Below is an email I received from a Minimed Associate in regards to my CGM Mini-Link:
Hi Sarah:
Great news! Just wanted to follow-up with you to let you know I was able to get the benefits for your Transmitter and Sensors. These items are covered.
Take care!
Regards,
Patricia Egger
Insurance Verification Specialist, SOS Insurance Verification
Medtronic Minimed
(818)576-5911
(800)646-4633
Fax: (818)576-6339
Patricia.egger@medtronic.com
Alleviating pain, Restoring Health, Extending Life
I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. They still have time to deny this claim. I'm still crossing my fingers, but I'll be damned cuz from here, it's looking pretty good!
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
A Letter to the County Commissioner
Recently I wrote a letter to my County Commissioner about the need to train Children's Mental Health Case Managers on programs offered by the Community Supports Division.
I've posted two .jpeg's of my letter, which was CC'd to me in PDF form when the County Commissioner forwarded them to the Director of Human Services for Stearns County.
I can only hope that good things come from taking the opportunity to share our experiences with someone who can truly make change in the system I am discussing.
I've posted two .jpeg's of my letter, which was CC'd to me in PDF form when the County Commissioner forwarded them to the Director of Human Services for Stearns County.
I can only hope that good things come from taking the opportunity to share our experiences with someone who can truly make change in the system I am discussing.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
CADI (Community Alternatives for Disabled Individuals) Waiver Success!
To learn more about the CADI waiver, go here.
After quite the struggle, Sandis was eventually assessed for CADI Waiver qualification. Lo and behold, he was found to qualify. However, the CADI waiver is not an entitlement. This means that if you qualify it does not mean that you automatically receive a waiver. The next step is your “case” goes to a committee and they decide whether or not the individual will actually receive the CADI waiver he/she qualifies for. Sandis’s “case” went to the committee last Friday and God’s above he was given a CADI slot! The final step is to be awarded a “budget”, at which point you determine how you intend to use your CADI funds.
I find it hard to believe that he actually received a CADI slot after all the county did to “discourage” me from having a Long Term Care Assessment for Sandis. This is a wonderful example of what happens when families are educated about county systems and benefits. The education lays the groundwork for families to more efficiently seek services for themselves and their children that most closely meet their needs.
I can look back at this blog and I see victory after victory after victory when it comes to services for my family. Our victories (for Sandis) include having a para-educator for Sandis in school, qualifying for PCA services, and obtaining a duplicate key from the Housing Coalition for Sandis’s PCA. The waiver is just the next victory, the next step on our path to help ensure that my guy, my Sandis, is successful.
When we expect failure, we accept things as they are and set ourselves up for just that: failure. When we expect success, we do everything within our power to ensure that we are just that: successful.
After quite the struggle, Sandis was eventually assessed for CADI Waiver qualification. Lo and behold, he was found to qualify. However, the CADI waiver is not an entitlement. This means that if you qualify it does not mean that you automatically receive a waiver. The next step is your “case” goes to a committee and they decide whether or not the individual will actually receive the CADI waiver he/she qualifies for. Sandis’s “case” went to the committee last Friday and God’s above he was given a CADI slot! The final step is to be awarded a “budget”, at which point you determine how you intend to use your CADI funds.
I find it hard to believe that he actually received a CADI slot after all the county did to “discourage” me from having a Long Term Care Assessment for Sandis. This is a wonderful example of what happens when families are educated about county systems and benefits. The education lays the groundwork for families to more efficiently seek services for themselves and their children that most closely meet their needs.
I can look back at this blog and I see victory after victory after victory when it comes to services for my family. Our victories (for Sandis) include having a para-educator for Sandis in school, qualifying for PCA services, and obtaining a duplicate key from the Housing Coalition for Sandis’s PCA. The waiver is just the next victory, the next step on our path to help ensure that my guy, my Sandis, is successful.
When we expect failure, we accept things as they are and set ourselves up for just that: failure. When we expect success, we do everything within our power to ensure that we are just that: successful.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Not Even a Phone Call?
The Saint Cloud Times didn't even bother to let me know they printed this letter.
Only by the grace of a google search in my name (don't ask why) did I happenstance across this gem.
Life is good :)
Only by the grace of a google search in my name (don't ask why) did I happenstance across this gem.
Life is good :)
Thursday, January 03, 2008
A State of Morbid Mind
I stockpile things. Well not ALL things, but more specifically I stockpile diabetes supplies. Why? Why is it that I don’t stockpile water and food but I have a slew of syringes, pump supplies, test strips, and an over-abundance of insulin?
In the back of my mind I venture places that I otherwise would not dare. I imagine situations of war, terror, or natural disaster and in these places, I calculate the number of days or weeks I would live off of the insulin supply I have. I plan ways to conserve insulin in these situations, and I imagine that should there be a natural disaster or act of terror that permanently destroys our infrastructure my first act would be to loot the pharmacy and take ALL the insulin I could, no matter the type of insulin, just whatever I could fit into my pack and carry. That and syringes. I imagine guarding these precious supplies as if they were my life, which in all actuality they would be.
So what about you? If I haven’t triggered hoarding tendencies by this post alone, perhaps you already stash a sizable amount of supplies “just in case.”
This reminds me, I really do need to get more syringes…….
In the back of my mind I venture places that I otherwise would not dare. I imagine situations of war, terror, or natural disaster and in these places, I calculate the number of days or weeks I would live off of the insulin supply I have. I plan ways to conserve insulin in these situations, and I imagine that should there be a natural disaster or act of terror that permanently destroys our infrastructure my first act would be to loot the pharmacy and take ALL the insulin I could, no matter the type of insulin, just whatever I could fit into my pack and carry. That and syringes. I imagine guarding these precious supplies as if they were my life, which in all actuality they would be.
