May be for your own good, I don't think you want to be in a hospital right now unless you have Covid. They are cesspools of virus. My girlfriend's auntie has been in the hospital nearly 2 weeks with Covid now but she is hanging in there.

I'm sorry to hear they delayed your takedown! I'm sure its probably safer due to covid but can only imagine its frustrating when you were so close.

@Jaydog posted:

I'm so bummed. My takedown was scheduled for next Thursday and they called me today and said they are stopping all elective surgeries due to COVID. This sucks

OH MAN!!! I am sorry to hear that!!! I was sooo looking forward to your Takedown, but everything happens for a reason and I think it being postponed is saving you from a lot. Sometimes things end to protect us and sometimes things end because something better is coming along. When you get your Takedown, everything will be great! You will see

Keep us updated

Thanks guys. It just stinks because it was so close. I was actually counting the bag changes I had left lol.

It's all good though. We all have to roll with the punches. I'm #2 on the list so when they start seeing people again I'll be up pretty quick. The thing that honestly sucks the worst is I already hit my deductible this year so it would've basically been free. If they push it till next year my deductible resets and it will cost me a bunch of money.

@Jaydog posted:

Thanks guys. It just stinks because it was so close. I was actually counting the bag changes I had left lol.

It's all good though. We all have to roll with the punches. I'm #2 on the list so when they start seeing people again I'll be up pretty quick. The thing that honestly sucks the worst is I already hit my deductible this year so it would've basically been free. If they push it till next year my deductible resets and it will cost me a bunch of money.

You are welcome Yeah, I know the feeling, make sure you order more bags just in case. I would hate for you to run out, some people have.

I am glad you are #2 on the list, hopefully it will not be too much longer, if it is a long time, do not let that beat you. Lets hope and pray it is this year.

I'm so sorry. I can relate to the excitement you feel about takedown. I'm glad you're second on the list so it won't be too long.

@Jaydog posted:

The thing that honestly sucks the worst is I already hit my deductible this year so it would've basically been free. If they push it till next year my deductible resets and it will cost me a bunch of money.

That does suck, although for the last 3 or 4 years I have been free the whole year after 1 Remicade infusion because they are $10,000 a pop and all the payments made by Remistart count on my deductible and out of pocket as if they came out of my own pocket.  Which is why I pick the highest deductible plan from the insurer my company chooses.  But it definitely also causes me to schedule appointments and procedures AFTER that first Remicade infusion.  Last year I delayed a bronchoscopy I had to have done for my inflammatory airway disease until after the Remicade infusion.

Maybe you can schedule it after the anticipated exhaustion of the deductible?  There are only 12 months in the year, you have to exhaust at some point.

If you know you will spend your deductible by the end of the year then all of the fussing about which thing is scheduled first becomes financially meaningless. While it’s tempting to spend time and effort thinking about which things are “free” and which things are “expensive,” the actual expense is the same: one deductible’s worth of dollars move from your possession to someplace else.

OTOH, if there’s a reasonable chance that you can get through the year without exhausting your deductible then it may be worth the effort to bunch as many expenses  as possible (within reason) into a year when the deductible will be spent anyway.

For those living in countries with more intelligent health care payment systems than the USA, yes, this is as stupid as it sounds.

@Scott F posted:

If you know you will spend your deductible by the end of the year then all of the fussing about which thing is scheduled first becomes financially meaningless. While it’s tempting to spend time and effort thinking about which things are “free” and which things are “expensive,” the actual expense is the same: one deductible’s worth of dollars move from your possession to someplace else.

OTOH, if there’s a reasonable chance that you can get through the year without exhausting your deductible then it may be worth the effort to bunch as many expenses  as possible (within reason) into a year when the deductible will be spent anyway.

For those living in countries with more intelligent health care payment systems than the USA, yes, this is as stupid as it sounds.

I'm not sure you understand what a deductible is because what you're saying is nonsense. If I get my surgery this year it costs me nothing because I've already met my deductible. If my surgery is pushed until next year my deductible resets and I have to pay out of pocket. Not sure how this could be hard to understand.

And I'll take America's health care system over socialized healthcare all day every day. And so would most people in other countries. That's why they come to America to get medical treatments they can't get in their own countries.

@Jaydog posted:

I'm not sure you understand what a deductible is because what you're saying is nonsense. If I get my surgery this year it costs me nothing because I've already met my deductible. If my surgery is pushed until next year my deductible resets and I have to pay out of pocket. Not sure how this could be hard to understand.

And I'll take America's health care system over socialized healthcare all day every day. And so would most people in other countries. That's why they come to America to get medical treatments they can't get in their own countries.

