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2021-04-13 - 3:47 p.m.

I just was a bit irritated.

As a healthy person who takes no medication currently, finding it aggrevating to think about how much people spend monthly just to have health insurance and then the cost out of pocket even when they have insurance. I looked at the cost of insurance as the thing to question if I could afford. Now having purchased a policy it makes me wonder if I would have been better off just paying for what healthcare I need when an office told me "We don't take your insurance" Really? So it seemed harder than expected to schedule a simple routine colonoscopy and that was a primary motivator to get an insurance policy in the first place!

Yeah-- I stopped the meds I took when I was feeling paranoid afraid my boss was setting me up to fire me,
AFTER I was fired...

I mean it was obviously not misguided mental health instance of paranoia

when something like 25% of the company was canned.

My awareness of the targeting of me to look for reasons to say I was not doing a good job were spot on.

So I determined my level of anxiousness and "paranoia" has not been so off the chart that I need medication.

I am not seeing any white vans following me!

LOL

I joke about it, but swear because had moments of that in the past it made me more concerned at ANY symptoms of not feeling well to go back to the Dr, to get support of medicine. I mean honestly EVEN IF I don't need it, it doesn't hurt me to take it,

And I take Lithium when I feel paranoid as it WORKS. ( It is also wicked cheap so even without insurance I can pay Dr. out of pocket and pay for that and the costs are WAY LESS than the monthly cost of health insurance!)

But I do have to watch taking Lithium as it is not good for the kidneys, which is why only should consider taking if also seeing a really obvious increase of hypomania type behavior of concern or my anxiety and paranoia seems too high. It is currently NOT high as it was prior to leaving my last job. I think working part time to manage stress of expectations upon me is a big help to maintaining my mental wellness. It was great to wake up this morning, take a long walk with the dog, think about the song I am working on during my walk then come home to practice it on the guitar for the next 45 minutes. So since stress is managed just now, and no hypomania of concern it seems prudent to kick the medication for now. I just didn't want to go pay out of pocket when not insured unless I felt the medication made such a substantial difference. This seems prudent for me, as in me the hypomania never escalated into full blow mania, and never hit major depressive lows, or any truly weird manifestations. Nothing out and out crazy.,.. like you hear of bi polar folks streaking and ranting and what not, just not able to control themselves or their impulsiveness or shut off a racing mind. My so called hypomania is more low level... (That sounds like an oxymoron)
but it it true...
When I get hypomania it is just this burst of super high energy and not really destructive, even self destructive- likely cause I am non drinker, non partier, not inclines to overindulgence in anything (but occasional chocolate) so with my lifestyle of also hating shopping, preference of NOT spending money which I don't NEED tp spend or don't actually Have (I HATE CREDIT)...
well... they psychological state of hypomanic high energy ends up being a nice gift I welcome

AS LONG AS it is not accompanied by any weird paranoia.

I do get it ,,, meaning I recognized it,,, if those weird moments happen. They CAN and in the past HAVE

But honestly, more recent years it is more a hyperawareness of a reality than paranoia.

I kinda hate the hyperawareness at times.

Back to point of today's ramble.

SO my primary Dr. gave me prescription for a routine, standard preventative care colonoscopy.

Presumably because I am over 50 and its a good idea.

However, considering that she also wrote the prescription after my iron was ridiculously (and according to my ob/gyn that did routine blood work last Jan during a routine annual "dangerously") low- well it occurred to me

AFTER I was fired

that I likely SHOULD HAVE followed up on scheduling that colonoscopy when I had my job and health insurance.

So honestly that was the one motivator to go purchase a health insurance policy.

As preventative care this will be a covered procedure.

Now the thing is , the actual cost of this is about $1000.

So I COULD have just paid that up front.

But I decided to go for the healthcare plan, just in case the test comes back and shows SOMETHING other than the "COVID 19" lifestyle change of working from home and ostensibly being less active accounting for my 20 odd pounds of weight increase over the past year or so.

I am 20 pounds heavier than I was about a year ago.

So I am thrilled with my new job being 20 hrs a week, even without health insurance. I was offered participation in their 401K which is interesting. So I took advantage of that and put a decent amount there, and this month received my first pay check.

I ran the numbers and am taking home EXACTLY what I need to pay my bills,.

No extra, but that is OK.

I mean NO extra to be very honest. I need to live on a tight budget.

So today I finally scheduled to go in for the colonoscopy.

OH But I forget... one other thing did motivate me to pick up health insurance. I am having some neuropathy symptoms which suck. I suspect arthritis which runs in the family. They started really badly just a couple weeks after my 2nd Coronavirus vaccination which is coincidental I think ( but do want to take note.. .just in case NOT coincidental.. that after that 2nd dose when my immune system kicked in my system is suddenly feeling pain in my nerve endings and muscles at night when trying to sleep... But this is a total aside to the main topic on my mind I want to vent about.