So what about you? If I haven’t triggered hoarding tendencies by this post alone, perhaps you already stash a sizable amount of supplies “just in case.”
This reminds me, I really do need to get more syringes…….
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Health Care Expenses in 2008
I’ve been focusing on health insurance coverage lately. It’s no wonder with SCHIP up for reauthorization over the fall(what a miserable failure this was), followed by fear of losing Medicaid for my peanut, and the change in the type (and quality) of health care plans offered by my employer. My dismay concerning the health coverage situation for those of us on the “right” side of the health insurance fence (to say nothing of those who AREN’T insured) only grew as I calculated my own annual health expenses (out of pocket including premiums)and discovered that I had managed to spend over $9,000 in 2007. At almost 27% of my entire income, health care was my primary expense with rent following at a close second (around 23%).
My situation can’t be hugely different from many other insured Americans with a chronic condition (or two). Why is this allowed to continue? This disproportionate burden of cost is stifling for Americans whose alternative to investing this amount and percentage of their income on their health is summarily a loss of health.
So what am I going to do about all this? First of all, I am going to continue to write about the expense of health care for insured Americans. Secondly, in recognition of the new year, I plan to track my medical expenses throughout the year on this blog. I haven’t yet created a space in my sidebar, but along with my blood sugars & averages currently posted, I intend to add my own personal ticker which will show what (thus far) I have spent on things like Test Strips, Premiums, FSA deposits, Insulin Pump Supplies, Sensors & Supplies, %’s of therapy & doctor’s appointments, and basic prescriptions. I also intend to keep a published log of what my total YTD out-of-pocket expenses are for health coverage & health care (accompanied by what percentage of my total YTD income this is). Keep an eye out for this on my page, and I will keep all of you updated as I venture through my own public awareness campaign.
I am going to be sharing these expenses with the public because I know my family is not unique. I also know that fixing the problems of health expenditures for “only” my family is not appropriate. There needs to be a global repair in the health care system that will allow for universal affordability AND accessibility. I don’t have the solutions in regards how to make that happen, but I am going to be a part of telling MY story so perhaps other families will be inclined to do the same. Also, I’m greatly interested in what percentage of income other families are spending on health care. So please, if you know this tidbit or are inclined to figure it out, please send it my way!
My situation can’t be hugely different from many other insured Americans with a chronic condition (or two). Why is this allowed to continue? This disproportionate burden of cost is stifling for Americans whose alternative to investing this amount and percentage of their income on their health is summarily a loss of health.
So what am I going to do about all this? First of all, I am going to continue to write about the expense of health care for insured Americans. Secondly, in recognition of the new year, I plan to track my medical expenses throughout the year on this blog. I haven’t yet created a space in my sidebar, but along with my blood sugars & averages currently posted, I intend to add my own personal ticker which will show what (thus far) I have spent on things like Test Strips, Premiums, FSA deposits, Insulin Pump Supplies, Sensors & Supplies, %’s of therapy & doctor’s appointments, and basic prescriptions. I also intend to keep a published log of what my total YTD out-of-pocket expenses are for health coverage & health care (accompanied by what percentage of my total YTD income this is). Keep an eye out for this on my page, and I will keep all of you updated as I venture through my own public awareness campaign.
I am going to be sharing these expenses with the public because I know my family is not unique. I also know that fixing the problems of health expenditures for “only” my family is not appropriate. There needs to be a global repair in the health care system that will allow for universal affordability AND accessibility. I don’t have the solutions in regards how to make that happen, but I am going to be a part of telling MY story so perhaps other families will be inclined to do the same. Also, I’m greatly interested in what percentage of income other families are spending on health care. So please, if you know this tidbit or are inclined to figure it out, please send it my way!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Playing Memory
Last night we let the kids stay up until "midnight". "Midnight" is actually ten pm with the microwave clock set two hours ahead. That means that Bob and I got to celebrate New Year's twice. Perhaps we are cruel, but everyone was happy in the end. The kids got to stay up until "midnight" and weren't much crabbier than the norm getting there!
Last year we played a little bit of twister and got wild with the guitar. This year? We settled down for some mellow "memory" (well as mellow as staying up late playing memory can be in my family!)
I also managed to get in my annual "questions".
What was your favorite thing about last year?
Gracie - Playing Lightsaber
Sandis - Playing Lightsaber with Gracie & Mom & Bob
Bob - Tickling Sandis & Gracie
Mom- Going to Denver to celebrate Mom's graduation
What was your favorite song?
Sandis - I'm Proud to Be An American & This Land is Your Land (how did he get so Patriotic? Do I have a politician on my hands?)
Gracie - Twinkle Little Star (Seriously, I would have bet on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer seeing as how that has been all I have heard from my back seat these past few weeks!)
Bob - Broken Boy Solider by the Raconteurs
Sarah - Back to Black by Amy Winehouse & 300MPH Torrential Outpour Blues by The White Stripes
What was your favorite Christmas gift?
Gracie - Checkers (Rudolph checkers no less)
Sandis - My playstation game NHL 2K5
Mom - My bookcase
Bob - My mp3 player
What was your favorite movie?
Sandis - Star Wars VI (oldy by goody - Anakin came back from the dark side)
Gracie - Charlotte's Web (I hate this movie, really really really really hate it)
Sarah - Star Wars III (This love tragedy moves me time and time again. I love this movie!)
Bob - The Kingdom
Lastly, I'd like to close with a picture of my weight. I know, I really don't have to, but really, the last time I weighed this little, I was pregnant soon after (meaning it didn't last that long, see what happens when I'm hot?!!) And no, I don't plan on being pregnant anytime soon (not like ever).
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