Hi, I usually go to Albany Med, but have gone to other hospitals if I really need to go in a hurry..the social worker did everything in her power, appealed to the home company as well as Medicare, but no luck. I was a sitting duck for the entire treatment period. I actually have written letters to Medicare describing what they would save if they implemented home IV's with the actual costs of the IV meds that I typically require, the supply costs etc as well as the actual hospital bill for the same duration of treatment. The difference is huge, for two weeks of IV's at home it would cost $5000 at the most, two weeks in a specialized unit in the hospital easily racks up bills as high as $80,000!!! I read somewhere that billions would be saved over a period of 5 years if Medicare covered home IV's!! (I have to find that article...) So many elderly or chronically ill usually wind up in the hospital for the duration of IV's if the time period is short, if it is a long course of therapy, the hospitals tend to try and ship you out to a sub acute center, a fancy name for a nursing home with IV capabilities. That has happened to me as well when I was on IV's for nearly 8 weeks. It is crazy. I literally am the million dollar baby so to speak. As frequently as i am in the hospital (every 2 months or so), the dollars that they spend on me comes to an outrageous amount every year. NY unfortunately doesn't have the GHPP coverage that Ca has, man do I wish it did! Maybe some day......(Jenn crossing her fingers) <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
