• I may only have 1 month to live
    192 replies, posted
A few days ago I received a letter from my health insurance company, Oxford Health. In the letter they stated that they will no longer continue cost coverage for my medications. Their reason behind this, and this is my favorite part, was that their medical director did not consider it "Medically necessary". The funniest part about this is that, I have been on the medication for 8 years now; and they suddenly decide to cancel coverage for a stupid reason such as that. I do however, have about 8 months worth of extra medication due to their shipping inaccuracies that built up over time. Unfortunately, the batches that I have all expire next month, leaving me with nothing. After reading some clinical studies over the years about the drug, it seems stopping quickly or using expired medication leads to severe conditions such as coma and death caused by glandular failure. I'm really not sure what to do at this point, as my doctor is trying to appeal the decision but he says that they are unlikely to overturn it. At the present moment, I feel fine because I have continued on my normal dosage. My doctor advises against tapering off slowly by lowering the dose, as it may cause withdrawal effects. He basically told me that the only way out of this was to wait and hope for the appeal to be successful, and if it is not, hope that my body does not cascade into shutdown over the failure of my thyroid. I'm not blogging, and I feel that facepunch is the only group I can share this with, as my school friends would probably over react to this and start some kind of foundation for me. I hope I will not be banned for blogpunch, but I do hope that those reading this will be enlightened to how awful and heartless insurance companies can be.
Sue them.
I find it somewhat wierd that your doctor would take away the drugs which are keeping you alive. Im sorry anyway. EDIT: Sort of rushed reading that, do they have a reason for stopping your coverage? (Other than "medically necessary"?) You might have looked up the wrong drug for stopping effects or something.
Shit. Good luck. Can I ask, what meds are they and for what condition?
[QUOTE=Ridz0r;34643528]Sue them.[/QUOTE] You do kinda have a case here... I mean, "I need the drugs to survive" is kinda the definition of "medically necessary"
[quote]Their reason behind this, and this is my favorite part, was that their medical director did not consider it "Medically necessary"[/quote] Have you tried to contact them? It's possible this is an error...they wouldn't save pennies and let someone die, surely
Sadly we live in a world where money is more important than life
Criminal Negligence. I don't see how they can do this without knowing that you could sue them. Unless there are some gross over-exaggerations of the symptoms of stopping the medication, then they should definitely be in some legal trouble over this.
Uh, I feel like there's more to this, doctors don't just suddenly go LOL WELL NO NEED FOR THIS LIFE SAVING MEDICATION, BYE.
[QUOTE=BlueYoshi;34643552]I find it somewhat wierd that your doctor would take away the drugs which are keeping you alive. Im sorry anyway.[/QUOTE] The medical director of the insurance company is withdrawing the funds for the meds, not his doctor.
Dude, I don't want you to die.
[QUOTE=Trumple;34643578]Have you tried to contact them? It's possible this is an error...they wouldn't save pennies and let someone die, surely[/QUOTE] I doubt this is an error, as they mentioned my full name several times in the letter. [editline]10th February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Dnaloiram;34643602]The medical director of the insurance company is withdrawing the funds for the meds, not his doctor.[/QUOTE] this is correct. I can't afford $4,000 a vial.
[QUOTE=Adelle Zhu;34643629]this is correct. I can't afford $4,000 a vial.[/QUOTE] That's like 4,000 double cheeseburgers worth of medicine.
[QUOTE=Asdroxia;34643601]Uh, I feel like there's more to this, doctors don't just suddenly go LOL WELL NO NEED FOR THIS LIFE SAVING MEDICATION, BYE.[/QUOTE] except it wasn't my doctor. It was the insurance company withdrawing the contract to cover the expense of the drug. jesus fuck we need the bad reading rate back. [editline]10th February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=lead_farmer;34643650]That's like 4,000 double cheeseburgers worth of medicine.[/QUOTE] exactuhmundo [editline]10th February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=BlueYoshi;34643552]I find it somewhat wierd that your doctor would take away the drugs which are keeping you alive. Im sorry anyway. EDIT: Sort of rushed reading that, do they have a reason for stopping your coverage?[/QUOTE] even after the edit, you still missed...
-snip-
Sue the fuck out of them, this isn't really legal.
sue seriously you have a legit case here [editline]10th February 2012[/editline] in the mean time, try to slowly ease off like your doctor said
just noticed the doctor part. if you're going to die though, i'd still try easing off
[QUOTE] even after the edit, you still missed...[/QUOTE] Sorry, posted before I was done to try not anyone quoting me again.
[QUOTE=lead_farmer;34643650]That's like 4,000 double cheeseburgers worth of medicine.[/QUOTE] That or 4,000 one dollar hookers or one 4,000$ hooker. In all seriousness Adella Zhu, sue them. You have a case on your hands here. The least they could have done is give you like a years notice. Taking into account the seriousness of your health conditions, i'm sure you would win the case.
why can't people read, I said that my doctor advises AGAINST tapering off it due to miserable withdrawal. [editline]10th February 2012[/editline] Also, I should have mentioned this but the medication is in the form of a subcutaneous injection.
So it would be better to cut it off suddenly and die than to taper off as slow as you can and just experience withdrawal?
In the mean time, post it on reddit. You can get a small fund going, if you're up for free money of course. I can only hope you the best.
[QUOTE=Adelle Zhu;34643734]why can't people read, I said that my doctor advises AGAINST tapering off it due to miserable withdrawal. [editline]10th February 2012[/editline] Also, I should have mentioned this but the medication is in the form of a subcutaneous injection.[/QUOTE] Could you atleast tell us what condition you have?
[QUOTE=Adelle Zhu;34643734]why can't people read, I said that my doctor advises AGAINST tapering off it due to miserable withdrawal.[/QUOTE] yeah, i'd still try tapering off and suffering some withdrawal. better than dying
definitely, this is ridiculous. they cant just stop paying for pills that keep you alive, as the other guy said, injections that keep you alive are by definition "medically necessary"
Why did I think the title read 'May I have 1 month of live?'
I would rather go through withdrawal than die. Just saying.
[QUOTE=TGKhaotik;34643818]I would rather go through withdrawal than die. Just saying.[/QUOTE] Well, withdrawal can be [I]way[/I] more than just discomfort, but yeah, if there's even a slim chance of you surviving by weaning off the drugs, then you should take it.
Get off your arse and sue the buggery out of them. You've got a case, so get up now and do something towards finding the best lawyers who specialise in cases like this.
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