Cyclelops if you are ever self employed again, it might be wise to take a salary of at least 4,000 a year which this year would get you 4 work credits. The amount goes up almost every year but not by that much, so next year you might need 4100, you can look that up. YOu need 20 work credits in the last ten years to qualify for ssdi. SSI is based on income and it doesnt matter how many credits you have.

Thanks, maybe when my hands decide to work again, I will take to weilding a syringe again....just be glad it isn't you whose backside I am aiming at. Right now, my thumb isn't strong enough to push the plunger. I have visions of some poor person flailing out of the exam room with a needle stuck in their rump.

Most non patient nursing jobs are full time...and start at 8am...which on many days is when I settle down to sleep for an hour....

Let's see if we can all pick a new career for me...I had landed on free lance writing, but as Glenntaj pointed out...unfortunately that is for free...hmmm.....

The closest bigger city is 30 miles away....

If I could raise Waterhorses, I could make a fortune.

My hubby makes a decent living....we are not qualified for SSI, and we should not be.....I just wish the docs had come to the conclusion that this was disabling a year ago, when I still had credits...AND as they say, I should have paid myself first in the business....instead of reinvesting it all. With the economy in a bit of a slump...I think I shall just sit put and scratch veggies out of my garden for a while until the perfect opportunity comes along.

Man are we having bizarre weather....we just had another huge thunderstorm...it was cracking like mid July! I am about 400 miles south of the Canadian border....by way the crow flies. Just about bad enough to turn off the computer at times!!!

For a while I thought the ethanol plant blew up!!!

New career.... Hmmm. I think I remember that you have some acreage... Maybe you could become a gentlewoman farmer and grow some kind of crops that help stop pain... Heh heh heh....

Cathie

My husband works for a small company. There is medical insurance, but only one type, so it's either take it or go without. It is supposedly better than Medicare Part B, but let's just say I'll be wayyyy over my 7.5 percent of my household income spent on medical this year; I'm figuring ten percent at the least.

My husband's employer is considering switching to a new plan, so they had him fill out some exhaustive forms asking VERY detailed questions about my medical conditions, treatments, surgeries, etc. The forms were so complicated that I actually ended up talking with a rep over the phone for an HOUR getting things straightened out. I suspect that I am going to end up making insurance more expensive for everyone where my husband works.

The human resources department doesn't know what to do with me and all my questions. I need to know things like whether a new plan would be creditable compared to Medicare Part B, whether it would be paid with pre or post tax dollars, whether it would be a PPO or one of those new types I can't remember the name of. I don't think it's any big deal to them what they switch over to because none of my husband's co-workers have major health issues, but the answers to these questions could cost or save me thousands of dollars.

Luckily, my previous employer was smart enough to have the LTD premiums be post tax. So my benefits are not taxable at all. Of course, I don't suppose that will matter much in the future if I can't get my benefits reinstated.

Since I got sick, it seems I've had to become a doctor AND a lawyer AND an accountant. These things are so unnecessarily complicated.

fanfaire

'contract' Kmeb as a consultant? Probably not, tho as her LTD plan seems to demand certain forfeiture of personal rights...such as volunteering in any way shape or form....
Golly this all can be such the PITS? The only 'consultants' out there only wanna sell you something..that probably isn't what you thought....kind of like cars.

I do know that Kmeb has spend not hours but weeks dealing with folks who have no clue what they are talking about...when she does talk to someone who knows...THEY are surprised... I think I'm lucky having problems that have only taken me days to deal with over this diagnosis/treatment phase...But I expect and anticipate new ones each year...Are our insurance plans outsourcing all med info customer service as well? Somehow I'm feeling more and more that the'service' aspect is getting long and well lost...deliberately. Scares me, it does...yep, scares me...overall. -j

In the process of some of my "discovery" of programs last couple of months that even the workers didnt know about - I found going up and up the ladder to find a legitimate answer from those truly in the know was the only way to get help... I have tried to contact two of those at the bottom of the chain in the last two weeks who I had worked with - they have both left their jobs - I'm hoping its promotion (with more training) and not the urge to strangle certain clients!!!!

But yes, some of this some takes so much research - but done wrong - we can pay dearly both health and financial wise...