Jaydog, I know precisely what a deductible is. If you have reason to believe that you can keep next year’s health expenses below your deductible then you are absolutely correct that getting the surgery done this year may save you money. If, OTOH, you meet your deductible every year, then it doesn’t matter when the expense is incurred. A fair number of us fall into that category. For example, I know I will meet my deductible next year, because of the cost of VSL #3 DS (which I’m lucky enough to have covered by insurance). For me to worry about whether my expense is in December or January would be a waste of time and effort. I know well in advance that my deductible will be spent next year no matter what I do. I don’t know which category you are in, and my statement allowed for both.

I made a small point about the US health care *payment* system, which you don’t seem to have read carefully. If you consider the way deductibles affect people’s choices you might not defend them quite so enthusiastically.

@Scott F posted:

Jaydog, I know precisely what a deductible is. If you have reason to believe that you can keep next year’s health expenses below your deductible then you are absolutely correct that getting the surgery done this year may save you money. If, OTOH, you meet your deductible every year, then it doesn’t matter when the expense is incurred. A fair number of us fall into that category. For example, I know I will meet my deductible next year, because of the cost of VSL #3 DS (which I’m lucky enough to have covered by insurance). For me to worry about whether my expense is in December or January would be a waste of time and effort. I know well in advance that my deductible will be spent next year no matter what I do. I don’t know which category you are in, and my statement allowed for both.

I made a small point about the US health care *payment* system, which you don’t seem to have read carefully. If you consider the way deductibles affect people’s choices you might not defend them quite so enthusiastically.

I do see your point now that you explained it better. I am somebody who doesn't meet my deductible every year. Traditionally I don't have a lot of health problems. We'll see how things go when I have my takedown. But I do see your point

Just to clarify my original point- because I am on Remicade, there is NO QUESTION that both my deductible and out of pocket maxes will be blown through, even picking the highest deductibles and OOP maxes on any plan.  And it will be blown through on 1 or maybe 2 infusions at most, when I get 8 or 9 infusion per year.  So I factor this into my analysis before I even purchase insurance.

Fortunately, because my monthly premium on my new ConnectiCare plan is a mere $876, I stay under my firm's threshold and do not have to pay any out of pocket premium cost.  The firm covers the first $900 per month of the insurance premium cost.  My cost on a lower deductible plan would have been around $1080 a month- meaning $180 per month out of my pocket and the rest from the firm.  By going to a ConnectiCare plan which insures us at lower costs across the board than Anthem, I was able to choose the $5,000 deductible plan- which is maximum $6900 out of pocket- at a frugal cost of $876 per month, which the firm absorbs as part of my "up to $900 exemption."  I have to admit I am lucky, because the $180 a month would be tough for me to do. Doable, but tough.

@CTBarrister posted:

Just to clarify my original point- because I am on Remicade, there is NO QUESTION that both my deductible and out of pocket maxes will be blown through, even picking the highest deductibles and OOP maxes on any plan.  And it will be blown through on 1 or maybe 2 infusions at most, when I get 8 or 9 infusion per year.  So I factor this into my analysis before I even purchase insurance.

Fortunately, because my monthly premium on my new ConnectiCare plan is a mere $876, I stay under my firm's threshold and do not have to pay any out of pocket premium cost.  The firm covers the first $900 per month of the insurance premium cost.  My cost on a lower deductible plan would have been around $1080 a month- meaning $180 per month out of my pocket and the rest from the firm.  By going to a ConnectiCare plan which insures us at lower costs across the board than Anthem, I was able to choose the $5,000 deductible plan- which is maximum $6900 out of pocket- at a frugal cost of $876 per month, which the firm absorbs as part of my "up to $900 exemption."  I have to admit I am lucky, because the $180 a month would be tough for me to do. Doable, but tough.

CT, all of that makes sense. OTOH there’s no reason to “schedule appointments and procedures AFTER that first Remicade infusion.” Your out of pocket is the same either way.

@Scott F posted:

CT, all of that makes sense. OTOH there’s no reason to “schedule appointments and procedures AFTER that first Remicade infusion.” Your out of pocket is the same either way.

That's why I scheduled my bronchoscopy after my first infusion last year, and why nothing is getting scheduled until I am infused November 30 this year.

@CTBarrister fair enough - it’s unusual for a deductible to be paid by a channel like that, but you’re managing to meet your deductible without spending the money. Cool. That creates a special case with very different incentives that don’t apply to most people.

@Scott F posted:

That creates a special case with very different incentives that don’t apply to most people.

It applies to everyone taking Remicade, and I am not the only one here taking it.  Remistart was not created especially for me.  It's a credit card from the manufacturer, and sent to anyone who takes Remicade.

I am sorry takedown was delayed.

@kta posted:

I am sorry takedown was delayed.

It's all good. Don't get me wrong I'm bummed but attitude is everything. I'll get my takedown. This can't last forever

@CTBarrister posted:

It applies to everyone taking Remicade, and I am not the only one here taking it.  Remistart was not created especially for me.  It's a credit card from the manufacturer, and sent to anyone who takes Remicade.

It doesn’t apply to Jaydog, though, whose thread has been hijacked.