I need to have an MRI and my insurance
deductible is very high, $5,000. I have
not been working for about 6 weeks due to
sciatica (I ended a temp job before that)
and am in a lot of pain. My husband makes
pretty good money but really not even
enough to pay for the bills we have now.
We are severely juggling. I cannot
afford to get an MRI because it's
thousands of dollars. What should I do?
I know people keep telling me to make
payments but I already making a lot of
payments. I just know after the MRI will
come physical therapy and maybe surgery
again. I've went down this road 6 years
ago.
|
caronephd
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 10 Aug 2007 Posts: 5 Location: Syracuse, NY USA
Posted: 08-12-07 17:47pm
Dear SheRa1964:
Good grief! A $5,000 deductible is very
high indeed. Did you know this was the
case when you signed up for the insurance
or is this the only option that insurance
provides through your work. If you have a
union at your work, you should definitely
bring this up to the benefits department.
Physicians constantly deal with patients
who do not have adequate insurance and I
am sure this will not be the 1st time your
doctor encountered this situation with a
patient. I think your best course of
action is to ask the doctor how important
the MRI is in terms of guiding treatment.
It sound slike he already knows it is
sciatica. Sometimes, physicians just order
MRIs as a matter of routine follow-up so
the MRI may not be crucial. After
explaining the situation, ask him what the
course of treatment would be based on the
most possible scenarios that that the MRI
would show. Usually, the phhysician will
order physical therapy 1st as conservative
treatment, so it probbaly makes most sense
to start with that since it would probably
be suggested no matter what the MRI shows.
Was your injury work-related and are you
receiving workers compensation for short
term disability? If so, you can bypass
your regular insurance and go through
workers compensation. If not, looking into
alternative insurance plans available to
you in the meantime is another thing you
can do. For example, can your husband add
you to his insurance, which would likely
have a lower deductible. Keep me posted.
You are in a tough situation.
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This page was last updated on June 11, 2008