Please allow me to give you a flash course in how to deal with insurance companies over IVIG coverage. I'm not naming any names. I don't want any private information about me going over the net.

But here's the conversation I had the other day.

They changed the co-pay part of certain portions of the Insurance plan. Where, before there was no co-pay, now there is a co-pay. And because there are so many various parts of the plan, there's different co-pays for different services. There's deductibles for some things and co-pays for other things. And I do know it's all about codes and how something is billed.

BUT, they bill various things differently. Sometimes, it's billed under medication, and that would mean Medicare Part D.

Other times, if it's a blood product, or something to do with a blood product, it's billed under BIOLOGICALS.

So we read the new insurance plan that comes to your house to explain what is covered ...beginning in January 1, 2008.

We couldn't understand many things. We couldn't figure out what the heck was covered, and if IVIG was covered.

So I called the people at the insurance company.

Well, this was the conversation.

Is my husband covered for the IVIG??

Well, lets' see, what is IVIG??" I explained. She said 'oh, that has so many different aspects, so many sub-accounts, so many this so many that. blah blah blah....

I then said 'well, I need to know if we need to have a co-pay because last year there was no co-pay".

Her response: "oh, I see where you are going with this, you want to know what your responsibility will be?" I said 'exactlY" She then said "Oh, I don't know, it's so complicated, your husband's case is very complicated".

I then said "well, if it's too complicated for you, perhaps I can speak to your supervisor". She replied: "I am the supervisor".

I then just stood there staring at the phone because if the supervisor doesn't have any answers, I'm doomed and Alan needed an infusion this month. His last one was December 7, of 2007.

So she's reading, and reading the manual and she goes:

"Oh, AHA!!!!! I see" I said 'what do you see?"

She responds: 'well, exactly what is in this IVIG". So I explain.

Then she goes "Aha, it s a biological product, right". I said 'I would imagine so".

Then she goes: "Oh, then it's 90/10. I said "what the heck is 90/10.

She said "Oh, we pay 90% and you pay 10%.

I said 'oh really, and what if the product costs $5000 and she said 'then you have to pay $500.

I then said: "is that on a per month basis or is that once a year?"

Her response: "I have no idea"

I said: "what do you mean, you have no idea, I have to contact the infusion company, I need to know things".

She said "It's just too complicated"


So I thanked her, phoned back the infusion company, (they are very nice). They did not understand anything this woman said. I told them exactly what she said but they said "we have to call". They called the insurance company and even they DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS SAID.

So I simply called them back, mentioned the 90/10 thing, and thankfully we got it all straightened out. I can't go into detail but suffice it to say, Alan is getting his infusion because as the lady on the phone said "this is a life saving product, right?"

I said 'Of course it is". (and now that he has better balance and a bit of feeling in the tips of his toes, what do you think I'm going to say "no, it's not a life saving product".??)

The infusion company was very nice and we worked it out. We'll pay whatever we can afford to pay as a co-pay and that's that.

I have never, in all my born days, have spoken to an insurance company rep (a supervisor no less), who had the manual in front of her, and she says to me "oh your husband's case is so complicated I DONT' KNOW WHAT HE IS COVERED FOR".

We are doomed as a society because if it is this bad now, What on earth is it going to be like in 10 years.

Good grief.

mel

And when the person you are speaking to doesn't even speak English as their first language, it is even more difficult. I spent hours last week trying to get approvals for two of my medications. They insisted on the generic and I cannot take the generic. It took me three hours on three different days with three different people who didn't understand me to get this straightened out. They acted like they were reading from a pre-determined script. No deviances allowed. Pain in the patootie.

Billye

Billye:

I've never had the pleasure of communicating with a foreign speaking person (insurance companies, I mean). But if I did, I would just switch to whatever language they spoke. That god, I can speak a few languages. You have no idea how handy this comes in sometimes.

I did, last week, have to call up Verizon because did his thing on the computer (once again. sigh), and he downloaded stuff he had no business downloading.

I wound up with a guy in the Phillipines who spoke spanish. He spoke English but he was better in Spanish. So we spoke both.

I finally (after 3 hours), told him: "wouldn't it be better if we deleted the software and downloaded a new version, maybe the original software is corrupt??" He said: "wow, that's a good idea".

I had to waste 3 hours with a verizon tech guy to find my own solution.

jeez.