Colles Fracture Saga

Tunnelcat · Post by **Tunnelcat** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 3:17 pm

Foil, I'll see when all this billing gets finalized, there's still more doctoring to go yet. There's still a lot of bills dribbling in, they seem to take a long time to process, so it may be a while before I know the final amount. I'll probably talk to the insurance company to see what their policy is concerning the deductable and the year end cutoff. But in the past, it was always reset come the first of the year. I'll post the billing results when they get finalized. Thanks for the info on this though. It would be nice if it works out that way.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:20 pm

All the same TC, seek out some legal council so you don't get hosed down. Check with the county, normally they carry lists of free programs or agencies that LIVE to nialing crooked doctors and the like to the wall. That is ONE thing that Oregon has going for it.

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:30 am

You can always go to the emergency room and give them a fake name and address......

Tunnelcat · Post by **Tunnelcat** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:45 pm

SilverFJ, I live in a somewhat small town. They'll track you down, put a lean against your house, kidnap your kin for ransom, etc, etc. Now if I didn't have a permanent address............. bye, bye, heh heh.

Duper, my bone doc has done a just ducky repair, so far. He just charges enough to line his house with 24 carat gold.

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:58 pm

Yeah I know what you mean, my town has 4000 people in it.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:55 pm

Here's my hand today (at work no less ...er with the rest of me):

Here is it though the healing process:

Just after surgery:

There we go. That formed brace, I discovered later was over $200. o_0

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:41 pm

Ouch TC, that is one high deductible. It is a pain insurance companies are so predatory. I often wish there was a law that made deductibles valid from the date the expenses were incurred rather than fixed per year. So if you paid $7500 in August, your deductible would be satisfied till next August.

Tunnelcat · Post by **Tunnelcat** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:10 pm

Well, Duper, you've got bigger scars than I do. They did all that surgery through those two incisions? How long were you in your casts and brace? That blue cast looks just like my final one. And $200.00 for THAT piece of stiff foam? Sheeeeh! With that lunate bone gone, isn't your hand a little narrower? If you have restricted motion, it must be off a little. Ouch!

Yeah, the numbness on the back of the hand feels really weird, It sure does on my hand. However, I've got that beat. Back in 1977, I had elective surgery to stop hyperhidrosis of the hands, or in layman's terms, excessive sweating of the palms. Back then they did what was called a 'thoracic sympathectomy'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endoscopic ... pathectomy

HOWEVER, they didn't have the endoscopic version back then, so they made an 6 inch long incision in the upper middle of my back to get to the proper nerves. Well, the surgery worked just fine, no more sweaty palms. BUT, I now have a 6 inch band of surface skin that goes all the way around my body at the level of the scar that is totally NUMB, including the armpits and yes boys, the boobs

, which really feels weird! Of course, now they do this surgery with laparoscopy and the offending nerves are just cut with easy access right under the armpits. No more slicing open the back. Figures, if I'd waited a few more years.........

Krom, the billing from the surgery center is now what's giving me a headache. Remember how I said that they wanted their money 'up front' BEFORE the work was done, which sounded weird anyway since I had insurance? They claimed that the amount they charged me was a negotiated figure, $2121.57, pre-approved from the insurance company. So naturally I thought that this payment would satisfy my obligation. Now I start getting the bills in and surprise, they want more, about $660 more, $2671.57! There were no other complications during surgery to account for this higher charge and they confirmed that part so far! So now my husband and I have to argue back and forth with these guys to settle this new charge to the bill! There's more as well. It comes to light NOW that if we had paid 'cash up front', no insurance involved, our bill would have been ONLY $132 more or $2253.57 instead of the new figure, $2671.57 they just magically pulled out of their butts! We're trying to get an explanation of the charges, but no one is calling back very fast. Pricks! Oh and Foil, Krom, my deductible does reset at the first of the year, lousy timing and cheap insurance company. To add insult to injury, I just heard somewhere that the CEO of United Health made $1.87 BILLION last year! PHUUUUUUCK!

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 5:43 pm

Urgh, I got United Health as well. Super high deductable too, company's trying to keep insurance costs bearable

So I got an HSA in addition to the companies FSA. Total PITA to even just have someone take a look at a possible problem..

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 7:04 pm

To add insult to injury, I just heard somewhere that the CEO of United Health made $1.87 BILLION last year! PHUUUUUUCK!

I wonder if he even bothers with an insurance policy?

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:36 am

Of course not. At that level of assets, people are effectively \"self-insuring\".

Even for people at lesser asset levels, there are groups who jointly run a self/group-insurance system, rather than getting a policy from an insurance company.

For the rest of us shlubs, we go buy a policy, because we can't afford the risk or expense of a major loss (and all too often, find out that the coverage we got doesn't care of as much as we thought).

<shrug>

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 12:47 pm

My job provides me with free medical, vision, and dental. Of course I work an extremely high-rish job.

I've been run over with a forklift breaking my ankle and femur, our boomer crane backswung and broke half my ribs, I got my arm caught in an iron butcher and broke it, half of my teeth are fake after a difference of opinion with several Russian employees over American politics, and last (and least

) a broken toe from our rowe grinder...

Tunnelcat · Post by **Tunnelcat** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:27 pm

Freedom at last! Got the cast off Thursday. Went on a hot tub soak and skin peel fest binge! Never felt SOOOOOOOOO good, but what a mess it left! No more putting a bag over the cast to take a damn shower either.

Duper, if you're still out there, how long did it take to loosen up your wrist joint after cast removal? Mine is VERY stiff and sore right now, but at least I can type and play computer games again. The doc wants to wait 2 weeks to see if I need PT.

What kind of a job do you HAVE SilverFJ?

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:05 pm

I'm a foreman of our Fish House, the heavy machinary driven mass-butchering branch of the processing plant.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:33 am

TC, I forget. It was pretty limber right out of the cast. In fact, I'd say it's a bit stiffer than it was. It started stiffening up once it was out and in the brace though. It would twinge from time to time and so I would be reluctant to bend it. After I got into PT, I was pretty agressive with my exercises....not always Thorough.. but agressive. ^_^

I still have to stretch forwards to keep all the range i can get. I do it now pretty much without thinkin about it.

Over all, it took about a year for my wrist to completely heal.

Tunnelcat · Post by **Tunnelcat** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:50 pm

Thanks Duper. I'll work at it aggressively, but I want to make sure the wrist bone has ossified (hardened) sufficiently to take the stress without compressing any. I measured the arm with my roofing square. The left one is about 5 millimeters shorter now than the right one.

SilverFJ, are chain mail gloves a requirement? Looks hazardous to your health. Bet it smells good in there too! I like the floor covered in a lake of water and blood. Don't slip!

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 4:44 pm

You get used to it. And only the knifers using the wizard knives use chain mail on their hands. The wizard knife is like an electric pizza cutter razorblade.