The COST of dialysis, etc.

[Panda_9]

I honestly dont know how people can afford to pay for dialysis unless you have a very high paying job or you have a big hunk of savings? I can barely afford to pay for my meds and thats only about $50 a month! I am so greatful that everything else is free. I have asked this question before but never got an answer. Im not being rude, I am just intruiged.

[Rerun]

I don't even think Bill Gates could live very long paying for dialysis.  The cost is horrific and uncalled for.  OMG, dialysis has been around for 46 years!  It is not new and the machines don't keep changing "that" much anymore.  I think we'd be appalled to know how less it "really" cost.

[angieskidney]

I don't even think Bill Gates could live very long paying for dialysis.  The cost is horrific and uncalled for.  OMG, dialysis has been around for 46 years!  It is not new and the machines don't keep changing "that" much anymore.  I think we'd be appalled to know how less it "really" cost.

ya!!

That is what scares me! I am canadian but want to marry an American! But the problem with that is the cost! I worry so much because with me being lucky enough to live in such a great country that I don't pay for hospital stays ever or any surgeries no matter what .. I still ended up having to claim bankruptcy when I lost my kidney transplant! Man I got so depressed because I worked 9 long hard years at that job and was up for a promotion and then the transplant rejected and I lost everything! 12-hr shift job gone! Promotion gone! Bills .. stack up (power, water, rent, credit cards, car payments, etc) .. now I live in a subsidized-apartment and have no car and don't work and am on disability (did take 9 months to get accepted for that though so I had to temporarily go on Welfare which I did not like)...

I hear how there is no coverage in the States and it makes me scared! I mean .. if I ended up with all this happening financially here then DAMN!! What would happen to me in the STATES!?!?!?

[Bajanne]

Well, the new hospital board is kicking in.  The hospital is no longer directly under the Ministry of Health.  There is now a Health Care Board in charge.
Some weeks ago, I had a visit from a lady with a clipboard.  I had to let them know my insurance details.  Dialysis will no longer be free -  my insurance will have to pay for it.  My problem with that, is that this means that when I stop working for the government, I will no longer be covered and will be unable to start a new insurance because of my pre-existing problem.  That means I will have to return to my home country where health care is free.

[Rerun]

In the US if you work for the Government and retire on disability you health coverage continues.  The government still pays their share of the premium and your share comes directly out of your disability check.  The problem with that is insurance premiums keep going up and my disability check doesn't.  It will get me sooner or later.

[Joe Paul]

I think the most costly thing so far, has been the toll on my mind and body. I'm not ashamed of what the monetary cost of keeping me alive is, its about time I can enjoy some of the tax dollar's I paid when I was able to work.

[kitkatz]

Medicare becomes your primary insurance after six months in the United States for dialysis patients.  You have a copay that is going up to 100 bucks a month if you have private insurance and are on Part A, like I am.  They pretty much pay for everything.  I have a copay for medications and the monthly premium for part A.  They say they will pay for a dialysis patient up to three years after transplant, then they say you better have a job and insurance.  What fun!

Katherine

[Rerun]

Medicare becomes your primary insurance after six months in the United States for dialysis patients.  You have a copay that is going up to 100 bucks a month if you have private insurance and are on Part A, like I am.  They pretty much pay for everything.  I have a copay for medications and the monthly premium for part A.  They say they will pay for a dialysis patient up to three years after transplant, then they say you better have a job and insurance.  What fun!

Katherine

Katz, Medicare becomes primary after 30 months on dialysis unless you become age 62 in the mean time. 

[goofynina]

That is what i heard too, 30 months.  Almost half of my disablility check goes to my medication, i hate that... So all you who get free meds, if you have any extra's just slap 'em in the mail and i shall dispose of them properly

[kitkatz]

Yeah well I been at it more than 30 months so mine became primary awhile ago.  You all are probably right.  I am costing the government a friggin fortune.

[goofynina]

and you are worth every single cent girlfriend,  I THINK WE ALL ARE....

[TrophyWife]

And then sometimes at home care is needed. Just checked on that for my father. $17 dollars an hour, minimum 3 hours a day.....so thats what, at least(AT LEAST) $51 dollars a day for care. The blood thinner shot he got at the hospital Friday night was like $10,000.  CRAZY

[angieskidney]

wow ... I get heperin at high doses in my dialysis treatment .. it would be expensive for me in the STates

[kitkatz]

The CNAs who are doing our home care such a laundry and cooking for my hubby earn 19 an hour.

