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Since it's difficult for you to get around this may be a useless suggestion but it doesn't hurt to suggest.
I live up towards Vail and find that the Drs. is smaller towns are much more helpful and caring. Maybe you can search for a new Dr. in a smaller town that will accept your state sponsored care and be more helpful to your needs. It may be a pain to get there for the first couple visits but if you find someone who actually is concerned with your health it could be worth it.
Last edited by Dogmama50; 07-30-2011 at 05:35 PM..
Reason: Can't type, duh!
Are you living in Denver, Colorado? Inner City Health Center seems to provide adult medical services for a sliding scale fee to uninsured people in Denver.
Wow, Marylee is right on the money. I get too much SSDI to qualify for Medicaid, and I still have 19 months before I qualify for Medicare. Indigent care is for people with no insurance and no way to pay for it, you can still have an income and qualify. Unfortunately, very few doctors or pharmacies will honor it, so you are somewhat stuck with whatever you can find.
As far as filling out paperwork for assistance from the drug manufacturers, I have checked into this. The doctor will not fill out the forms without an office visit, and will charge me to fill out the form on top of that. I have no doubt that he would also require a paid office visit in order to pick up the meds if the manufacturer approves me, since they send them to the doctor, not the patient.
I have spent many hours in the ER, the last one being two weeks ago when I had a severe allergic reaction to Deep Woods OFF! They sent me to a specialist, another lovely co-pay we didn't need and a $35 prescription for steroid cream.
It is funny that Marylee mentioned telling them I am illegal, since that is a real sore point for me right now. I see them get all the food at the food banks, free medical care, subsidized housing, food stamps, etc., and still manage to drive a late model Lincoln Navigator, yet still grumble if someone has the audacity to expect them to learn to speak English.
Thank you for your kind words, Marylee. At last someone who understands what's REALLY going on in the world and not just assuming that I am stupid or lazy for having a hard time finding help for some real problems for which there appears to be little assistance for citizens of this country.
How I feel for you!
I've spent my entire adult life doing the insurance dance. Its affected career choices, where I live, where I work, etc, etc. I get so frustrated with those who think they know my life better than I do. there's always some easy solution out there, and I'm just to dumb to take advantage of it. Its a dance!
We carried Cobra for 3 years (that's right, 3 years, 18 mo on my dh insurance, then, another 18 mo I managed to pull off a job I had for 3 months), that completely depleted our savings, but we always managed to stay insured. I know the pain of RA, its not "Grandma's arthritis" which is relatively minor in comparison. Unlike OA (osteoarthritis--Grandma's arthritis) RA does NOT respond to exercise, swimming is not the "cure" its not a matter lf laziness, etc, etc. Once I slept in my car because I couldn't make it inside my apt, my joints were so swollen. and no, counseling doesn't work---just spend more time, money, effort to argue with someone that you really have a serious diesease, not something in your imagination.
I developed RA in my early 20's,. got so sick and tired of hearing "my goodness, you're too young to have arthritis" I don't have Grandma's arthritis, its rheumatoid. I've taken to telling people I have an autoimmune disorder which affects my collegen tissues---I usually get a blank look, and they stop with all the home remedies, the doubts, criticisms, etc.
Watch out, SHE might actually get some meds, like for her thyroid, or RA, that she might not qualify for---oh MY
I think she knows what she qualifies for, she just menitoned she doesn't qualify for certain programs to pontt out those aren't options, not for others to take issue with.
The rules for medicaid are complex, and unless you are an expert on it, I don't think your opinion matters!
Do you have any idea how much those d**med medicines cost? On top of her already going to the doc, paying the copay, and for tests, now the doc refuses to write an RX, hey, she needs thyroid meds, is that so awful? Or, how about something for RA? Ra is NOT equilivant with laziness, or "all in your head"
But, guess the system is working, she's not getting one more pill than she's "entitled" to.....try going to the ER and pretend you don't speak English, you get better medical care that way!
Oh for crying out loud are you even paying attention to the thread at all? A 35 day prescription of synthetic thyroid medication is $4 at the Walmart pharmacy. The OP's concern is that the doctor refuses to give her the prescription at all, unless she goes in for an office visit, and pays for that office visit.
She doesn't NEED medicaid to afford a prescription of synthetic thyroid.
Yes OP, in your first post, you said you had your thyroid removed and had to take meds, and the doctor refuses to give you the prescriptions without making you come in for an "office visit" each time. I had my thyroid removed and have to take meds too. That's how I know you can get a 35 day supply at Walmart for $4, with a prescription, and without having to prove your income. That's just how much Walmart charges for the generic levothyroxine. Obviously, the brand name Synthroid will be more expensive, but even Synthroid isn't all that pricey - last time I checked I could get a 30-day supply at CVS for $28.
