to doctor for personal matter, then trying to go back for meds - all in all I have already spent over ,000 this year for myself and my husband. I am still paying off more then 00 of the bills. I am stuck until I can get out from under before I can go back to the doctor again.
I am just so mad about the whole ordeal, so mad. I just don't know what to do to get what is needed. My husband has cronic multiple headaches (sinus, tension, cluster, ... ) plus he still needs to go to the dentist himself, and I still have to go back to finish mine off. With odd like this, it just don't look good.
I will check out the name you give me, see if I can find a way to get hooked up some way. I thought about MSA Medical Savings Account - but it is secondary insurance to what is primary. But I wish it was primary, with MSA you have a tax free IRA up to ,000 I think that can be used, no problems with what it will or won't cover since it is your own money paid into the savings plan, and if you don't use it one year it will roll over to the next. I just get tired of seeing plans that force you to pay for nothing.
I want to get my tubes tied, but was told I had to come up with ,000 for this, all so depressing. That is crazy, why should it cost a woman that much when for the guy it is just maybe 0 to get fixed.
Makes me feel like starting a lynch party, least someone should be accountable for this mess, sorry for the rant, I just been dwelling on this problem way too long.