[goofynina]

Well damn, i do more than that for MY hubby, shit, i am hittin' him up for a raise dammit....

[TrophyWife]

hahahahah I hear that goofynina!

[Black]

Medicare becomes your primary insurance after six months in the United States for dialysis patients.  You have a copay that is going up to 100 bucks a month if you have private insurance and are on Part A, like I am.  They pretty much pay for everything.  I have a copay for medications and the monthly premium for part A.  They say they will pay for a dialysis patient up to three years after transplant, then they say you better have a job and insurance.  What fun!

Katherine

Does the government ever look at anything and determine what is the most cost effective way to go instead of what is the cheapest in the short run?  Having a transplant fail because a person can't afford the antirejection meds is certainly NOT cost effective.  It may save a little for the few months or few years between the time they stop taking the meds and when they get very ill and go back on government paid dialysis.  The patients and their families suffer the consequences, and the medical facilities have to cope w/ patients who shouldn't be there. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!

[TrophyWife]

It's a complicated subject. I have mixed feelings. My father's neighbor here in Atlanta gets free rides back and forth to dialysis(thanks to the State of Georgia). She lives with her son in a 250K + house. But my father has to pay for the ride. Don't get me wrong --- I don't "wrong" her from taking the free ride. Just kind of doesn't seem fair .....just because my father has a couple of assest......and she was smart enough to put all hers in her sons name. Just the whole system is "not fair" but neither is life and neither is having to go on dialysis.  Like I said , mixed feelings on the whole thing- this subject could get deep!

[Panda_9]

We are able to get the ambulance to dialysis and appointments for free. But it has to have the doctors consent. I dont do it anymore as I am able (just) to get the bus. If I am unwell I will certainly get the ambulance, as theres no way I could walk to the bus stop.

[angieskidney]

In Canada it is different. In my province I have what is called O.H.I.P. (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) so all my care is paid for (not medication or transportation however). Then on top of that I have O.D.S.P. which is disability (but not through a pension plan .. I am not old enough for that kind) which pays for a taxi cab service for me (but since I am "on account" I am not allowed to ask for a certain driver which sucks because at times I have a hard time with the van doors and the driver will just look at me and say "pull it harder" when I just got out of dialysis and feeling very weak with a bp of 96/54 ...) and I get my meds paid thru Disability and just pay a co-pay per med of $2 (which in the USA is what? ... $4? lol).

Anyway, people get mad at me because I have it "easy" but then I retorn "I worked 9 long years trying to get ahead before I lost my transplant! I went to College trying to get ahead!! And you say I don't deserve this because why? My transplant failed before I was able to get that promotion that would have gotten me coverage thru work and given me that pay raise I have been working extra hard for for many years??"

People get me mad when they judge others.

If you can get care I say GOOD FOR YOU!!! I AM GLAD YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH!!

I had to claim bankruptcy .. couldn't keep renting the house I was in and now live in a tiny one-bedroom subsidized apartment building and lost my car since some old lady totalled it when she ran into me because didn't see my right in front of her. She is still driving while I am stuck with the non-door-opening cabbies while I had a clean driving record for 16 years!!


(sorry for my rant  )

[Bajanne]

(sorry for my rant  )

Not at all.  This is what this site is for.  You have certainly been through the mill.  It is a tribute to the human spirit that you are still fighting and going on.  My encouraging thoughts are with you right now.

[angieskidney]

(sorry for my rant  )

Not at all.  This is what this site is for.  You have certainly been through the mill.  It is a tribute to the human spirit that you are still fighting and going on.  My encouraging thoughts are with you right now.

Thank you

[jdat]

I thought I would give a little roundup of costs here in France and how things work.

Anyone with kidney failure will have that indicated on their Social security record as a long term affliction. This means that 100% of the costs involved with the afflication will be covered.

