Am I tobacco free?

[stols001]

They always do it to you (in my experience) after you've had some catastrophic event or are off work and making more claims than usual.... It's incredibly annoying and perfectly transparent.

To be fair, this practice has been going on *forever*, LOL. I had BCBS back when it was "premium" (I think they pretty much suck now) and when I had my first Bipolar episode at around 23 and was hospitalized and then in a partial program, all of a sudden they started denying all my claims, with some weird code attached, with no explanation. Being the enterprising social worker that I was becoming, LOL, I promptly called to ask what was going on. After going through various customer service reps, I finally managed to get to enrollment, and we had this conversation:
insurance Lady: Oh, that just means we think you have other insurance.
Me: Why on earth would you possibly think that? This is the only insurance we have.
IL: Oh, we just think you might.
Me: OK! So what do I do to fix that? I'm here, telling you on this recorded call, that I don't, that should work, right? I can't prove a negative, so I don't understand.
IL: Oh, you just have to call this number (arcane number given) and leave a message that you don't have other insurance on the answering machine....
Me: (In thought) WTH?????

I found out when I called the number as it invited me to press 1 for the answering machine... When I did so, it hung up on me. Believing I now "understood" as it were, this was simply a barrier to coverage, I called it back and pressed various other numbers, finding out that 9 was the magic number to allow you to leave a message. I was left feeling disgusted and extraordinarily sorry for elderly folks enrolled in BCBS going through some catastrophic event. It was THEN that I realized the insurance companies were thieves and liars, and that was over 20 years ago and it's only gotten worse.

I have to admit, I almost divorced the husband for voting for McCain, simply due to his stance that insurance companies would "do the right thing and be thrilled to do so" if deregulated. Yeah. There WAS no REQUIREMENT that pre-existing conditions be excluded for a year, health insurance companies were not REQUIRED to make me pay for my son's ADHD meds for a year when we dropped off insurance while moving to Tucson, and yet, they did it anyway. EVEN though, there was no law that said they HAD to do that, merely a lack of regulation to NOT do that. So I'm quite Certain that lack of regulations wouldn't awaken the "heart and soul" of insurance companies who are so nice and try to help people with wellness and costs at all times.... While I feel Obama over-regulated a LOT, and Obama care is overall a huge FAIL, at least he did place some reasonable limitations on health insurance companies and working on insuring the uninsured. For a brief moment as it was emerging, I almost had hope that I could quit working for agencies (I always seemed to be the one that either had coverage at all or it didn't suck, compared to the husband) and start a private practice instead, but then as it emerged I was like, "This isn't going to be good, not at all."

I was not incorrect, as Obama was leaving office AZ had ONE real health insurance co covering people (BCBS, but only if you were under 30) and two state sponsored plans that were gruesome... I'm so glad I did not enroll us.

With that being said, I'm glad to be using my health insurance so much LESS. With the exception of the recluse bite, I've only been seen one time, and it was by my psychiatrist, to figure out which meds I was going to decrease and by how much, due to metabolism differences due to lack of tobacco, not nicotine. Since he's an MD/PhD he had great fun at that appointment, let me tell you. There was much discussion of liver enzymes and pathways, but I have not gotten ill ONCE. It's fantastic. I love not dealing with the health insurance companies, and vaping has allowed me to do that....

Anna

 

[Khannnnn]

I actually never blew into a tissue to see if brown residue was left... I found that out my second year in college when me and my roommate (we were both heavy smokers and it was also the "party smoker's room" there was pretty much a cigarette lit at all times. When we tore down our posters at the end of the year, we realized the paint had darkened our paint by *at least* 3 shades. LOL, I also used to be able to tell by looking at my nic stained fingers, and a lady I used to smoke with outside, she was the receptionist and we'd go smoke and gossip together, and she'd always joke about her "Hitler 'stash" from smoking cigs (she did indeed have one), so the tar is visible even if you don't see it build up in your lungs.

Oddly, much nic staining on hands disappeared when I switched to additive free tobacco, so I'm not quite sure what that was about. It was still plenty tarry as we used old cans of American spirits as ashtrays-- cut a hole in the top, fill halfway with water, and there you go. I had one sitting out there for a long time as I was quitting and this dreadful black, goopy stuff collected around the bottom and started oozing out of it.... LOL, during the worst of the quitting phase I asked the husband if I could eat it, but he was firmly in the "No, Anna, you may NOT," camp, but it was definitely PURE tar, it looked like what they use to put down new tarmac on the roads....

