Hi all, happy Saturday. Bit of an update on the $4,000 test front...
After speaking with additional folks in these offices, something is rotten in Denmark IMO. My mom talked to a person in the company itself about the cost, and they're who got the financial info from her. I thought it was to make sure she could pay since insurance likely would not cover it. Remember also I found that odd because we have good insurance. It was explained as they don't think it's necessary. Well, I'm a questioner by nature and something didn't seem right to me. So, some further chatting and we find out that the financial info was asked for because if insurance won't pay, as long as our household total income was under a certain number and we had a house payment, the company would eat the entire $4,000 cost for the test. And that's when I knew something was not quite right here. What company just says "If your insurance doesn't pay, we won't make you pay. We'll eat the cost!" A company is going to absorb a $4,000 bill like that? Hmm. Being a Psych. major in college myself, my mind immediately turned to "They want it for research purposes."
Well, turns out this is the
only lab in the entire COUNTRY that does this specific test. It's still very new and, ding ding ding, We have a winner!, they eat the cost because they want as much data as they can get while they try this new test out.

So I don't particularly find comfort in the fact that whether or not she gets chemo will be based on the results of a test NO ONE ELSE in the U.S. does that's still in the "new" stages. Apparently this chemo doctor is in with this lab company on this new testing for research purposes, so he recommends most of his patients have this test done because he's excited about its promise.
I'm just very bothered by this. If it's that new, and this lab
in this city is the only one that does that test, and a handful of doctors in this area (possibly only him) are the only ones who use it, who's to say these results will mean anything or even be accurate? Again, they already knew the cause, already knew the % chance of it coming back, and yet the chemo decision will be made based on this data? From this new test no one else in the country does?
I ain't happy. At all.
I said a prayer, and will continue to do so.
Prayer said.
Prayer said.
I did!

OK, we all did.

Smart teenager ya got there. I would encourage him to get online and look at bills presented by each party over the last 5 years or so on a variety of things. Compare and contrast them, and then ask him what he thinks.