Re: Specialist and overspecialization

[Guest guest]

At 08:32 PM 1/4/06, Palmer wrote:

>IMHO, it sounds more like you no longer need your endocrinologist.

Well, time will tell if I want to trade one for the other. The one I have

now DID prescribe enough strips for testing 5x a day, and I was sent to him

initially by my former PCP's nurse practitioner because he was noted for

encouraging good control. (Of course I've yet to find a doctor whose idea

of good control is what ours is here on this list.) Now if I can just get

Medicare to agree on the strips, I'll be fine. I think if the diabetic

supply company I was encouraged to use would send the prescription to

Tricare instead of Medicare I'd be okay. Yet another phone call I need to

make to figure that out. Anyway, I have no idea if this new PCP would agree

with 5x a day testing. I have a " follow up " appointment with her in a

month, so we'll see.

sky

[Guest guest]

At 01:41 PM 1/5/06, Maurer wrote:

>Well, it's good news that the old endo did prescribe for five test a

>day. It sounds like you are on Medicare as your primary insurance and

>Tricare as the secondary insurance.

Well, no. When going to a pharmacy I've always found my co-pay was lower if

I have them use the Tricare card than the Medicare card. When it comes to

insurance, Medicare is primary and Mutual of Omaha is Secondary. My endo

convinced me to use some mail-order outfit that's new and I think he must

have some interest in it, and I think THEY bill Medicare (with them there's

no co-pay...not sure how that works). It might be better for me to just get

the script to take to the local CVS and see if Tricare will okay the 5

strips with no fussing.

>Getting Medicare to agree on the

>test strips can get to be tricky. Its easier if you are using

>insulin. But in any case your doctor has to specify on the

>prescription how many strips per day you need and, more importantly,

>when you will use them. As an example, he should state that you need

>to test six times a day, before each meal and two hours after each meal.

I do use Humalog, as needed. I'm not sure how specific the endo was with

his prescription request, though. I'll have to call and ask. I had so much

trouble getting to talk to someone about it when I was running out of a med

I must say I'm not too anxious to try calling them again. The hospital

where I see the endo is not his main office, so when I call I talk to folks

who also answer the phone for the other doctors there. If I call the endo's

main office (which I did when desperate for the new prescription I needed

for the med) the office staff doesn't have a way to check my records. Right

now I'm not sure I'm going to stick with the Key Diabetes company. The

three months worth of strips they sent was just 100 per month because of

medicare's rules.

sky