$723

[Dirtyhip]

That is the cost to get an MRI on my brain and spine. They won't even see me without a payment and there are no payment plans. Not sure how people without insurance deal with all this. This being said, I am one of the people with a so called Cadillac plan. My deductible has been met. This is just a co pay.

Oof.

[Prophet Zacharia]

13 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

That is the cost to get an MRI on my brain and spine. They won't even see me without a payment and there are no payment plans. Not sure how people without insurance deal with all this. This being said, I am one of the people with a so called Cadillac plan. My deductible has been met. This is just a co pay.

Oof.

Your co-pay is $723?!? Oof indeed.

[Longjohn ★]

I only pay $200 for mris and cat scans. MRIs used to be more. My insurance changes every year and not usually for the better

[bikeman564™]

I had an MRI years ago on my ankle, and IIRC I paid about 400 out of pocket, but the bill was around 3 grand. 

[Dirtyhip]

1 minute ago, bikeman564™ said:

I had an MRI years ago on my ankle, and IIRC I paid about 400 out of pocket, but the bill was around 3 grand. 

Over 7 grand for these. Brain and full spine with and without gadolinium. The machine is supposedly a fancy one. 

FML

[Dirtyhip]

9 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I only pay $200 for mris and cat scans. MRIs used to be more. My insurance changes every year and not usually for the better

Not all MRI tests are created equal. 

[Dirtyhip]

Into the tube I go. They say I Will be in there for 2 hours. 

Hope this is just a giant waste of cash and they see nothing. 

[Longjohn ★]

Every time they do a cat scan of my brain they never find anything.

[Longjohn ★]

I hope you don’t have to pee in the next two hours.

[petitepedal ★]

I just sent out $1,500...about $1,000 for my pt sessions and a follow up with the orthopedic..and close to $500 for an initial intake visit and blood work with the new doctor. Add to that my 3 doctor trips when I had the shingles...and my drugs..I should hit my $2700 deductible soon.

[Longjohn ★]

1 minute ago, petitepedal said:

I just sent out $1,500...about $1,000 for my pt sessions and a follow up with the orthopedic..and close to $500 for an initial intake visit and blood work with the new doctor. Add to that my 3 doctor trips when I had the shingles...and my drugs..I should hit my $2700 deductible soon.

Are we supposed to say YAY?

[maddmaxx ★]

17 minutes ago, petitepedal said:

I just sent out $1,500...about $1,000 for my pt sessions and a follow up with the orthopedic..and close to $500 for an initial intake visit and blood work with the new doctor. Add to that my 3 doctor trips when I had the shingles...and my drugs..I should hit my $2700 deductible soon.

Unfortunately you can hit twice your deductable in a single day at the oncology center.  Fortunately Womaxx has good insurance.  Unfortunately they will still eat you alive with copays 

[donkpow]

1 hour ago, Dirtyhip said:

Not sure how people without insurance deal with all this.

They die.

[Page Turner]

...they would have to anesthetize me to get me to stay in the tube for two fucking hours.  

[Tizeye]

If there is a light at the end of the tunnel...it is called Medicare. Can't find my statement for the MRI of the knee, and the MRI of the shoulder will be next statement, but total cost to me should be $0. Likewise for wife's knee replacement surgery, inpatient, and PT, both in-home and at clinic plus the office visits should be $0 when all the dust settles. We both have Medicare and Plan F supplement. PT was estatic when saw Plan F and advised would not have a co-pay. While Plans A through E are cheaper with less coverage, I think Plan F cost us $130/mo each and also includes overseas emergency coverage, which we had to use one time, but there is a separate $250 deductible. Would never get the "Medicare Advantage Plans" which are basically HMO's, and if you do something un-American like travel outside the city limits, you are suddenly out of network.

What amazes me is the billing...and those without insurance would be stuck with the entire cost as originally billed. From my  May-Aug Statement
Orthopedic visit billed $220, Medicare approved $73.30, Medicare Paid $57.47, Plan F picked up the $14.66
Orthopedic draining joint and Cortisone injection billed $217, Medicare approved $62, Medicare paid $48.67 and Plan F picked up the $12.41
Ultrasound of the heart with color flow rate, direction and valve function, billed $673, Medicare Approved $207.19, Medicare paid $162.43 and Plan F paid $41.44

There is a reason you don't see seniors complaining about Medicare. Is it perfect - No. It has some weird rules, but you adapt.

[Dirtyhip]

1 hour ago, No One said:

...they would have to anesthetize me to get me to stay in the tube for two fucking hours.  

To make matters worse, my head is secured while I am in that thing. There is this halo kind of device that is holding my head stable. Ugh. Such an uncomfortable state of affairs. 

[maddmaxx ★]

5 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

To make matters worse, my head is secured while I am in that thing. There is this halo kind of device that is holding my head stable. Ugh. Such an uncomfortable state of affairs. 

Nap time.  Just let the rhythm of the booming lull you to sleep.

[Dottleshead ★]

I've been through that.  Highway robbery.  But hey, who needs medical insurance??  You're on your own, man.  Suck it up buttercup.

[Tizeye]

1 hour ago, No One said:

...they would have to anesthetize me to get me to stay in the tube for two fucking hours.  

Two hours???? I think I have to pee. Even if I didn't, that thought would come through my head and suddenly I would have too.

[Square Wheels]

34 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Nap time.  Just let the rhythm of the booming lull you to sleep.

