Help passing Nic Test!!!

[FlamingoTutu]

Congratulations on passing Vicshalls and thank you for posting the results. Sorry about your wife though.

Clark, yes, some companies consider you a "tobacco user" if you use the patch.

 

[JoppaRoadCruiser]

Incorrect. I'm conflating the two, because in the US, they are de facto the same thing. In Europe the situation is different...

No they are not.

 

[stevegmu]

I'm going to suggest something entirely against what many are suggesting in this thread. Tell them you vape. Let them test positive for cotinine, and pay the extra 40 bucks/month.

Sounds absolutely outrageous, eh?

But it is not. So let's say you "pass" the test and pass yourself off as a non-smoker. Now, keep in mind that personally, I am with you - you have quit smoking - but for the insurance company, you are still a smoker, because nicotine. Now, let's fast forward into an unfortunate future where you are diagnosed with something awful, and expensive, and cigarette related. If your deception is found out, the insurance company can pull your coverage and you will be screwed. Your family will be screwed. Everyone will be screwed. The insurance company is NOT your friend. They make money by saying no. Don't give them an easy out.

Is it right that the presence of nicotine damns you as being a smoker? No. But this doesn't mean you should try to cheat a test. Test positive. Fight for the fact you are not smoking and the test needs to be reconsidered if you wish. But don't cheat. If you cheat, you are exposing yourself to a huge liability should you get sick. Spoiler alert: You will. We all will because we grow old and die. Don't give them an out.

Many people just don't realize the lengths some insurance companies will go through to deny 6 or 7 figure claims...

 

[stevegmu]

Incorrect. I'm conflating the two, because in the US, they are de facto the same thing. In Europe the situation is different...



Driving is a privilege, whereas access to healthcare is a basic human right.

If you've had several accidents, not only should you pay more for insurance, your driving privileges should be suspended until you can prove you pose no risk to the other motorists and that your driving behavior isn't serving as a gateway for teens to find accidents acceptable.

Everyone has access to tax payer healthcare- they are called free clinics...

 

[Vicshalls]

It was asked how i passed. I went down to zero nic plain and simple. I dont do DIY so I felt i was talking a risk that the liquids really were zero. As for all the health insurance things. I work for a health insurance company. Not a commercial company, but a medicare company. First of all most insurance companies do deny claims on a regualr basis. Mostly not because of what the insured did but what the dr did. A doctor has very high over head. With that they tend to cut corners a lot. In one place the cut it is by employing kids to do the office work. How many of you have gone to the dr and the person at the front desk is fresh out of high school? I know i have or they are retired people. Again, i know i have. The billing process for any dr is very very extensive. Can you walk in and start billing? sure you can. you can pick up any of the books and if you know how to read you can figure out the codes and bill. any trained monkey can do it. Now is it done right? Hell no! because it is not done right claims get denied. plain and simple. Most of the time the dr does not give a good explanation as to why a patient needs what they are asking for. a good example is a person needing O2. the dr will put they have copd. Very good DX but, where are the test results? half the time there are none. so the claim gets denied. the patient very well could need the O2, but with out the tests how does anyone know that they really have copd? we dont. or you get the kid that is trying to bill this that puts the wrong codes on the claim because they just looked at one code in the book and did not know that there are several codes that can be used and each one has a diffrent purpose based on results of the test. if they cant read the test then the codes are wrong. so there are really many diffrent reasons claims get denied not just because the insurance company wants it that way. I am not defending the insurance companies, i think they are bad as well, but before we throw stones we should know the facts not just think we know them.

I know i should not have fooled the test, but i really am going to stay at the zero once i get rid of all the nic liquids i have. Now if the wife does the same well more power to her. I wish she would, but hey i cant blame her if she does not. She has a lot going on and i know it is hard to give up when the stress is that high.

