February Frugals

[iris lilies]

About 2-3 weeks ago DH yelled at me for buying too much random stuff.And he is right—the deliveries coming here were out of control.

It isn’t the money that is the problem (for me anyway, it IS for him) it is the buying outside of what I really value. I was buying several pieces of unframed original art, for instance. Now I need to devote time to find framing for them from used frames and etc. Soon I may hit a few thrift stores.

I have respect for professional framing work but I won’t pay for that for all of these pieces. I know some tricks to customize thrift shop frames and that is what I value— repurposing existing items at a low cost.

[Yppej]

Had my annual physical and wouldn't you know my neck rash had cleared up but the doctor said if it comes back let her know and she will call in a prescription and I will not have to go in to see her again. I passed on all testing including a colonoscopy which would cost me thousands of dollars since small benign polyps were found 5 years ago. I remember spending months fighting about the billing on that procedure which as my first screening was guaranteed free under Obamacare but which I kept getting bills for as no one wanted to admit they made a coding mistake. Finally I got through to the CEO of the hospital and the problem was solved.

[GeorgeParker]

I passed on all testing including a colonoscopy which would cost me thousands of dollars since small benign polyps were found 5 years ago.

Your insurance might cover Cologuard testing which is much cheaper, has no potential side effects like being put to sleep does, and doesn't require the long yucky preparation a colonoscopy does.

[Gardnr]

Your insurance might cover Cologuard testing which is much cheaper, has no potential side effects like being put to sleep does, and doesn't require the long yucky preparation a colonoscopy does.

Having had multiple polyps removed, this is not nearly as good. Polyps will have progressed to Cancer before it's caught by Cologuard. I'd pay the cost of a colonoscopy rather than develop colon cancer. I've seen waaaaaaay too much of that in Surgery.

[GeorgeParker]

Having had multiple polyps removed, this is not nearly as good. Polyps will have progressed to Cancer before it's caught by Cologuard. I'd pay the cost of a colonoscopy rather than develop colon cancer. I've seen waaaaaaay too much of that in Surgery.

A colonoscopy is better than Cologuard, but if someone isn't willing to have a colonoscopy, Cologuard is a lot better than nothing. Anyone dead set against having a colonoscopy should Google "Cologuard vs colonoscopy" without the quotes and decide for themself if the tradeoff is worth it.

[Yppej]

The doctor said if you have had polyps before it is likely Cologuard will come up suspicious and then she will want a colonoscopy. I told her if we ever get a Canadian style healthcare system I will be more than happy to get a colonoscopy.

I have no family history of colon cancer. Once I dated a guy whose mother had it and he had educated himself on it. He said it is highly correlated with eating meat and I am a vegetarian.

For those who do get the procedure you can control some of the costs by foregoing anesthesia. I did this because there are no nerve endings in the colon. I felt discomfort but no pain. Since my first Obama colonoscopy was free I did this not to control costs but because they wanted to give me fentanyl and no way am I going anywhere near that.

[Teacher Terry]

Once I am a month past my 2nd vaccine dose I am getting a colonoscopy. It will be my second one and my last because of my age. My siblings are still getting them in their 70’s but I don’t think it’s worth the risk with the lining thinning. I didn’t have polyps the first time but they both did.

[rosarugosa]

We all have to make our own choices, but I would not skip a colonoscopy because colon cancer is so preventable if caught early. I don't scrimp on healthcare, because money saved will not do me much good if I am dead, and the co-pays for treating a major health condition would vastly exceed the co-pays for a test, even if the test was not coded as preventative. Maybe there is some way to proactively find out how it would be coded? If the prior experience was a fluke, it would be a shame to make critical healthcare decisions for the future based on that one fluke.

[Yppej]

Women in the US have a 4% chance of developing colon cancer. I have reviewed the risk factors and concluded my risk is below that:

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-...k-factors.html

I think there are other equal or greater risk factors I face like dying because my car engine gives up the ghost while I am driving.

One reason a colonoscopy could be so expensive is my health insurance has a network and you can receive surprise medical bills from hospital providers who unbeknownst to you are outside your network even if you select a gastroenterologist and a hospital that are in network. Biden has promised to end surprise medical billing. We shall see.

Previously I posted a link in which a person wrote in the comments that their colonoscopy cost $25,000.00. While that is an extreme case you never know. In the US it is extremely difficult to get a pre-procedure cost even in states like mine where legally you have the right to know.

If I spend $25,000 every 5 years for a colonoscopy I may not die of colon cancer but I will drop dead on the job of overwork because I will be elderly, feeble, and never be able to retire because of the colonoscopy costs.

A question for you all - what percentage of your income are you willing to spend on medical? Is there an upper limit?

[Gardnr]

Maybe there is some way to proactively find out how it would be coded? If the prior experience was a fluke, it would be a shame to make critical healthcare decisions for the future based on that one fluke.

Go to an Ambulatory Center for your colonoscopy. Most GI docs own them these days and that part of the healthcare industry is wonderful in quality.

Why? We get flat rates which are much lower than at a hospital facility for the exact same care. We don't get to charge for most supplies, for any drug used, for any IV solution etc (there may be a C code for a polyp snare-I can't address that since I didn't do GI). They can tell you exactly what it will cost for a diagnostic. They can tell you exactly what it will cost to snare a polyp. They will go through your insurance, and will tell you if you have a co-pay.