Also, you could tell the health insurance arena WHATEVER you want, and they aren't going to give a rat's, um, tail. They will test you for nicotine if they feel its indicated, and if you test positive they're going to up your premiums or kick you off.... That's how it works, when various states allow that practice. I really wish they would get on board, but like that's ever going to happen without governmental interference... YOUR health and well being is NOT your health insurance company's priority, trust me. They just want to rid themselves of super users, sadly. This is ONE area where I think some regulation is in order, though I know there are folks that disagree, and they are perfectly entitled to their opinion.

Also, if you tell a life insurance co you are cigarette free, if they test for nicotine and find it, they won't pay out, even if you didn't die of a heart attack, and your lungs are pure as the driven snow. They just won't. It's better to be upfront, while providing as little information as possible. I really don't *like* insurance companies trying to enroll me in wellness programs or otherwise finding out about the state of my health. When I get called to do a "health review" I just politely state that I have my *own* doctors to guide me, and that their job is to PAY said providers to do so, not nanny into my damn health. I may use slightly different words, but I try to use a polite tone... LOL. I just really don't desire to be "coached" by some nurse I don't know.

Anna

Ana you are absolutely killing me with that comment about wanting to eat the tar.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[stols001]

Detox wasn't pretty for me, LOL. I was around 2.5 to 3 ppd when I up and quit, so it was looking pretty appetizing... I think the day after I made that comment, the husband replaced all the ashtrays, LOL. I'm still of the opinion that it would have tasted *fantastic.*

Anna

 

[Khannnnn]

Detox wasn't pretty for me, LOL. I was around 2.5 to 3 ppd when I up and quit, so it was looking pretty appetizing... I think the day after I made that comment, the husband replaced all the ashtrays, LOL. I'm still of the opinion that it would have tasted *fantastic.* [emoji38]

Anna

I'm sure it would have lol!!!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[DaveP]

Also, if you tell a life insurance co you are cigarette free, if they test for nicotine and find it, they won't pay out, even if you didn't die of a heart attack, and your lungs are pure as the driven snow. They just won't. It's better to be upfront, while providing as little information as possible.

My life insurance policy was purchased when I smoked, so I'm covered there, albeit the premium is higher than if I had been smoke free at the time. Medical insurance is another issue. The question I was asked when I signed up for a medical policy was, "Have you smoked cigarettes in the last six months?". That answer was a truthful "No".

Nicorette lozenges are an approved method to get off cigarettes and stay off. If I tested positive for nic it would probably start a new round of insurance company vs policy holder. I answered truthfully to the question they asked and that statement was recorded, according to the agent. So, if I were to be admitted to a hospital and they checked for nic, my response would be, "That must be due to the Nicorette gum that keeps me from smoking".

I'd have to assume that they'd record that answer in my patient record.

 

[DaveP]

Trump may not be vape friendly in general, but he hates cigarettes and the stink they leave behind. OTOH, he sees the value in vaping over smoking. Pharma products don't work well for quitting, but vaping is a cure. I think he realizes that vaping is the answer for eradicating tobacco smoke from America's atmosphere.

Trump promises ‘FDA reform;’ Big Pharma & vaping industries take notice

 

[Eskie]

Trump may not be vape friendly in general, but he hates cigarettes and the stink they leave behind. OTOH, he sees the value in vaping over smoking. Pharma products don't work well for quitting, but vaping is a cure. I think he realizes that vaping is the answer for eradicating tobacco smoke from America's atmosphere.

Trump promises ‘FDA reform;’ Big Pharma & vaping industries take notice

He did appoint Gottlieb as FDA commissioner, and he appears to be more friendly towards vaping. Honestly, I don't think Trump even knows what vaping is. Given all the other issues of his Presidency, Gottlieb is about as close as his administration will get regarding vaping.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

I bought a policy in 1985, and my agent frequently reminded me that if/when I quit smoking, to let him know at the one year anniversary. I quit 4 months ago, and asked him last week if the company considered vaping a "tobacco product," or if I would qualify for the reduction. He wasn't sure, checked with the company and replied:

"Once you’ve gone 12 months without smoking cigarettes (vaping is ok) we can get a non-smoker rate with xxx. Non-smoker rate would be $xxx/yr (if you’re in good health). That would be for a guaranteed level premium 20 year term policy."

