Thanks Amy, those are good ideas. Catwoman, I've got my mom signed up with illinoiscaresrx, and although they pay the part D premium, her deductible a couple of weeks back for one of her meds was over $200. I told the pharmacist I thought she was suppose to get the drug for no more than $5, but evidently because of the quantity that she is taking, she is responsible for a really hefty deductible. I'm working any angle I'm able to in order to try to get her some assistance. Its been a test of patience and persistence in order to get accurate information from either agency. When the out of pocket costs get to a point that it's simply not feasible for an individual to live, some agency should get the idea of the predicament she's in. Last year, or perhaps it was 2004, her out of pocket drug costs were more than she received from Social Security for the entire year. At that point i sought out the help of Bridges to Access and the State of Illinois. Having seen both parents struggle with the costs of meds really scares the heck out of me. I sure hope I'm able to put together a retirement that can help me out in the event that I require extensive healthcare. Gotta love the commercials that try to sell people on saving for retiremet so they can go fishing and travelling and golfing. Heck, that is so far from my family's reality, it is honestly making me think I need to get much more aggressive with planning for the unknown. I have a relative who claims he went through a million bucks while his wife was battling breast cancer. It's absolutely frightening on so many fronts, Of course, I never thought about the money during my parents illness until it became a reality when they were outpatients. Hopefully now though the system will get ironed out so that it can benefit my mom a little better than it has been. I try to make light of it, but it's just an added nusiance in dealing with everything else. Someone told me we aren't given more than we can handle. Ah, BS. This is akin to being dropped into a helluva wave and doing whatever you can to keep your head above the water. Perhaps the lifesaver will come in the form of a letter from Medicaid...or a really big lottery win. Either one would make me equally happy. The proceeds of lotto would be divided amongst OCF, ALCASE and families in need of help. I was hoping a failure to diagnose lawsuit I was pursuing was going to help fund the three things I mentioned, but sadly that never materialized. Sorry.