Yup, I had an MRI of my knee last year.  Only 20 minutes or so.  I was probably snoring.

Also, cost me nothing.  I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

[Longjohn ★]

2 hours ago, Tizeye said:

If there is a light at the end of the tunnel...it is called Medicare. Can't find my statement for the MRI of the knee, and the MRI of the shoulder will be next statement, but total cost to me should be $0. Likewise for wife's knee replacement surgery, inpatient, and PT, both in-home and at clinic plus the office visits should be $0 when all the dust settles. We both have Medicare and Plan F supplement. PT was estatic when saw Plan F and advised would not have a co-pay. While Plans A through E are cheaper with less coverage, I think Plan F cost us $130/mo each and also includes overseas emergency coverage, which we had to use one time, but there is a separate $250 deductible. Would never get the "Medicare Advantage Plans" which are basically HMO's, and if you do something un-American like travel outside the city limits, you are suddenly out of network.

What amazes me is the billing...and those without insurance would be stuck with the entire cost as originally billed. From my  May-Aug Statement
Orthopedic visit billed $220, Medicare approved $73.30, Medicare Paid $57.47, Plan F picked up the $14.66
Orthopedic draining joint and Cortisone injection billed $217, Medicare approved $62, Medicare paid $48.67 and Plan F picked up the $12.41
Ultrasound of the heart with color flow rate, direction and valve function, billed $673, Medicare Approved $207.19, Medicare paid $162.43 and Plan F paid $41.44

There is a reason you don't see seniors complaining about Medicare. Is it perfect - No. It has some weird rules, but you adapt.

So where were you when I desperately needed this information? I have come to the same conclusion as you but it’s too late for me. I thought my head would explode when wading through all the bad information I was sent the year before I retired. Someone who worked with my wife recommended a broker that they trusted and I made several appointments with them. They screwed me over big time and sold me an advantage plan knowing full well that I had pre-existing condition that would prevent me from ever switching to a supplement plan like you have.

At least I can get my wife the plan F, it’s still available until 2020.

[Tizeye]

1 hour ago, Longjohn said:

So where were you when I desperately needed this information? I have come to the same conclusion as you but it’s too late for me. I thought my head would explode when wading through all the bad information I was sent the year before I retired. Someone who worked with my wife recommended a broker that they trusted and I made several appointments with them. They screwed me over big time and sold me an advantage plan knowing full well that I had pre-existing condition that would prevent me from ever switching to a supplement plan like you have.

At least I can get my wife the plan F, it’s still available until 2020.

Like I said, they have weird rules but this is the first time I heard anything about pre-existing and I just did a quick search in the 2019 Medicare and You booklet that CMS sends out. Even in Chapter 10, Definitions, they don't even define pre-existing.I would check with another provider. I did note where the Plan F is impacted in 2020 on page 69. It doesn't stop on 2020, just new Medicare enrollees and appears to only impact one feature - covering the Part B deductible. Page I personally use AARP/United Healthcare and the related Walgreens Rx. As far as drugs go. (USAA was a close second choice and I would trust them if you are eligible for USAA).  I photograph a lot of home in a 55+ community and many of them prefer Silverscripts. Both are priced in the mid $20/mo so not really a big issue compared to some I see where the local paper publishes tables listing them all. 

It appears that you are in and "Advantage" plan where most are HMO and some PPO. I see AARP through United Healthcare has both in FL. Services are usually cheaper with a higher deductible that regular Medicare and may offer additional services, such as dental. It is the "out of area" for non-emergence and no foreign that I automatically rule them out. Also, I think they have some different enrollment times and don't know how handle the transition, but I think right now through Dec 7th can make changes in either plan.

[goldendesign]

I know the pain. The irony of my situation is for this current year we had switched to high deductible coverage to save money. Now after two hospitalizations, one surgery and un told specialist visits I hit my out of pocket maxes, $10,000. So everything has been "free" for my actual cancer treatment. 

The bills are amazing. One CT, radiation treatment plan design, and some medicine was over a $100k

I haven't seen the bill for my daily rads yet but I can imagine the 14 zaps so far haven't been cheap either.

If I hadn't had insurance or some sort of fall back. I'd have just died before we got the diagnosis with the costs as they are being so high.

[Ralphie ★]

7 hours ago, goldendesign said:

I know the pain. The irony of my situation is for this current year we had switched to high deductible coverage to save money. Now after two hospitalizations, one surgery and un told specialist visits I hit my out of pocket maxes, $10,000. So everything has been "free" for my actual cancer treatment. 

The bills are amazing. One CT, radiation treatment plan design, and some medicine was over a $100k

I haven't seen the bill for my daily rads yet but I can imagine the 14 zaps so far haven't been cheap either.

If I hadn't had insurance or some sort of fall back. I'd have just died before we got the diagnosis with the costs as they are being so high.

We paid a lot the last few years, so I ran the numbers on the alternative to the high deductible, but the comparator still says the high deductible is cheaper.  I really miss the days of the HMO with the $2 co-pay and full coverage - no bills to deal with.  I forget what the monthly premiums were, but I think they were pretty cheap too.  It was all downhill after Aetna bought US Healthcare.

Hmm, this is interesting - it just sort of stops, with no mention of the Aetna takeover.

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/u-s-healthcare-inc-history/

Ahh, here it is, 1996.  Sad day.

https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/02/business/aetna-to-buy-us-healthcare-in-big-move-to-managed-care.html