It would (will) save me over $100/mo, about a 60% reduction in premium. Hellllooo Fasttech!
(Actually, I guess I'll be able to afford authentics)

 

[DaveP]

I bought a policy in 1985, and my agent frequently reminded me that if/when I quit smoking, to let him know at the one year anniversary. I quit 4 months ago, and asked him last week if the company considered vaping a "tobacco product," or if I would qualify for the reduction. He wasn't sure, checked with the company and replied:

"Once you’ve gone 12 months without smoking cigarettes (vaping is ok) we can get a non-smoker rate with xxx. Non-smoker rate would be $xxx/yr (if you’re in good health). That would be for a guaranteed level premium 20 year term policy."

It would (will) save me over $100/mo, about a 60% reduction in premium. Hellllooo Fasttech!
(Actually, I guess I'll be able to afford authentics)

That interesting. I don't remember whether I was told about rate reductions 15 or so years ago when we updated our whole life policies. I'll have to check with the agent.

 

[stols001]

Well, that's good to know. I'm the kind of person that can only get employer sponsored health coverage (life and health insurance), and they've all been fixed rates up until now. LOL, last year our employers decided to lower costs for health screenings, and I wandered in late on the last day.

Apart from the person checking my cholesterol via finger stick (she couldn't seem to make it work, I about passed out, but I hate finger sticks much more than actually giving blood, I eventually asked for her supervisor). I work with a tribe with a ton of diabetes, and after they ran my numbers and waist ratio and other nonsense, like my exercise habits, I got told I was, "One of the healthiest people to walk in here..." LOL.

Sure, my cholesterol numbers are fine, but I have other issues. When I moved to AZ I had to go into public mental health for a year, as my condition was "excluded." That was fairly unpleasant, and initially, I tried to get a private insurer to ensure me for "everything other than my disorder," explaining it was already covered. I was informed by all insurance companies across AZ that they wouldn't insure me "for a million dollars a year, even," since I was likely "To have more accidents, suicides and health problems in general, and we don't care for that." I was like, "Great, I'm going to die of an untreated cancer..." I guess they have actuary tables for what are non-related costs regarding my disorder It really steamed me too, as at the time, I was pretty healthy and would have been HAPPY to pay for insurance.

I did eventually find work and health insurance, but I will note that did put a big burden on the business itself, since they ended up having to insure everything anyway, in the end, and private insurance companies apparently have no requirement to do that. I called every single one of them. I definitely belong in a high risk pool, but TBH heath insurance is often one main motivator for working, alas, and it can definitely make difficulties, increasingly so of late

But, I doubt a pre diabetic Mexican based tribe member would necessarily cost more to the insurance co than me. Not nowadays, my meds are cheap, and I don't have any other health problems, but in the beginning, it was a lot more expensive, I think.

Anna

 

[DaveP]

Well, that's good to know. I'm the kind of person that can only get employer sponsored health coverage (life and health insurance), and they've all been fixed rates up until now. LOL, last year our employers decided to lower costs for health screenings, and I wandered in late on the last day.

My wife and I had great rates on employee retiree coverage until Obamacare decide to put the financial load on the older adults. We both retired early.

My wife and I were both covered together for $300 and something a month under my company policy the year before the ACA hit. The company decided to take retirees out of the company pool and dump them into the ACA market. The first year it went to $600/mo and then $900/mo and finally $1500/mo the 3rd year.

 

[stols001]

Obamacare did place a load on everyone, and I can't work *anywhere* else and expect the same kind of coverage, not any more. Since I work for an Native tribe they were exempted from a lot of Obamacare (not all of it) but I for a while was looking for new jobs and telling employers they'd have to offer me $30K more a year to *even* have me break even and I know a lot of the costs were spread out for many folks, often the elderly.... It's a shame.

One place really liked me and almost did it, but the HR lady decided it would be unfair to have a new hire earning more than someone who'd been there 10 years and was about to retire. I did see her point, and was a bit disappointed, but my wander-y feet are no longer a-wandering. I can insure my entire family for under $200 a month on a Cadillac plan.... No crazy prior auths. No referrals, and it's Cigna. Cigna's awesome, they have never questioned a single thing and for a while they were paying for *allergy shots* for the kid for like 5 years. The vials were like $13k to mix up every time, because he was allergic to 19 things! 19! We could never have done it without my insurance and honestly, that's how it SHOULD be, because we did pay our copays every time, and his joy of living returned once he was allergy free. Even a lot of the Allergy employees had allergies and said they didn't do the shots because it was "too expensive."

