- Joined
- Aug 6, 2012
- Messages
- 2,554
- Reaction score
- 1,304
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
Just over a year ago, my wife began having some type of seizure when she awoke to go to the bathroom at night. The first episode I am aware of I woke when she got out of bed and after she did not return I went to check. She was on the WC with her eyes closed, arms hanging at her side and body twitching. She did not respond to my voice or to touch. It lasted less than a minute and she came out of it sort of knowing something had happened but not what. She said she could hear me and in her head was talking to me.
Karen had another event a few weeks later sitting on the edge of the bed.
We contacted her GP who set her up with a neurologist at our local Mayo affiliate. She scheduled tests and an appointment with a cardiologist who after seeing her scheduled more tests.
These provided no insight into the seizures, which continued one to three weeks apart.
They decided we needed to go the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. So we did. Five times. Each time with appointments and tests spread over two days.
Neurologist, cardiologist, CT's, MRI's, Contrast MRI's, sleep lab, to the tune of $39,000 billed over the course of a year and we still do not not know for sure what is going on. So were some of these test not actually necessary? Likely. But how were we to know? And we do know that her brain, heart and lungs are really kick ass for someone her age. (I question the brain thing).
The sleep lab did diagnose Karen with some nasty apnea, which I believe, may be the cause. The last month with a B-Pap she hasn't had an event and she seems to sleep much better.
I want to say that regardless of our situation, if you have something really wrong, Mayo Clinic is where you want to go. It is the most professional, communicative, compassionate healthcare I have experienced. Every last interaction was positive. Our interviews/consults with the doctors lasted for an hour or so. They asked tons of questions, answered all of my questions and didn't just seem interested, they were interested and they cared.
A couple of points in regard to the current arguments over healthcare and insurance.
Karen was having seizures, she had fallen several times and we were lucky she never broke anything. In our situation, we did not have the luxury of determining what specialists to see or what tests to run based on a cost analysis. SHE WAS HAVING SEIZURES. We had no choice but to put others in charge.
Of that $39,000 in billings, BCBS contract amounts limited those to just over $18,000. After I payed my $6,250 max out of pocket, BCBS picked up the rest.
What would the negotiated prices have been if had been paying on my own from an HSA? I paid cash for Karen's bilateral knee replacements in 2008 and I could not negotiate near a 50% reduction. That billing was nearly $80,000 with pre-treatments, surgery and therapy. Negotiating with the various providers, I still paid over $60,000.
It took a long time to save that amount and no time at all to spend it. I would have just spent another $30,000 or so just 8 years later. Financially, that's a lot to recover from at 61 years old. (and not working on wall street)
I doubt our experience is unusual and I am interested in the experiences of others.
Karen had another event a few weeks later sitting on the edge of the bed.
We contacted her GP who set her up with a neurologist at our local Mayo affiliate. She scheduled tests and an appointment with a cardiologist who after seeing her scheduled more tests.
These provided no insight into the seizures, which continued one to three weeks apart.
They decided we needed to go the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. So we did. Five times. Each time with appointments and tests spread over two days.
Neurologist, cardiologist, CT's, MRI's, Contrast MRI's, sleep lab, to the tune of $39,000 billed over the course of a year and we still do not not know for sure what is going on. So were some of these test not actually necessary? Likely. But how were we to know? And we do know that her brain, heart and lungs are really kick ass for someone her age. (I question the brain thing).
The sleep lab did diagnose Karen with some nasty apnea, which I believe, may be the cause. The last month with a B-Pap she hasn't had an event and she seems to sleep much better.
I want to say that regardless of our situation, if you have something really wrong, Mayo Clinic is where you want to go. It is the most professional, communicative, compassionate healthcare I have experienced. Every last interaction was positive. Our interviews/consults with the doctors lasted for an hour or so. They asked tons of questions, answered all of my questions and didn't just seem interested, they were interested and they cared.
A couple of points in regard to the current arguments over healthcare and insurance.
Karen was having seizures, she had fallen several times and we were lucky she never broke anything. In our situation, we did not have the luxury of determining what specialists to see or what tests to run based on a cost analysis. SHE WAS HAVING SEIZURES. We had no choice but to put others in charge.
Of that $39,000 in billings, BCBS contract amounts limited those to just over $18,000. After I payed my $6,250 max out of pocket, BCBS picked up the rest.
What would the negotiated prices have been if had been paying on my own from an HSA? I paid cash for Karen's bilateral knee replacements in 2008 and I could not negotiate near a 50% reduction. That billing was nearly $80,000 with pre-treatments, surgery and therapy. Negotiating with the various providers, I still paid over $60,000.
It took a long time to save that amount and no time at all to spend it. I would have just spent another $30,000 or so just 8 years later. Financially, that's a lot to recover from at 61 years old. (and not working on wall street)
I doubt our experience is unusual and I am interested in the experiences of others.
eace