Five vials of blood – my rheumatology appointment got moved up to this week. Of course she ordered blood tests and x-rays. After seeing her, I went to have all this extra work done. They took five vials of blood from me. I asked the woman if she was leaving any which made her laugh.
I also got an Explanation of Benefits for the last set of blood tests (cholesterol, uric acid, sed rate) my regular doctor ordered. Now my insurance premium went down this year – I knew it was going to be bad. The insurance paid for $88 of labs. I have to pay $130. I can just imagine what the rheumatology screening is going to cost me.
I also had x-rays of my hands. I’m sure these are going to be costly too. The “savings” in premiums is not going to be a savings. I had to pay a co-pay at the regular doctor and was supposed to pay one at the rheumatology doctor but their machine wasn’t working. I’ll end up being billed for it. Ken’s annual stuff is coming up and I’m sure we will have more expenses with his stuff.
I have good insurance through my work. We pay through the nose for it. Up until it was messed with last year by the Governor, it was worth the premium I was paying. Now I’m not so sure. All these added costs are going to be difficult.
I know I have it good with my insurance. It could be so much worse. However, I’ve not had a raise in at least three years and I keep losing benefits. It’s frustrating when I’m doing everything possible to reduce costs.
Instead I’m racking up the costs because the doctors want to check for all sorts of things. The fact is – I have arthritis which is painful. They don’t know how or can’t treat it to make it less painful. More money spent to tell me what I’ve known all my life. I have arthritis and it is painful.
I’m glad you like it. 🙂