Da white and non-native folks are always complaining about the "hidden pay scale" for Native Employees. I just enjoy my benefits and my perfectly decent salary and *shut up.* My mom worked for the NIH and has great benefits that are unchanged, as well as a *pension*. I can't even imagine having such a thing. Gov't work is the way to go around here, but I really don't want to be a CPS worker, nor a Prison Therapist.

Even if they get rid of ACA totally, health insurance costs aren't going to fall for *decades,* I have a feeling. You just know that the insurance companies are going to want to "recoup" their costs. This seems like such an unsolvable problem, honestly, it really makes me fret, and I have a feeling I'll be working until I die.... For health insurance. If I get canned for being elderly, my plan is to become a shopping-cart lady spouting arcane Socratic quotes with a cart full of trash and cats.

Anna

 

[anavidfan]

Also, Who Cares if your nic comes from tobacco or tomacco?

HMMMM , tomacco

 

[stols001]

To get back on topic, that was one of my favorite Simpson episodes.... I felt tomacco had so many advantages, LOL. I haven't seen a tomato vape flavor, I wonder if there is one? That's a flavor I quite enjoy, LOL. Not sure how it would vape, though.

Anna

 

[oplholik]

I don't know what Medicare will be like in the near/far future for us, but the wife and I are totally happy with it, with an advantage care plan. No problems with smoking when we still smoked, no problems now as non smokers, and vaping. My medical records show me a having a "tobacco use disorder", and the status shows resolved. For about $104 taken out of our SS checks a month each, The only co pays we have is for emergency room, and ambulance. So far it's been much better, and a whole lot cheaper that anything we had when we were working. At the medical clinic we go to, we both have great doctors that we like. It's been good for us.

 

[CMD-Ky]

Can't like this post, a travesty.

My wife and I had great rates on employee retiree coverage until Obamacare decide to put the financial load on the older adults. We both retired early.

My wife and I were both covered together for $300 and something a month under my company policy the year before the ACA hit. The company decided to take retirees out of the company pool and dump them into the ACA market. The first year it went to $600/mo and then $900/mo and finally $1500/mo the 3rd year.

 

[DaveP]

Can't like this post, a travesty.

The Travesty is to be short lived. I went on Medicare last year and my wife will be eligible in a couple more years. Medicare replaces the old insurance policy quite well and the supplemental policy fills in the gaps. M/C is the best paying and most comprehensive health insurance coverage I've had yet. It pays 80% on hospital, lab, diagnostic testing, and doctor visits and cuts all charges to reasonable and customary levels, which makes my part much less expensive.

The best part is that it's already mostly paid up through my payroll deductions over the years and there's only the supplemental policy left to pay for at a little over a hundred a month. Medicare takes out $107 from SS each month for part B. That's a deal.

Georgia was one of a few states that didn't opt in to the ACA from what I understand, so costs shot up in doubles and triples for GA residents. It was obviously implemented that way to make us all hate Obamacare.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

I bought a policy in 1985, and my agent frequently reminded me that if/when I quit smoking, to let him know at the one year anniversary. I quit 4 months ago, and asked him last week if the company considered vaping a "tobacco product," or if I would qualify for the reduction. He wasn't sure, checked with the company and replied:

"Once you’ve gone 12 months without smoking cigarettes (vaping is ok) we can get a non-smoker rate with xxx. Non-smoker rate would be $xxx/yr (if you’re in good health). That would be for a guaranteed level premium 20 year term policy."

It would (will) save me over $100/mo, about a 60% reduction in premium. Hellllooo Fasttech!
(Actually, I guess I'll be able to afford authentics)

Quoting myself here, but there's been a number of posts. Hey, looking at the string here, and realized I wasn't clear - my bad. You all probably knew, but I was talking about life insurance getting a drop in rates, not health. My health insurance has only gone up by about $10K/yr, just in the last five years and deductibles up to $13K/yr. With no health issues. I'm basically self insured, with catastrophic coverage only. Only getting uglier.

 

[Eskie]

Life insurance is a different animal. There you do need to disclose whatever factors are relied upon to get the policy.

 

[Tonee N]

I'm Jury Duty free, but my premium went up.[emoji6]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk