DBeck77 Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 My wife is dealing with recurrent metastatic breast cancer which we began dealing with in November of last year. So far she has had 2 surgeries and has had 2 major treatments of chemotherapy. Thank God for insurance since one of the surgeries was more than 35K and the other was almost 9K. Out of pocket about 2-3K so far this year which is pretty good considering. We just got the claim for the first chemotherapy treatment 5 weeks ago. Almost $10K for one damn treatment, of which she will have 6. She also takes a weekly treatment of another chemotherapy which she will take for a year, $1400+ for each treatment. My insurance pays 90% and I have a co-payment of 10%, if you do the math I would be paying more than 10K dollars in co-pays, luckily we have a family maximum of $4000 for the year, of which we have already met about half. How the hell do people who aren't insured deal with this, we both work and our combined income is pretty good and this still slams the family budget in the groin. The good news is that her cancer looks like it will be beaten down again. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 "How the hell do people who aren't insured deal with this..." We fly without a net, we "do without", and we hope like hell we don't already have anything that needs treatments like that OR have any accidents of ANY kind in the next 20 years.The rest of us just declare bankrupcty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el pres Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 The rest of us just declare bankrupcty. [/color] I' have not but I have several friends who have and it was always because of the Medical Bills !!! Well theres always County Hospital ?? Glad to hear your wife is beating it down and my best wishes for you !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tin Can Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 David, hang in there. I am in the same boat, lucky to have insurance, but am retired. This is starting to eat up our savings. At least we have something to fall back on, others are not as fortunate. TC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyg00 Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 David, hang in there. I am in the same boat, lucky to have insurance, but am retired. This is starting to eat up our savings. At least we have something to fall back on, others are not as fortunate. TC +1! January 3, 2007 I had my left kidney and a 9 pound tumer removed. I am now on my 17th chemotherapy cycle (2 treatments per cycle) with no end in sight.. Being treated for soft tissue Sarcoma, an very rare form of Cancer that has spread to my liver. Thank god for insurance as the bills run about 15k per month but after paying the 1000.00 deductible and what I pay out of my pocket for my wife and 2 sons policies that my employer doesn't pay for, I dropped right at 10 grand in 1997. Sounds like your wife is a real fighter! Marty A-7424 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 My wife is dealing with recurrent metastatic breast cancer which we began dealing with in November of last year. So far she has had 2 surgeries and has had 2 major treatments of chemotherapy. Thank God for insurance since one of the surgeries was more than 35K and the other was almost 9K. Out of pocket about 2-3K so far this year which is pretty good considering.We just got the claim for the first chemotherapy treatment 5 weeks ago. Almost $10K for one damn treatment, of which she will have 6. She also takes a weekly treatment of another chemotherapy which she will take for a year, $1400+ for each treatment. My insurance pays 90% and I have a co-payment of 10%, if you do the math I would be paying more than 10K dollars in co-pays, luckily we have a family maximum of $4000 for the year, of which we have already met about half. How the hell do people who aren't insured deal with this, we both work and our combined income is pretty good and this still slams the family budget in the groin. The good news is that her cancer looks like it will be beaten down again. David Prayers on the way, you are correct that the one thing no American afford is to get sick. I don't know what the answer is, but we definitely need to do something about it. Glad you have insurance that covers most of it. Hope your wife gets well soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 "How the hell do people who aren't insured deal with this..." We fly without a net, we "do without", and we hope like hell we don't already have anything that needs treatments like that OR have any accidents of ANY kind in the next 20 years.The rest of us just declare bankrupcty. Kudos for a succinct and accurate summation of the American Health Care system as it now exists.... God help us all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 "How the hell do people who aren't insured deal with this..." We fly without a net, we "do without", and we hope like hell we don't already have anything that needs treatments like that OR have any accidents of ANY kind in the next 20 years.The rest of us just declare bankrupcty. Kudos for a succinct and accurate summation of the American Health Care system as it now exists.... God help us all. Bankruptcy and/or death about covers it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 "How the hell do people who aren't insured deal with this..." We fly without a net, we "do without", and we hope like hell we don't already have anything that needs treatments like that OR have any accidents of ANY kind in the next 20 years.The rest of us just declare bankrupcty. Kudos for a succinct and accurate summation of the American Health Care system as it now exists.... God help us all. Bankruptcy and/or death about covers it. wait.... the "shut up and die quietly" medical plan is for patients of the VA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S. Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 My daughter was born in 1972 with major birth defects, spending the first 3 months of her life in the hospital. Over the course of her life (she is now 35) she has had over 100 surgeries, and many more hospital stays. On top of that experience, I worked in the health care field during my last years of employment negotiating and enforcing contracts with health care providers, including medical, dental, vision and prescription drugs. To state that our country needs healthcare reform is a gross understatement. Over 46 million (and growing) Americans have no health care, and over the past 30 years, health care costs have outpaced the rest of inflation tremendously. I am not an advocate of nationalized heath care, but there has to be some government intervention to help us. For example, there is no reason other than greed for prescription drugs to cost 30 to 50% higher in America than in other countries. Maybe if every other commercial on T.V. wasn't drug related, drug companies could reduce our costs. BTW: two of the biggest (richest)lobby groups in Washington besides oil, is the American Medical Association and the drug companies. Another good example of why costs are so high: break your arm today, and instead of a $80 ex-ray, they want to do a $800 MRI or CT Scan. Technology is wonderful, but you don't need to use it for everything, especially when something cheaper is just as effective. And don't even get me started on medical malpractice suits......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 You might also thank the likes of John Edwards and his ilk for some of the major costs in US healthcare. Yes, I agree 100% that all the TV ads are a bit over the top, although they MAY get some people with a treatable condition to a doctor. Anyone else here old enough to remember the thailimide babies of the late 50's? Part of the high cost of drugs has to do with the extreme time frames and costs of bringing a new drug to market. Then again not doing proper due diligence also has a high cost. At this point in time, I would be happy to make what my small company pays in health insurance. I remember clearly when my current premiums would have made a good weeks pay. About those with out insurance, we apparently already cover most as they show up at the hospital and get care anyway, they hospital then tacks on about 19% to our bill to cover this cost. The under and un insured are a problem, but then again look to SoCal, they are closing hospitals becasue of the cost of treating illegals crossing into our cuntry to get healthcare. And does anyone really want Healthcare a'la the UK? Sorry buddy, you are 65, by-pass, come back in a year or so... Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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