My Life as an Asthma Mom

I just opened the bill for a simple surgery and was shocked to see that it was almost $6,000! Woah! Luckily, it was the end of my insurance year, so I had already met my deductible and out of pocket limit. So I won't have to pay a copay on that bill. That also tells me that I have spent a LOT of money on medical care over the last year. If you are in the same boat, what can you do?   We use manufacturer's coupons for our inhalers. Son #2 and daughter Kitty and I are all on long term controller (maintenance) inhalers. Even thought insurance pays for most, we still have a $75 copay each month (for each of us.)   Luckily, I have a really good pharmacy that knows us well (since we visit them so often.....) and they will search for manufacturer's coupons for us. So, instead of paying a $75 copay for my inhaler each month, I pay $25. In fact, when I renew my prescription each year, they search for a new coupon to apply to my copay. And they do that ...

For anyone with an upcoming surgery, there are a few things to watch for (from my experience). You should have a detailed visit with your surgeon about your medical history (and family history.) Followed up by the Surgery Nurse who will usually called the week of surgery and repeat all of the same questions (so the hospital also has your medical history). They usually ask if you have a family history (or personal history) of diabetes, kidney disease, heart problems, asthma, bad reactions to anesthesia, allergies to latex , etc.  For asthma, they usually want to know: What medications do you take? Do you take a controller medicine? Or just a rescue inhaler? Is your asthma under control? It's helpful to keep a list of medications on your phone, so it you can easily tell them the names and doses of all of the medicine you take. Surgery Nurse will usually ask you to bring your inhaler to the hospital too. So, now that they had all of their information about...