Posted by jamie on February 11, 2000, at 8:10:00
In reply to Re: INSURANCE CUT ME OFF, posted by Noa on February 11, 2000, at 5:30:38
> I don't know if this is applicable, but I think it depends where you live, too. Cost of living in some parts is way steeper than in others.
>
> Still, I cannot imagine how you do it, Jamie! My mental health costs add up to something like $12,000 a year for therapy and pdoc, and who knows how much for all my meds!! My share of that is about $8000, with copayments and the cost of insurance premiums, which I pay in full myself.
I didn't even consider the cost of living differences around the country. That is a big concern I didn't think about. Anway I can't think of a higher priority than mental health. Absolutely nothing else can work without it. Marriages fail. Relationships fail. Finances fail. Families fail. And even life itself is at serious risk. Maybe it means selling the second or third car. Maybe it means downsizing to a cheaper house. Maybe the adjustments are minor and maybe they are drastic. But without making every possible adjustment to assure good mental health, everything else will fail. That's the way it is with me at least. I can't even put the monthly rent as the highest priority until I have first put my mental health on top to make the monthly rent responsibility even possible. I have to admit, it is depressing to not have insurance. I just do the best I can with the rules of the game that have been dealt my way.I found that seeing my family doctor instead of the psychiatrist every other visit or so saves a lot of money. They have each other's numbers and can collaborate if they need to. He can prescribe anything the pdoc can. If it's something like adding a tricyclic to an existing ssri, or trying pindolol or buspar, or something of that nature, the family doctor has no problem at all with that. I only go to the pdoc when there's a problem requiring a real change in medication. Both of them usually have samples of free antidepressants too. My family doctor gets bombarded from pharmaceutical salesmen. As a result he has plenty of free samples on hand and can keep me going for months without spending any more than $50 once every two months or so for a visit. Obviously though costs go up dramatically when we are having troubles that require more frequent psychiatrist visits. Insurance is nice. But without it there are always creative ways to cut costs.
jamie
poster:jamie
thread:21040
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000209/msgs/21122.html