 

[r77r7r]

It was asked how i passed. I went down to zero nic plain and simple. I dont do DIY so I felt i was talking a risk that the liquids really were zero. As for all the health insurance things. I work for a health insurance company. Not a commercial company, but a medicare company. First of all most insurance companies do deny claims on a regualr basis. Mostly not because of what the insured did but what the dr did. A doctor has very high over head. With that they tend to cut corners a lot. In one place the cut it is by employing kids to do the office work. How many of you have gone to the dr and the person at the front desk is fresh out of high school? I know i have or they are retired people. Again, i know i have. The billing process for any dr is very very extensive. Can you walk in and start billing? sure you can. you can pick up any of the books and if you know how to read you can figure out the codes and bill. any trained monkey can do it. Now is it done right? Hell no! because it is not done right claims get denied. plain and simple. Most of the time the dr does not give a good explanation as to why a patient needs what they are asking for. a good example is a person needing O2. the dr will put they have copd. Very good DX but, where are the test results? half the time there are none. so the claim gets denied. the patient very well could need the O2, but with out the tests how does anyone know that they really have copd? we dont. or you get the kid that is trying to bill this that puts the wrong codes on the claim because they just looked at one code in the book and did not know that there are several codes that can be used and each one has a diffrent purpose based on results of the test. if they cant read the test then the codes are wrong. so there are really many diffrent reasons claims get denied not just because the insurance company wants it that way. I am not defending the insurance companies, i think they are bad as well, but before we throw stones we should know the facts not just think we know them.

I know i should not have fooled the test, but i really am going to stay at the zero once i get rid of all the nic liquids i have. Now if the wife does the same well more power to her. I wish she would, but hey i cant blame her if she does not. She has a lot going on and i know it is hard to give up when the stress is that high.

TY. For How Long were you on 0 nic before the test?

 

[Vicshalls]

TY. For How Long were you on 0 nic before the test?

It was about 3 weeks, but i went to a shop and did some tasting and later found out they used 12 in their samples. Then went to Vape Blast and some people there were using some nic in samples as well. So with out any at all it was about a week. So i guess really just a week. lol It was not as bad as i thought though. I had quit smoking years ago cold turkey and i thought i was going to kill someone so i went back to it. This time with zero and being able to have something to vape helped my brain i guess. I was not all crazy like i had been before. That is why i think i will stay at zero and still vape to keep the demons in my head quiet. lol

 

[zoiDman]

Well the results are in. I have passed the test!!!! ...

Congratulations.

It is a Shame that one must go thru what you went thru. Because I truly believe that the Health Risks/Costs associated with Vaping are Very Different from those associated with Smoking.

Maybe there will come a Time when Nicotine Users are Split into Two Main Categories? Those who ingest Nicotine via Burning Tobacco Products. And those who ingest Nicotine by other Means.

 

[stevegmu]

Doesn't make a difference. Insurance companies have actuaries who have determined their clients who use nicotine are at greater risk than those who don't.
There's also a difference between paying more for using nicotine and not getting a discount for using nicotine. A subtle difference, but a legal one- at least with group plans. Kind of like how telemarketers can say award but not prize...

 

[zoiDman]

Doesn't make a difference. Insurance companies have actuaries who have determined their clients who use nicotine are at greater risk than those who don't.
There's also a difference between paying more for using nicotine and not getting a discount for using nicotine. A subtle difference, but a legal one- at least with group plans. Kind of like how telemarketers can say award but not prize...

Are you saying that Ingestion of Nicotine by means other than thru Burning Tobacco has the Same Health Risks, and so, the Same Health Care Costs?

Because even the CDC is starting to Acknowledge that the Burning of Tobacco (and the Chemicals the FDA Approves to Added to Cigarettes) is the Main Culprit in Smoking.

 

[stevegmu]

Are you saying that Ingestion of Nicotine by means other than thru Burning Tobacco has the Same Health Risks, and so, the Same Health Care Costs?

Because even the CDC is starting to Acknowledge that the Burning of Tobacco (and the Chemicals the FDA Approves to Added to Cigarettes) is the Main Culprit in Smoking.