In clinic dialysis session cost is about 320 euros/405 USD
Which represents approximately 3840 euros/4860 USD monthly

PD supplies monthly delivery used to cost around 1400 Euros/1775 USD.
Patients on PD have two options:
-a nurse comes and helps do the setup each time
-the patient does everything himself.
I took the option of doing everything myself, otherwise that really defeats the purpose of in-home care.
Because of that I got about 320 Euros/405 USD monthly as a personal care allowance. It's not much but hey it's better than nothing especially when you're not working ... 

Medication and transportation is also covered 100%.
It is the norm for everyone to take either an ambulance or a taxi to go to dialysis.
If you want to come with your own personal vehicule that also gets reimbursed.

Now that I have had my transplant I have to continue going to follow up appointments in a city an hour and a half away.
I have been taking the train but I could go by taxi or ambulance and that would cost around 500Euros+ 650USD+ round trip.
Medical transportation is a very big business here and the companies tend to try and commit fraud.
It is expected that in the upcoming years there will be a tightening of medical transportation authorizations delivered by doctors as the yearly bill for the country is approaching 1 Billion Euros 1.30 Billion USD.

As a whole the social security system here has been in debt for years and years but it is progressively getting better for them as they are forcing doctors to prescribe generics and any form of cost cutting. But so far so good the quality of care has not dropped.

I much prefer the prospect of doing dialysis in France than in the US even if sometimes here they make it a little too much like assisted living. That being said I am still very p*ssed off I had to leave the US because of my health problems


Any ESRD patient can go through the procedure to become declared disabled. It is a very long and painstaking process. You have to go before a commission that reviews your case and that can take anywhere from 6 months to a year. The "good" thing is that by the time you have become declared, disability paiements are retroactive to the waiting period.
I personally have refused to try and go that route as I don't even think I could claim any money as I never really worked in France.
And the monthly disability they give you is ridiculously low ( 500 Euros or so 630 USD )but if you get a high paying job ( which I hope to get quickly in Switzerland which is 20 minutes away **fingers crossed ** ) they take it away ( not 100% sure about that ).
If declared disabled you can also get help with your rent.

[Bajanne]

Thanks for sharing that with us.  Very interesting the difference from country to country.   In my home country, Barbados, everything is taken care of, healthwise, if you use a public clinic.  Even if you go to a private doctor, all medication is free if (a) your condition is chronic and the doctor prescribes medication from a book called the Drug Formulary (b) if you are under 16 or over 65 (c) if it is prescribed at a public clinic and the prescription filled at the hospital or clinic pharmacy.
The difference between public and private healthcare is the wait. 
When I return home to live, my dialysis will be free, and if I have transportion problems, a van will collect me and take me back home but only if I am 65 and over.

[slothluvchunk]

It's great to hear about all the people whose countries give them "no cost" healthcare.

It's not so great that most of the people working hard in those countries are paying around 50% in income tax, as well as VAT on many of the goods they purchase.
(I don't know that Canada is this way, but most of Europe is)

Those of you saying that you don't pay for your healthcare:  YOU ARE.  Thankfully your systems make your personal out of pocket expenses minimal - and that can be a God send.  It's not free though - to anyone.

When I lived in Germany the income tax rate was at about 49% - I believe it is higher now.  And when I'd go to the doctor, I might wait for several hours to see him.

I'm not Pooh-poohing these systems, just pointing out that there is no such thing as free-lunch.  Someone pays for healthcare.  In this country, insurance companies have sold the idea of "shared risk" to everyone, making us all think we can't possibly live without health insurance.  A large pool of people pays in money, and statistically most are healthy.  The insurance company then does their best to never pay a penny, and someone keeps the remainder.  Even if they don't, they're able to make interest on your money as long as they can delay payment.  Some companies in fact make most of their money "floating" it.
Those of then who are considered high-risk, are not allowed to join the pool of people who have agreed to share risk.  What?!  That doesn't make sense does it?  no... but it's true.
Many of us who are chronically ill have only one shot to receive decent medical insurance: open enrollment either through our employer or a spouse's employer.  Those of us who either own a business, or work for a small business, are sort of left out.

I certainly don't know what the answer is - it's a difficult issue.  There will always be someone who thinks everyone in the world should have free healthcare, but the reality is that someone somewhere has to pay for it.  Especially if we want companies to invest in research and develop new drugs and treatments.
Heck, I want free healthcare for everyone - but I don't know how to accomplish free anything for anybody.