A Question

Does any one have an idea of how I can find someone that can use Jack's feeding tube food? I think I have 11 cases. The stuff is like gold if you have to buy it without help from insurance. With these HIPPA rules the medical professionals can't get me in touch with someone using them. I know I can't give away medicine, but I would think food would be o'k. I've considered putting an ad in the Wausau paper asking anyone on the foods I have to contact me. I also have cans of protein powder. This shouldn't be classified as a medicine either.

Thanks. Lowanne

I took my unopened cases, probably 20, to a local nursing home. The people there were overjoyed, saying that when people went home, as some of them do, they always send this canned food with them. Try that. You may make some people very happy!

Lowanne, I asked John's surgeon if he could distribute the cases of 2Cal John didn't use. He was glad to have them. Said he has patients who are uninsured and he would be so glad to pass these along to them. Amy

Do most people have coverage for the feedings? Did you have to fight the ins. co. for that? Ours does not cover even tho Lee takes nothing by mouth and uses 8-9 cans per day? Is this thru your gen health ins? It would be so helpful to have that coverage.
Thanks,
Doreen

Doreen,
My insurance covered the first few weeks but after that they said it was food and I was responsible for paying it myself. I didn't fight it because I was not on it very long. I think it may depend on what insurance company and contract you have.

Lowanne,
I hate these silly HIPPA laws. They cause more problems than they solve. Is there any kind of local support group for cancer patients that might know someone without insurance? Maybe someone in the community knows someone without insurance that could use this. Of course, it doesn't have to be a cancer patient. Just someone who needs it and can't afford it. Donating it to a nursing home doesn't sound like a good idea to me. They are charging Medicare or Medicaid for everything so I doubt they give it to need patients.

Take care,
Eileen

Eileen, you may well be right about the nursing home and Medicare and Medicaid. I should have written that I live in a small town, the home in question is county-owned, and relies a lot on volunteers and donations. People bring in excess garden produce, as do the commercial fruit growers. What works here would probably not fly in a big city. Thanks for making that point.

Doreen, the reason I had 20 unopened cases was that some dietition thought that was what I would need. I tried to keep them from being delivered, to no avail. The insurance paid for it all. No wonder the rates are so high.

For that matter, if it is stuff like Ensure and not strictly feeding tube stuff, any elderly and or low income person could probably use it. My mom, even though she can and does eat regular food, drinks enough Ensure to keep the company in business. Just another thought.

Take care,
Eileen

I took Joanna's advice and when I had my tube removed I asked a friend who worked at a local nursing home if they could use all the cans of food I still had on hand. He told me they had a huge stockpile.

The next time I showed up at my CCC, I remembered to ask the dietician who originally prescribed and set up the deliveries of the cans if she could use it. Indeed they could. She told me that there are plenty of patients who do not have insurance that will cover for the tube feedings.

Happily, the next time I traveled for a onco appointment, we delivered all the leftover cans and a box of the gravity bags. The dietician was so delighted she came down with a wheelchair to load up the cases for us.

Jen

The other possibility is to donate it to your local hospice, if you have one. Lots of people at the end of their lives and up on tube feedings and, again, it isn't always something they have insurance coverage for.
By teh way, we are still fighting with our insurance for coverage, even though they are supposed to. They are claiming they have not been sent a letter of medical necessity which has, in fact, been sent by three different places (the medical oncologists office, the local tube feeding supply place and tyhen us (we sent another copy of what the med. oncologist's office also sent.

I think insurance companies are just squirelly about this.

Hi Jen <waving at you>, I know this is off topic but I hope your CAT scan went smoothly today. My PET went fine despite the gunk I seem to constantly have in the back of my throat lately (I think it could just be from allergies), I didn't need to cough or spit in the middle of it. Yay for me.