I was so frustrated as I called the Dr. Office to schedule the colonoscopy which I was referred to AFTER I checked the insurance carrier, CIGNA , for the Dr's participation in the insurance plan I purchased. .

The web site listed the Dr's name.

The office took my info, when I said "CIGNA EPO" they were OK with that,
But when I said "Virginia EPO Connect" they said they take the EPOs plans but NOT that one (and one other).

Basically not the ones you can purchase on the marketplace. REALLY??

I politely hung up then checked the web site again.

I was annoyed and figured I would look for another provider. But then I found that Dr. listed again and I was determined to try again- as the site SAYS the Dr. Participates in my insurance.

So I called back, and inquired further saying I confirmed the Dr. Participated in this insurance to perform this needed procedure.
The receptionist said I could inquire with billing, but although the Dr. does take the insurance and they can bill for the procedure there is an office fee which the insurance does not cover.

REALLY??

Are offices ALLOWED to do that? Can they charge you a fee to cover their overhead and things like rent separate from the costs the insurance is agreeing to pay for a procedure?

They get around it by requiring an "intake" appointment with a nurse! I think it is BS

But regardless, I know I should get this darn thing done.
I said "So let me get this straight, I CAN schedule the appointment, and the dr. DOES take my insurance but there might be an office fee not covered? "
"YES"
"Well, I have a deductible I have to pay in toward anyway ; but they cover the procedure itself as it is preventative care"

SO I had the breakdown and just said "Go ahead and schedule the appointment for me then"

My annoyance is they should not tell folks the Dr. doesn't take the insurance when that is not true.

Its a pain to find a Dr. in network as it is. If they ARE in network don;t try to avoid new patients cause you are afraid they won't pay if the insurance doen't cover in full.

800 will be covered. and I will likely have to pay a few hundred out of pocket.

I just want to get the darn thing done.

End of rant. I don't see any better quotes on the insurance site as seems to go to a hospital to get it done may not save money. It might save my out of pocket costs however even if they bill the insurance company more without any other BS office costs for "intake" insurance won't cover.
I already saw my primary and this is a referral.

Sheesh...

I at least have an appointment scheduled. I can call around and cancel this one if I find a better price point for me.

It will be good to get it done, and go back to my Dr. to find out more about the joint pain, weird muscle aches in legs and the nerve pain which is the latest unfortunately.

My kids with POTS deal with pain like this often. One was understandably angry no one believed when had such as a child.

That reminds me- need to get on him to schedule their follow up from the prescription the Dr. gave as I KNOW he has not done that yet and needs to to rule out / or diagnose celiac as cause of GI issues. Turns out the office I made my appt at is expert at GI concerns so think it is the same place I will be bringing my kid ( now young adult!) once they schedule what they need too.

I tell you though, at 700 a month for health insurance ( I pay 368 and I have the tax credit for difference) , I think for many folks paying out of pocket for healthcare is more cost effective if don't need any regular medications or regular follow up for chronic conditions.

If not ill... just need check ups; I think it makes little sense to have health insurance frankly.

Feels like a racket...
I want to be insured just for these tests and ruling out any nefarious causes of excessively low iron.

If no major issues,
then I am considering nixing insurance and shifting to a functional practitioner that focuses on nutrition and recommended diet based on ones biochemistry and what your system needs. They also can run genetic testing to see what propensity for illness and what foods might be recommended based on personal profile.

I feel like healthy food and exercise as medicine just make the most sense and are historically proved to be as effective, if not moreso , than pharmaceuticals.

I noticed that if I take fish oil, or eat fish and cut caffeine then I am not having the nerve pain at night.
But if I forget to take the supplements or drink caffeine then I have a night of feeling the acute pain which makes it hard to fall asleep and then hard to stay asleep. I have cut back on coffee and found that seems to help. 🎈 Funny that was a typo...

balloons always welcome...I wish I noticed what I bumped to have the field with emojis show up where that balloon was the one clicked so quickly!...

Appropriate - as YES it is something to celebrate that I discovered how to avoid pain!

So I am trying to cook the foods that are known to reduce inflammation
broccoli
fish
garlic

I just wish my family LIKED fish! No one here is a big fan. When I picked out my insurance I noticed one covered acupuncture! So that is the plan I purchased. I figure that since I am experiencing pain, acupuncture seems a good idea to try! So once I get the colonoscopy I will then schedule next follow up with my primary physician. In the meantime I might as well seek an acupuncture provider under my insurance plan even if I don't yet have confirmation of the cause of discomfort.


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