What's the hardest part of managing your healthcare?

Kayelle said:
I'm glad to say that our younger GP family Doctor does a really good job managing my health care needs, and I have several. When he wants to send me to a specialist, I always tell him to send me where he would send his own mother. That seems to work well. He could use some help in the odd personality area, but I can deal with that as I think he's smart as a whip.....more than most "whippersnappers". ;)
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Depends on if he likes him mom. šŸ˜‚
 

The "hardest" part of managing my healthcare, at my age, is trying Not to do anything stupid that will send me to the doctor. That, and eating properly and getting plenty of exercise to keep this old body in reasonably good shape. We have a good doctor, about 12 miles away, and a decent hospital about 40 miles away, so we try to just go there for routine exams, etc. My biggest problem seems to be my teeth....starting to reach their "end of life"....I can see the day coming when I need dentures.
 
tbeltrans said:
I feel so grateful for the VA that I go to. The care is excellent and not at all complicated for me to get around in. My wife, on the other hand, must deal with the civilian hospitals and clinics. The main problems that I see are:

1. Insurance companies rule with an iron fist, controlling everything health care professionals do from a financial viewpoint instead of a patient centered focus. I know it is terribly frustrating for the health care professionals because I hear it from them, especially those who left the civilian side and now work for the VA.
2. The various clinics and hospitals don't seem to communicate with each other, so there seems to be little or no coordination between them. With the VA, medical records are intact wherever I go and it is seamless. The one place my wife has had to go where it is very much like my experience with the VA is the Mayo Clinic.

Anyway, that is my perspective as I observe my wife's hassles and my lack of hassles when dealing with health issues.

Tony
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One of my best friends, now deceased, told me how happy he was with his VA care here in N.J. I tried to get my husband to go soley to VA care but his doctor, who none of the family thought competent, including me, was his friend. I thought I heard someone mention that wives could get care at VA centers under their husbands' plans (??)
 

Fyrefox said:
Reducing out-of-pocket costs is the hardest part of managing my health care. I used to get lab work done at my doctor's office until they were absorbed by a larger conglomerate, costs for lab work more than doubled, and my insurance balked at covering the increase. Now I travel to a private independent lab which largely accepts what insurance will pay, and tells you up front your maximum out-of-pocket costs. It pays to know and shop around on costs before you're hit with them...
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completely agree! people don't know that they have options when it comes to their healthcare. but really it's just like choosing where you eat... you should have transparency into costs
 
OneEyedDiva said:
One of my best friends, now deceased, told me how happy he was with his VA care here in N.J. I tried to get my husband to go soley to VA care but his doctor, who none of the family thought competent, including me, was his friend. I thought I heard someone mention that wives could get care at VA centers under their husbands' plans (??)
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have you inquired about the health plan and if you're covered under the benefits? there are certainly cases where the benefits are extended to the spouse
 
Phoenix said:
Finding a good doctor. The good ones have retired. Some of the others don't seem to know what they are doing and do not even seem to care that what they do for one of my issues will make another one worse. It's 25 miles to the closest doctor, 37 miles to some others and 60 miles to more. Many do not accept new patients, so it's hard to switch. I walked quietly away from my last doctor and have ten months to find another. I sent papers to one doctor in July, and they have not gotten back to me. I haven't pushed it at this time because the air quality has been so bad because of the fires, that I don't want to go to town where it's worse. Plus, my husband would be sitting in the car waiting for me, and I won't do that to him in all the smoke.
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what type of qualifications or speciality areas are you looking for in your doctor? I see from your other reply that you live in a rural area. Are you open to telehealth for routine checkins?
 
OneEyedDiva said:
One of my best friends, now deceased, told me how happy he was with his VA care here in N.J. I tried to get my husband to go soley to VA care but his doctor, who none of the family thought competent, including me, was his friend. I thought I heard someone mention that wives could get care at VA centers under their husbands' plans (??)
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As far as I know, only the veteran gets care at a VA facility. Also, they have a rating system. It was several years ago that I went through the application process, so I don't recall the details, but it is a priority system based on disability level. Vets who don't have a disability rating can go to the VA, but will pay a fee for the services. It is very affordable compared to civilian medical services and there is a substantial discount for financial hardship determination (i.e. income below a certain level depending on where you live). However, as I understand it, if Congress ever decides to roll back on the VA budget, these are the folks who would no longer be eligible for VA services.

Those with a disability rating would not be affected (as I currently understand it) and don't pay for services at the VA except those with less than a certain disability level do pay a fee for medications. I pay very small fee for medication since I don't have a full 100% disability rating, but not for any services. To me, this seems a fair system. One thing I am really pleased with is that us Vietnam veterans are treated very well at the VA (at least that has been my experience) - very different from how civilians treated us when we came home all those years ago. The weird thing is that I always thought of the WWII vets as the old guys around the VA, but we are in that role now. :)

I have a younger brother with a 100% disability rating and I know his family is covered under a military insurance plan, but are not eligible for the VA services he gets. He retired from the Marines, so I don't really know how their insurances work. I was in the Army, and I don't know about family insurance since I was not a lifer. :)

Despite the fact that the VA is my primary care, I still had to sign up for Medicare. My supplement costs almost nothing since I really don't need it, but it is good to have something just in case. I also think this is fair, since we all need to support Medicare. Besides, it is nice to know that if I ever did end up in a civilian hospital due to an emergency situation, I have that coverage.

