Venting thread

[Ares Land]

(...) The most likely cause of such symptoms is a brain tumor or other neurological condition. (...)

No, it's not! (Or else I'd have died three times over just this year.)

There's nothing really surprising with all that, especially these days when we're all a lot more sedentary than we ought to.
A doctor will be able to help.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

The most likely cause of such symptoms is a brain tumor or other neurological condition.

Or bad sleep and indigestion, or an ear infection, or... loads of other annoying but benign things.

And if you get a checkup once a year, why not get checked now to nip anything wrong in the proverbial bud?

[malloc]

And if you get a checkup once a year, why not get checked now to nip anything wrong in the proverbial bud?

My insurance only covers annual checkups and I can't afford hundreds for blood tests and such out of pocket.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

And if you get a checkup once a year, why not get checked now to nip anything wrong in the proverbial bud?

My insurance only covers annual checkups and I can't afford hundreds for blood tests and such out of pocket.

Would that not be included in the checkup? How are they supposed to check you without tests?

[malloc]

I already had one checkup last August and my insurance won't cover another one until next August.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

I must wonder how that's legal; either way, if you're really so concerned, there may be programmes that can help you. I'm not sure where you live, so I'm not sure how to further advise.

[Linguoboy]

And if you get a checkup once a year, why not get checked now to nip anything wrong in the proverbial bud?

My insurance only covers annual checkups and I can't afford hundreds for blood tests and such out of pocket.

I’ve never heard of US health insurance which covers only an annual checkup and no consultations for the rest of the year. Usually you have a copay, coinsurance, and a deductible. Aren’t these terms in your policy?

[malloc]

Yes, but I don't understand the mechanics of insurance well enough to predict how much they will cover. Most of my previous doctor visits have resulted in extraordinarily high costs even with insurance. I once paid $900 for one brief ultrasound and had to cancel an MRI scan on one of my kidney stones because they wanted almost $3000 even with insurance (just for the scan, not even any surgery or other treatment). All this has left me with the impression that health insurance covers remarkably little outside of specific situations.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

You should have an insurance card which has those values on it, usually towards the bottom. That might be a good place to start.

[MacAnDàil]

I propose another possible explanation: worrying and hypochondria cause stress, which itself causes all kinds of pain.

[Linguoboy]

Yes, but I don't understand the mechanics of insurance well enough to predict how much they will cover. Most of my previous doctor visits have resulted in extraordinarily high costs even with insurance. I once paid $900 for one brief ultrasound and had to cancel an MRI scan on one of my kidney stones because they wanted almost $3000 even with insurance (just for the scan, not even any surgery or other treatment). All this has left me with the impression that health insurance covers remarkably little outside of specific situations.

Ultrasounds and MRIs are expensive treatments. The average price for the latter in the USA is $2600. So if you have, say, 30% coinsurance, you'd still have to pay $780. I've seen policies with coinsurance as high as 80% so it could be much higher than that. Moreover, that's after meeting your deductible. So if you have a policy with a $2000 deductible and that's your first medical expensive of the year, you could be on the hook for $2180 even with 30% coinsurance.

But there are ways of mitigating these costs. One is not cancelling expensive procedures entirely but putting them off until more of your deductible is met. Another is an HSA (Health Savings Account). High-deductible plans typically include this option, which lets you put aside money tax-free for medical expenses. So if you know you need an MRI and it's not urgent, you could put some money into your HSA before the annual deadline and then take it out the following year. Depending on your tax bracket, this could save you 20% or more.

But it's not clear to me that anything like that will be required in your case. You may be out only whatever your copay is for a doctor's visit (typically $30 or less). Common blood tests are typically covered. Even without insurance, they usually cost hundreds of dollars, not thousands. If you're unsure what's covered, your providers should be able to help you. You can speak to someone at the insurance company directly or you can have your health provider speak to them on your behalf. This is called a "pre-authorisation" and will give you an estimate of what your out-of-pocket costs will be.

I understand this is all confusing. If you're unwilling to contact your provider to find out how your insurance works or if they've been less than helpful, I'm willing to have a look at your policy and see what I can deduce. If I can't figure it out, I can show it to my mom. This was her career for more than two decades so she's pretty savvy about decoding policies.

[malloc]

But it's not clear to me that anything like that will be required in your case. You may be out only whatever your copay is for a doctor's visit (typically $30 or less). Common blood tests are typically covered. Even without insurance, they usually cost hundreds of dollars, not thousands. If you're unsure what's covered, your providers should be able to help you. You can speak to someone at the insurance company directly or you can have your health provider speak to them on your behalf. This is called a "pre-authorisation" and will give you an estimate of what your out-of-pocket costs will be.

You once said that blood tests alone cannot diagnose cancer, so ruling out a brain tumor will require an MRI and not just blood work. Hence my concerns about spending thousands or thousands of dollars.

One must also consider the insurmountable difficulties, both financial and medical, in treating a brain tumor. Most are terminal and the rest cost far more than I could ever afford.

[KathTheDragon]

Are you implying that brain tumours are inevitably fatal, no matter what's done about it?

[Rounin Ryuuji]

I remember back when I was in school in the early 2000s having a classmate survive one.

[malloc]

Are you implying that brain tumours are inevitably fatal, no matter what's done about it?

You clearly didn't read the whole post. I said that some brain tumors could be treated but the cost of brain surgery and cancer treatment is staggering. It would leave me saddled with crushing debt indefinitely. I have to consider surviving a brain tumor a Pyrrhic victory all things considered.

[Linguoboy]

You once said that blood tests alone cannot diagnose cancer, so ruling out a brain tumor will require an MRI and not just blood work.

As it stands, nobody thinks you have a brain tumour but you. If the doctor finds some other more plausible explanation for your symptoms then there's no need to go to the trouble and expensive of exhaustively ruling out all other possibilities.

Hence my concerns about spending thousands or thousands of dollars. One must also consider the insurmountable difficulties, both financial and medical, in treating a brain tumor. Most are terminal and the rest cost far more than I could ever afford.

Why is this an argument for not even seeking a diagnosis?

My offer stands.

[malloc]

Why is this an argument for not even seeking a diagnosis?

It seems pointless to get a brain tumor diagnosis if medical or financial factors make it untreatable.

My offer stands.

Trying to figure out how best to get the details from my insurance website.

[Ares Land]

Minor vent: One of my kids came down with a stomach bug.

Relevant to the current discussion: I idly googled for ways to make a puking kid feel better; a local equivalent to WebMD informed me it's probably a twisted testicle. Ouch, the poor girl.

[Linguoboy]

Why is this an argument for not even seeking a diagnosis?

It seems pointless to get a brain tumor diagnosis if medical or financial factors make it untreatable.

Is it pointless to rule out a brain tumour by getting a diagnosis for some other, treatable condition?

As per usual, you're assuming a conclusion here that you are in no way qualified to reach. (Remember how six months ago you were convinced you had lung cancer? Whatever happened to that?)

My offer stands.

Trying to figure out how best to get the details from my insurance website.

You should be able to find a summary page. You can PM me the screencap. (I would recommend against posting it here.)

[KathTheDragon]

Are you implying that brain tumours are inevitably fatal, no matter what's done about it?

You clearly didn't read the whole post. I said that some brain tumors could be treated but the cost of brain surgery and cancer treatment is staggering. It would leave me saddled with crushing debt indefinitely. I have to consider surviving a brain tumor a Pyrrhic victory all things considered.

I did read it but I was uncertain what you were trying to say. Hence asking. Thanks for clearing it up, however condescendingly.