On the News…
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January 6, 2011 at 10:17 pm
[FONT=”Microsoft Sans Serif”]hahaha, i was asked by one of the local news channels to comment on blue shield of california’s rate hikes… some of you may remember what hell they put me through, not covering my treatment, etc… well, i was more than happy to comply and for your amusement, here’s the link for the news clip:
http://www.ktvu.com/video/26395428/index.html%5B/FONT%5D -
January 6, 2011 at 11:46 pm
Nice. You look really good on tv !. Im happy for you.!
Im sure blue cross dont like you much now….lol
Rates are going up here in Florida too. Its unbelievable! Mine were a little more flexible than yours in California. So it was worth the money I paid all of those years.
I just hope we wont need them as much from now on and can take a cheaper plan.Take care.
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January 7, 2011 at 3:32 am
Way to go Alice!
I live in the South Bay and was so glad to see you, looking great by the way.
You said it for all of us, thanks so much.Be safe.
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January 7, 2011 at 7:30 am
You look great Alice!
Blue sheild was great in 1969, time changes everything. We most likely couldn’t afford the premium payments nowdays for it.
We only had it for 3 years, since then it has been through the military and we are thankful for that with all of my health issues.
Be careful, stay safe.
Shirley -
January 7, 2011 at 8:45 am
Go get’um Alice. Good for you.
Dell has Mississippi Disabled Children Living At Home Medicaid and Blue Cross which is primary. We have been lucky so far but one day, I’m waiting for the bottom to fall out.
Lori
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January 7, 2011 at 11:25 am
[FONT=”Microsoft Sans Serif”]thanks everyone.
oh, by the way– i am no longer insured by blue shield– i switched about 1.5 years ago to a ppo…
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January 7, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Alice, I hope you realize… You have been crossed off of Blue Shileds Christmas present list… No gift for you next year… expect coal. But hey, that’s more then they gave you already right ? So you’re ahead 😮
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January 7, 2011 at 6:14 pm
You got ’em and LOOVED the ‘pile’ of papers on that table!
Lucky I’m in BC/BS’s biggest group and have been all my working life…I sure have been getting pay-backs.
However, like Lori? I am waiting for the ‘other shoe to fall’.
Glad you made the ‘news’. -
January 7, 2011 at 8:33 pm
[FONT=”Microsoft Sans Serif”]TomA– i can tell you i haven’t been one of their fans in quite some time… at least since i got CIDP. agreeing to speak to the media was just a bit a karma. point well taken though 😉
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January 8, 2011 at 7:57 am
We have talked on the phone, emailed, sent messages via FB, & IMed on FB, but it was so good to actually see you in action. You looked great girl, I was so proud of you. I wouldn’t want you for an enemy, LOL!
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January 8, 2011 at 12:39 pm
[FONT=”Microsoft Sans Serif”]Pam– you will never be my enemy my friend! You’re my hero! that phone call back during the election of 08 was the final push i needed to go forward with my treatment– and since then you have become my friend. friends are for good.
thanks for the compliment– i still feel like a cow– but i’m loosing it, about 1.5 lbs a week. damn prednisone![/FONT]
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January 12, 2011 at 7:19 pm
that’s all i can say…this report is so scary. ihave bcbs and i haven’t had a problem (knocking on wood while hopping on one foot for good measure).
i was just telling someone the other day exactly what you said about how i have been paying into my insurance for years and now i need them.
feeling like a cow? pleaase!!! i am a balloon because of predisone! i hate that necessary evil! -
January 12, 2011 at 10:07 pm
I worked for an international company for a year before I was dx with GBS. I had BSBC out of California. I have to tell you that they were very good to me and even when I had Cobra.
I had nurses at home, PT and OT at the house.
I know that insurance is not a happy thing to encounter. I wish that the one who make the decision to say “NO” that they spend a week in our life to see what we have to do to live. Perhaps then they may consider differently.
I am proud of you to do the report. -
January 13, 2011 at 2:07 am
Well done, Alice! If Congress who controls the interstate commerce commission ever gets smart and passes legislation to allow us to buy insurance across state lines then the competition among insurance companies will lower premiums and offer better health care for the money, and greed will have its comeuppance.
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January 13, 2011 at 4:26 am
Correct me if I’m wrong–Isn’t IVIG a FDA approved treatment for CIDP? Insurance would have to cover it no matter what. Right? I have BC/BS and the case manager always tell me I need no prior authorization for IVIG. But my doctor needed something in writing before starting me on this treatment. Without IVIG I would be very depressed and paralyzed.
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January 13, 2011 at 9:35 am
[FONT=”Microsoft Sans Serif”]they did cover ivig for me– it just didn’t work. they didn’t cover other things, even besides my stem cell transplant, they denied me seeing my neuro in the midst of serious treatments and after 9 months… they denied me a pain management specialist, etc…
as far as you concerns over ivig, exosurf, i wouldn’t worry too much. the only complaints i hear on that front is not getting approval for more of it at more frequent intervals… others, those who have more experience with ivig could probably address that concern better than i.
the situation at hand, that prompted the interview, was specifically about blue @#$%’s rate hikes.[/FONT]
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January 15, 2011 at 4:18 pm
[COLOR=black]One consequence of a drug being a molecule is generic versions can exist. Generics are approved to treat conditions only because they are equivalent to the original drug. Simvastatin by generic manufacturers is approved to reduce cholesterol only because Zocor (the original simvastatin) is. However, that does not mean that any statin-type molecule is approved for cholesterol reduction: each of the branded statins on the market has approval because their respective manufacturers obtained it. [/COLOR][COLOR=black][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]Because IVIg is a blood product, there is no specific molecule (or even set of molecules) to approve, and so there is no way to make a generic IVIg. And in the same way that the different statins had to obtain approval to treat the same condition, so also the different IVIg’s must obtain approval to treat the same condition.[/COLOR][COLOR=black][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]I did survey of the IVIg’s offered in the USA. Based on that survey, all of the IVIg’s are indicated for treatment of primary immunodeficiency disorders. Only Gammunex-C is indicated for the treatment of CIDP. That means if your insurance company wants to be picky, they could restrict you to Gammunex-C only.[/COLOR][COLOR=black][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]~MarkEns[/COLOR] -
June 12, 2011 at 12:33 pm
I think coverage depends in part on your specific plan; I have Anthem BC/BS and they covered my stem cell transplant as well as some travel-related expenses. Also, as more SCT success stories are made known, BC/BS grows increasingly willing to cover costs. When Imfan had her SCT done in June of last year, her BC/BS plan gave her a big hassle, but covered the procedure. When I had mine done in September, my BC/BS plan stepped up to the plate and approved the procedure with no argument.
Yes, it is still technically experimental, but so far nearly all of us have shown some improvement and many (maybe all??) are off CIDP meds because we no longer have an active disease. This is something the insurance company pays attention to, especially when considering how much they might spend on IVig over one’s lifetime. It’s a no-brainer.
Sharon
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