P.S. Today is a celebration...ALL the 3 major medical organizations here refused to follow up with me after I had finished RT at Kaiser, left Kaiser, and enrolled in Medicare A and B. For my 18 mo of ADT, my 3 mo injection date was fast approaching, so I called all those options and was told " we need a referral". Kaiser, who did my RT and treatment plan for 4+5, which included 18 mo ADT, refused to provide a referral, though I was no longer a Kaiser patient. Talk about exasperation on my part!! Kaiser suggested I find a new outside primary Doc, who could then refer me to a urologist, RO, or MO. In this city, even finding a GP ina timely fashion is a big challenge!
So, in desperation I called a smaller oncology business/clinic, and miraculously they are willing to see me next week so that I can timely have my next injection, and they accept Medicare payment!! Celebration !! What a messed up medical system.....at least here !! Anyway........
Yes, used Medicare.gov to look at booth supplements and Part D options. I understand there may be significant changes in Advantage plans......companies dropping plans, etc? Plus the $2000 max out-of-pocket for Part D prescriptions?
Yes, I have a Plan D. I'm wondering, since one could easily max out of $2,000 with one brand name drug, if one could then make a wholesale switch to brand names. For instance, I am on three generic glaucoma drops. Could I switch all three to expensive brand names if I'm going to max the $2K anyway. The generics are dirt cheap, but they have never seemed as comfortable. But I suspect there is going to be a catch in there somewhere.
I'm happy with the generics ...no matter what. Don't expect taxpayers to pay more taxes so I can have brand names. After $2000, free for us......but there is no free lunch.
Portland. Nothing to do with our city's politics though. Why the hell Kaiser won't give a referral for someone like my....who left Kaiser end of June, and needed the next ADT shot 3 months later ??? They said I should find a new outside primary provider, and that person could give me the referral? INSANE??
The 3 other big systems here.....OHSU, Providence, Legacy.....all demanded referrals...the only BS I heard from them is that the reason is an insurance thing???? Some insurers require referrals to sspecialists, so these systems want to have a referral in case my insurer requires it. I told them Medicare doesn't require referral, but that fact was ignored!!
Anybody else in this country encountered the same thing....it is hard to believe only here? I could pick up the phone and do a survey of medical systems in other cities?
Of 2 other clincs I called and who didn't need referrals, one had no opening for 2 months, but the other ,Compass Oncology, will see me Wednesday for visit and shot......$800 Medicare total for the MO visit and 3 month shot. Would have been $260 cash for the MO, and Medicare amount is $220. Shot $580.
"what happened to their partners frazer ".....explain to a dummy please!!
The Kaiser nurse advocate was very nice and tried to help me....... my GP and urologists were both thumbs down " because....blah blah blah..."
I'm sure they have a boot/heel on their neck from above..the buck stops at the top...and I may take the time and send those 2 at the top a denunciation of their policy!!! Even considered filing a complaint with State Board ? This situation should not happen !!
The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was an American automotive manufacturer established in 1945. Kaiser-Frazer was the creation of Henry J Kaiser and Joseph W Frazer, a well known industrialist and a highly regarded automotive executive respectively. This new company launched with two models, the Kaiser, and the Frazer. While mechanically, these two cars were very similar, the Frazer was marketed as the more upscale offering. After initial success, Kaiser-Frazer underwent various changes, most notably, the departure of Joseph Frazer in 1951, leading to a change in company's name to Kaiser Motors Corporation. Nameplates such as the Frazer Manhattan were transfered to the Kaiser, and although the company was in financial trouble, it was still able to create the Darrin, a highly regarded sports car that was unable to turn to Kaiser's fortunes. In 1955, production shifted to Argentina, with Kaiser's subsidiary Willys-Overland being the only part of the company still operating in the United States. After years of uncertainty, Kaiser sold their automotive assets to the American Motors Corporation (AMC).
The Henry J is an American automobile built by the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation and named after its chairman, Henry J. Kaiser. Production of six-cylinder models began in their Willow Run factory in Michigan in July 1950, and four-cylinder production started shortly after Labor Day, 1950. The official public introduction was on September 28, 1950, and the car was marketed until 1954.
1954 The year I graduated from De Witt Clinton high school.
I think the 4 cylinder was the least popular...... unlike me the soon to be 88 which is the most popular. See, proof that humor causes less facial wrinkles.
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