Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Hey kids!

My little monkey in the basement. He had a grand ole time running free down there.

AHHHHH ... got back last night. Needless to say, I have several mounds of laundry and a meeelllllion things to get caught up on. It was pretty cold while we were there... we had a day or two of 10 to 20 degree weather. The wind made it kind of tough on the boys working on the cabin site.

We (Mike, I should say) had a very productive 10 days! Our family cabin in coming along nicely. The load bearing wall in the basement is in place; the sub floor is up and it looks awesome; the excavator back filled around the cabin site; we now have a great burm along a much traveled county road that was put in, right along our property line (grrr) three years ago. I have some great pictures to post as soon as I have some more time. What a view, what a view, what a view we have. The pics just don't do it justice.


Logs will be delivered this coming Friday.


Casey just called me, he was told by his insurance company that the procedure on his heart will cost him 60% of the amount charged b/c it is all "out of network". GO FIGURE!!! The procedure alone will cost around $10,000, not including the hospital charges and anesthesiologist, etc.....
so, he has postponed the repair on his heart until we figure out who else he could go to that is acceptable. You know ... you don't want a "WalMart" doctor working on your heart... you'd like a "Macy's" doctor.

I'm telling ya ... our healthcare system is just a wreck. I think it's rotten that the insurance companies can dictate where you can and can't go.
By saying it's "out of network" they are pretty much saying you can't go b/c it's simply unaffordable for the average person ~ so, you are forced to go where they say.


Back when Casey was growing up, I could go where ever I wanted ... now, there is all this "in network" "out of network" crap. Back then, only the HMO's had lists of places you could and couldn't go to, now it's the regular insurance companies. Trust me, before we ever go out of town, I'm on the phone, making sure hospitals in the area are "providers" for our insurance company.


It just stinks. Poor Casey ... he's trying to get his masters degree, works full time and has a house payment on an average wage ... now, he could be facing monster medical expenses.
Makes me want to cry for him.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Terri

Welcome back. I will be heading North to Utah again next week. As far as our health care system, we have the best hospitals, we have the best doctor, as far as the administration of the system - well, it is broke - good luck with your kids. Families are forever. Have a fine Vegas evening.

cfs

Terri@SteelMagnolia said...

TLRB, you are correct ... I do think we have the best hopitals and docs in the world ... top notch no doubt.

But good healthcare is unaffordable ...

even w/ health insurance.

I still think nothing will bankrupt you faster than a medical issue.

crabby old man said...

YOUR DAMNED IF YOU DON'T HAVE INSURANCE & DAMNED IF YOU DO. DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER , BUT I KNOW IT'S NOT SOCIALIZED MEDICINE.
THAT WAS A CUTE PICTURE OF MY FAVORITE LITTLE BOY. DID HE GET OVER THE EPISODES CAUSED BY THE STEROIDS?

furiousBall said...

good to be home huh? that's so cool you guys are going to have a cabin

Chris H said...

Nice to see you back... and bummer about Casey's health care costs! I think I'm glad I don't live over there!

Jackie said...

I knew I woke up out of a sound sleep for a reason and the reason is to discover that you're baaaaacck!! I should have checked before I went to bed.

Gosh Ter...if it "ain't one thing it's another" concerning son Casey! Talk to you more about it later...

Magoo looks GREAT!

Unknown said...

It is because of problems like this that our local radio talk show guy did a segment about people going overseas to get the same surgeries cheaper. It really is frustrating, since there are no better places than in the USA. Heck, even Howard the PM of Australia came here for health care. It is a pity people are having to resort to foreign medicine.

Queen of the Mayhem said...

Poor darling! Do you ever feel like someone is just out to get your boys? :)
I hope you find good news on that front....soon!

I can't wait to see the pictures!

Welcome back!

Southern (in)Sanity said...

I hope everything works out for Casey.

Because of issues like that, I pay a whole lot more to have Blue Cross. People tell me I'm wasting money, and I probably am, but there will come a day when I don't want to worry about going to a certain doctor or getting a referral, and it will be worth it then.

Cute picture, by the way.

Terri@SteelMagnolia said...

Casey is not in an HMO plan... he is enrolled in a PPO plan ...

he can go to whatever doctor he wants, but the insurance still has a "preferred provider" list...
and if you go to anyone outside that list... you pay a whole lot more...

to me.. that's almost like an HMO ...

We're working on it...
checking out the docs and the medical center on "the list" ... but most of the main good hospitals in LV are not on the list ... that's just plain weird.

He's with a huge insurance provider.

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