Insurance

Another blustery day here in Michigan. Last night I woke a few times to hear the rain hitting the house. When I finally rolled out of bed, I realized that it was not just rain, but feezing rain, as the weather forecasters predicted. Next we will have a snowy mix that should make for an interesting commute for Tom tonight and myself on Monday. The kids are on their Mid Winter Break, as if they needed one. They are now counting how many days they need to go in the summer time!

Tom is doing ok. Thanks for so many inquiries and continued prayers for improvement. Tom has some hair growth in the back of his neck, it is not even yet but I told him to be happy it is growing in black and not that "other" color! His facial hair is growing father down than the Dr. anticipated. His back right shoulder seems to be itchy much of the time but other than one small circular patch of red skin, his back looks normal. Tom continues to have labored breathing all night and is up many times a night. His is glad to be back to work and I think it keeps his mind off the future test and results.

Speaking of future tests, we received a letter from our insurance company stating that they are inquiring about the Octreotide test. They have not approved the procedure and want "Supporting documentation that the Octreotide test is helpful for Thyroid Cancer." The Regents of the U of M have 45 days to respond, which brings us to March 31 which is after his testing dates that we have set up at U of M. It also stated that if the "patient" proceeded with the test prior to receiving the authorization letter, we may be responsible for the entire cost of the service. I sure hope that these companies work together and get this approved so that we can continue with Tom's progress. I don't think we could afford this test. We just got the bill for Tom's blood work from U of M, $$$. I can wait to see how much our consulatation cost. Let's just say that with all of Tom's procedures, the bills add up to 1 1/4 the price of our house! I'm grateful that we have such good insurance and hope that whoever is making the decisions for approval really put the quality of life as a considering factor.

So here we are again, waiting for the powers that be to make up their minds about what will be done for Tom. Until December I had all the confidence in our insurance to approve what was necessary for Tom's health. The unapproved prescription bill was not a big thing and we could afford to pay out of pocket. This time I am hopeful that they will get this resolved in the next month as we can't handle it the same way. Prayer Warriors: Please pray that this be resolved and that we (I) do not become to "anxious" while we wait & please pray that Tom can sleep at night.