[BeyondtheRainbow]

I posted earlier about trying to figure out whether Medicare A would pay for IOP/PHP. Without going into the medicare complexities, I will be paying a deductible for my hospital stay through part A that is not a small amount of money. Part B is 20% co-pay on everything. For 60 days from discharge I can be re-admitted to the hospital without a deductible.

I found out that IOP/PHP is a Part B expense. So they are providing services supposed to be the same level as IP but it's not covered the same and they've made it into something where it is cheaper by far for me to go back to the hospital instead of doing what is massively cheaper for taxpayers and me.

This is so confusing to me. So now I'm back to waiting to get my meds increased one last time and trying to fight my way through the long weekend without having to go back to the er. I'm fine doing that if I have to, I just am surprised that other options are not available when they are so much cheaper.

[Nammu]

And therein lies the tale of why I've been hospitalized so often.

I now have a Medicare/Medicaid HMO they call the hospital everyday to tell them I don't need to be there and they won't pay any more, so I'm discharged and end up back in ER or put on a 72 hour hold in which case they pay more because it's processed with extra paperwork for admissions. It would be far cheaper for them to just accept that a doctor is a better judge of a persons medical needs than a paper pusher miles or states away.
As for IOP...I'm they'd rather I'd be hospitalized cause then they know I really need it, even if they don't want to believe MI takes more than 24 hours to be fixed...just want Drs to shove some pills down a person throat and push em out the door. They seem to think IOP is just for people who think their sick....yep, a cast is optional for broken legs, and oh by the way we're going to limit pain meds too because one out of four people will become addicted and politicians will let us.

Yup, it's not doctors that get to decide treatments, it shareholders and politicians. If we can get you to give up or end up in jail we win! Even if it cost much more for society.

Ok end of rant.

[Victoria'smom]

Iop/php isn't even a medicaid option here.

[raspberrytorte]

I think it's disgusting how expensive it is to get help, even when you have insurance. I owe over three thousand dollars for my last hospital stay. It's floating around in collections right now.