You complained in your first post that your doctor is extorting money out of you just for the privilege of giving you an rx to get filled. You claimed that was the main problem. You also complained about the price of prescriptions, which, as I've already pointed out, isn't all that high for synthetic thyroid - which is what people who had their thyroids removed have to take.
Other people have given ideas of where else you can go, and how you can find another doctor, and that the doctor you went to isnt the only one you can go to. You don't need medicaid to get cheap thyroid meds, *especially* if the generic is recommended. However, the fact that you said you are receiving "indigent" health care, implies, that you are an indigent. Perhaps you don't realize that "indigent" means something completely different in most of the rest of the country, than "having an income but can't afford health care." Here in Connecticut, it means you are bereft of funds and living at the mercy of the government, homeless shelters, and city streets. I even assumed you were at the library posting, because it wouldn't have occurred to me that someone recieving "indigent care" could afford their own internet access, let alone a computer to connect with.
I was wrong in my assumption, because I was going by the information you provided - which was assumptive in and of itself. You assumed we all knew what you meant by "some state-sponsored indigent care assistance."
Regardless, if you have 4 bucks a month, you can afford your thyroid meds. Your problem now, is getting someone to prescribe it for you without charging an arm and a leg.
Lots of suggestions here...being that you are having to pay out of pocket for everything, your best bet might be to find a different doctor to see. This one sounds pretty bad.
You might call your local health department and see if there are any clinics that operate on a sliding-scale fee basis, which might be a little cheaper. Otherwise, just call several local doctor's offices and ask them how much they charge for an initial visit.
Yes OP, in your first post, you said you had your thyroid removed and had to take meds, and the doctor refuses to give you the prescriptions without making you come in for an "office visit" each time. I had my thyroid removed and have to take meds too. That's how I know you can get a 35 day supply at Walmart for $4, with a prescription, and without having to prove your income. That's just how much Walmart charges for the generic levothyroxine. Obviously, the brand name Synthroid will be more expensive, but even Synthroid isn't all that pricey - last time I checked I could get a 30-day supply at CVS for $28.
You complained in your first post that your doctor is extorting money out of you just for the privilege of giving you an rx to get filled. You claimed that was the main problem. You also complained about the price of prescriptions, which, as I've already pointed out, isn't all that high for synthetic thyroid - which is what people who had their thyroids removed have to take.
Other people have given ideas of where else you can go, and how you can find another doctor, and that the doctor you went to isnt the only one you can go to. You don't need medicaid to get cheap thyroid meds, *especially* if the generic is recommended. However, the fact that you said you are receiving "indigent" health care, implies, that you are an indigent. Perhaps you don't realize that "indigent" means something completely different in most of the rest of the country, than "having an income but can't afford health care." Here in Connecticut, it means you are bereft of funds and living at the mercy of the government, homeless shelters, and city streets. I even assumed you were at the library posting, because it wouldn't have occurred to me that someone recieving "indigent care" could afford their own internet access, let alone a computer to connect with.
I was wrong in my assumption, because I was going by the information you provided - which was assumptive in and of itself. You assumed we all knew what you meant by "some state-sponsored indigent care assistance."
Regardless, if you have 4 bucks a month, you can afford your thyroid meds. Your problem now, is getting someone to prescribe it for you without charging an arm and a leg.
don't pay any attention to her....put her on ignore
Oh for crying out loud are you even paying attention to the thread at all? A 35 day prescription of synthetic thyroid medication is $4 at the Walmart pharmacy. She doesn't NEED medicaid to afford a prescription of synthetic thyroid.
Ummm.....didn't you just contradict yourself? seems you're the one not reading what you wrote----the problem isn't getting the med for $4 at Walmart the problem is
The OP's concern is that the doctor refuses to give her the prescription at all, unless she goes in for an office visit, and pays for that office visit.
Ummm.....didn't you just contradict yourself? seems you're the one not reading what you wrote----the problem isn't getting the med for $4 at Walmart the problem is
The OP's concern is that the doctor refuses to give her the prescription at all, unless she goes in for an office visit, and pays for that office visit.
Its mindboggling what $4 buys nowadays!
AnonChick clearly got that in the post where YOU told the OP to put her on ignore. Sheesh. I now understand your issues with your Dr. and getting your own Rx's written.
Sorry for interfering AnonChick, but egads. Oh, unless you meant for AnonChick to put the OP on ignore?
Of course the doctor is not going to give a prescription without examining the patient .Most continuing care requires a visit every three months to dispense medicaine under prescription.There are reasons the prescription law requires you be seen and he write the need. Its the law ;basically.
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