Tony
 
tbeltrans said:
As far as I know, only the veteran gets care at a VA facility. Also, they have a rating system. It was several years ago that I went through the application process, so I don't recall the details, but it is a priority system based on disability level. Vets who don't have a disability rating can go to the VA, but will pay a fee for the services. It is very affordable compared to civilian medical services and there is a substantial discount for financial hardship determination (i.e. income below a certain level depending on where you live). However, as I understand it, if Congress ever decides to roll back on the VA budget, these are the folks who would no longer be eligible for VA services.

Those with a disability rating would not be affected (as I currently understand it) and don't pay for services at the VA except those with less than a certain disability level do pay a fee for medications. I pay very small fee for medication since I don't have a full 100% disability rating, but not for any services. To me, this seems a fair system. One thing I am really pleased with is that us Vietnam veterans are treated very well at the VA (at least that has been my experience) - very different from how civilians treated us when we came home all those years ago. The weird thing is that I always thought of the WWII vets as the old guys around the VA, but we are in that role now. :)

I have a younger brother with a 100% disability rating and I know his family is covered under a military insurance plan, but are not eligible for the VA services he gets. He retired from the Marines, so I don't really know how their insurances work. I was in the Army, and I don't know about family insurance since I was not a lifer. :)

Despite the fact that the VA is my primary care, I still had to sign up for Medicare. My supplement costs almost nothing since I really don't need it, but it is good to have something just in case. I also think this is fair, since we all need to support Medicare. Besides, it is nice to know that if I ever did end up in a civilian hospital due to an emergency situation, I have that coverage.

Tony
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Thank you for this information. I'm glad to read that the Vietnam vets are treated well. They and all vets deserve to be.
 
tbeltrans said:
As far as I know, only the veteran gets care at a VA facility. Also, they have a rating system. It was several years ago that I went through the application process, so I don't recall the details, but it is a priority system based on disability level. Vets who don't have a disability rating can go to the VA, but will pay a fee for the services. It is very affordable compared to civilian medical services and there is a substantial discount for financial hardship determination (i.e. income below a certain level depending on where you live). However, as I understand it, if Congress ever decides to roll back on the VA budget, these are the folks who would no longer be eligible for VA services.

Those with a disability rating would not be affected (as I currently understand it) and don't pay for services at the VA except those with less than a certain disability level do pay a fee for medications. I pay very small fee for medication since I don't have a full 100% disability rating, but not for any services. To me, this seems a fair system. One thing I am really pleased with is that us Vietnam veterans are treated very well at the VA (at least that has been my experience) - very different from how civilians treated us when we came home all those years ago. The weird thing is that I always thought of the WWII vets as the old guys around the VA, but we are in that role now. :)

I have a younger brother with a 100% disability rating and I know his family is covered under a military insurance plan, but are not eligible for the VA services he gets. He retired from the Marines, so I don't really know how their insurances work. I was in the Army, and I don't know about family insurance since I was not a lifer. :)

Despite the fact that the VA is my primary care, I still had to sign up for Medicare. My supplement costs almost nothing since I really don't need it, but it is good to have something just in case. I also think this is fair, since we all need to support Medicare. Besides, it is nice to know that if I ever did end up in a civilian hospital due to an emergency situation, I have that coverage.

Tony
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If your younger brother is retired from the Marines, then he is probably using Tricare For Life like I am. It has worked very well for me after I turned 65. Prior to turning 65 and being eligible for Medicare, I used the local Military Hospital.

When I turned 65, the Military Hospital booted me out the door and I had to go on Medicare with Tricare picking up the remaining costs. I still got my medications from the Military Hospital until the virus came along. Now I get them via express scripts and that works pretty well.
 
tbeltrans said:
I agree with the idea of quality of life and just quietly go. I don't care so much about quantity of life as I do about quality of life. I also don't want to be a burden on those around me by living long with Alzheimer's or stroke or any of that. When I can't take care of myself any longer, I wish to be gone entirely.

Tony
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Have you set up advance care directives that state this? This will ensure these wishes are respected in the event you are faced with a condition where you aren't able to advocate for yourself
 
csimone said:
Have you set up advance care directives that state this? This will ensure these wishes are respected in the event you are faced with a condition where you aren't able to advocate for yourself
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Yes, we have all of that done as far as the law permits, which is essentially "do not resuscitate". We also have our cremation all paid for.

Tony
 
Pecos said:
If your younger brother is retired from the Marines, then he is probably using Tricare For Life like I am. It has worked very well for me after I turned 65. Prior to turning 65 and being eligible for Medicare, I used the local Military Hospital.

When I turned 65, the Military Hospital booted me out the door and I had to go on Medicare with Tricare picking up the remaining costs. I still got my medications from the Military Hospital until the virus came along. Now I get them via express scripts and that works pretty well.
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Tricare sounds familiar, so that is probably what his family has.

Tony
 

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