Nicotine elevates blood pressure, is clearly not the same, but yes, increases risk, and the insurance industry is all about risk...

 

[choochoogranny]

And, hasn't the FDA made the products of nicotine: patches, gum and lozenges, "over the counter"; and decided you can use them for as long as you want.....because they're safe for the general public to use?


Edit to add: Driving raises my blood pressure, getting out of bed raises my blood pressure.....Heck, the kids raised my blood pressure more than anything else!

 

[zoiDman]

Nicotine elevates blood pressure, is clearly not the same, but yes, increases risk, and the insurance industry is all about risk...

I have Never said (and have been Flamed for it by the ECF NUTZ many times) that Ingesting Nicotine is Not Without its Health Risks.

But the Question boils do to... Is the Health Risk the Same for Vaping as it is for Smoking? Making the Associated Payout Costs the Same for an Insurance Company.

 

[zoiDman]

And, hasn't the FDA made the products of nicotine: patches, gum and lozenges, "over the counter"; and decided you can use them for as long as you want.....because they're safe Safer for the general public to use?

I fixed that for you.

 

[choochoogranny]

You mean.....you mean, ZoiDman, that they're NOT completely, absolutely, 100% SAFE?! And, the FDA approved them for over the counter? 8-o ......Now, why do you think the FDA would do such a thing?

 

[zoiDman]

You mean.....you mean, ZoiDman, that they're NOT completely, absolutely, 100% SAFE?! And, the FDA approved them for over the counter? 8-o ......Now, why do you think the FDA would do such a thing?

There are Very Few, if any, things in this Big World of ours that are Completely Safe.

People should be thinking more about "Harm Reduction" when considering putting things into their Bodies. And Not about Black and White Safe or Not Safe.

 

[stevegmu]

And, hasn't the FDA made the products of nicotine: patches, gum and lozenges, "over the counter"; and decided you can use them for as long as you want.....because they're safe for the general public to use?


Edit to add: Driving raises my blood pressure, getting out of bed raises my blood pressure.....Heck, the kids raised my blood pressure more than anything else!

The FDA isn't an insurance company...

For the insurance company I am with, smoking cessation products are allowed, but not indefinitely.

It isn't difficult to understand how insurance companies work. Nicotine use is an easy way to get more money; determining whether one's kids elevate blood pressure isn't. It is also a choice...

 

[stevegmu]

I have Never said (and have been Flamed for it by the ECF NUTZ many times) that Ingesting Nicotine is Not Without its Health Risks.

But the Question boils do to... Is the Health Risk the Same for Vaping as it is for Smoking? Making the Associated Payout Costs the Same for an Insurance Company.

Clearly not, but it doesn't matter. Insurance companies are in the business of making money. That's it. I would prefer my insurance company to not cover those who are obese so I can have lower rates, but such is not the case...

 

[zoiDman]

Clearly not, but it doesn't matter. Insurance companies are in the business of making money. That's it. I would prefer my insurance company to not cover those who are obese so I can have lower rates, but such is not the case...

So you are Happy with Insurance Companies Dumping people who Vape into the Same Risk Category as those who Smoke Cigarettes Tobacco.

I think everyone Knows that Insurance Companies are in Business to make Money. And I don't have a Problem with a Company making Money. Why Should I? I want My Company to Make Money.

What I have a Problem with is the Way that Some/Most Insurance companies are Making that Money. And Lumping people into a High Risk Group when they may Not be is a Good Example.

 

[stevegmu]

So you are Happy with Insurance Companies Dumping people who Vape into the Same Risk Category as those who Smoke Cigarettes Tobacco.

I think everyone Knows that Insurance Companies are in Business to make Money. And I don't have a Problem with a Company making Money. Why Should I? I want My Company to Make Money.

What I have a Problem with is the Way that Some/Most Insurance companies are Making that Money. And Lumping people into a High Risk Group when they may Not be is a Good Example.

Doesn't make a bit of difference to me. I'm not out to change the world. Mine doesn't consider vaping smoking, so I get the discount...