Bronchitis

[kevin_standlee]

Because of insurance issues and an empty FSA, I've been putting off most medical expenses into next year; however, the bronchitis that moved into my lungs after I had a brief cold a couple of weeks ago forced my hand. The coughing kept going and wasn't getting any better, so I went over to Urgent Care in Fernley. The doctor examined me and said, "You've got quite a symphony going on there," in reference to the wheezing in my lungs.

I'm not one who calls for antibiotics at the slightest sign of illness, particularly when the original problem was probably viral in origin. The doctor wrote me a prescription for an Albuterol inhaler (I'm breathing a little better already after one dose), and gave me one for antibiotics with a delayed reaction; that is, he said, "Wait a week and if you aren't getting any better, go ahead and start the antibiotics."

I hate being sick. But OTOH, I feel much better than I sound. I don't have a fever, just a cough and a raspy voice caused by the cough. It's annoying, not critical.

Comments

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

Ow, you have my sympathies. I do hope the medications clear things up for you.
I hate when that cough settles in and Won't Leave. I found codeine helps my cough more than anything else. I can only take it when I'm sick, but then it really stops the coughing. YMMV
Yep, antibiotics only help for bacteria, but they will settle in if your lungs are wrecked up enough. No fever is a Good Sign it hasn't gone that far south. But it is good to have them, just in case...

[britgeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

*sympathy*

I recently discovered that for years, what I had been shrugging off as a persistent cough that tended to settle in after I got over a cold was probably an extended asthma attack. Whoops.

Yay for inhalers!

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Albuterol Is My Friend, too.

Good luck with the bronchitis. Another thing that might help is guaifenesin (Mucinex). It thins the goo so it's easier to get out.

[a-cubed.livejournal.com]

Ah that old "best medical system in the world (when you've got coverage)" myth, even with the rider on the latter end is showing strain. When you're ill and avoiding going to the medics because of coverage questions even for someone in full-time white collar employment, it shows a system that's not just borked for a portion of the population, but that is (or is becoming) borked for the 99%. I hope you feel better soon.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

I can't say as I disagree with you. I worked for a health insurance company for more than five years, and I still have difficulty understanding the system. What I did that screwed me over was to misunderstand how the health plan I selected last November worked. (We're allowed to change plans once a year, in November.) I also did not set aside enough money for my Flexible Spending Account (which takes pre-tax money out of one's paycheck to pay for what insurance won't cover; however, it has to be used in the year for which it's designated or you lose it entirely), and thus for the rest of this year, I'm out of pocket for all healthcare expenses. Next year will be better because I picked a plan that better fits my usage (higher premium, but I don't hit this "no coverage for the next $2,500 in expenses" hole), but also worse because the government lowered the cap on FSA to only $2,500. (I had $3,500 in 2012, and it wasn't enough because I had to have a root canal and three teeth capped.) And my company's healthcare plan is considered a "Cadillac" plan by US standards!

[a-cubed.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I understand how this approach could be right for anyone. You pay into a fund which you don't get back at the end of the year if it's unspent (who gets to keep this money?) and on top of that it limits the coverage to what's in it, except for some point beyond which coverage starts again?
I'm not sure who this is for, but it definitely doesn't sound like any kind of premium program. More like thekind of scam that the US medical insurance merchants are infamous for (bait-and-switch...).

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

My explanation isn't good, because it's conflating different things. Here's the pieces.

1. Medical Insurance: The plan I ended up choosing last year (because I didn't understand the implications) in effect pays 80% of the first $2500 in medical (not dental; that's a separate plan) expenses. I'm then responsible for 100% of the next $2500, after which the plan starts picking up 80% again.

2. Dental: A separate plan. Pays 100% of preventive care and 60% of things like root canals and crowns and fillings, but not more than $2500 per calendar year. I had so much work done this year that I overshot the annual maximum. I'd never done that before and didn't realize that there was an annual maximum. Had I known that, instead of having two adjacent teeth that needed crowns done simultaneously (less overall trouble that way), I would have done one this year and one next year.

3. Flexible Spending Account: In addition to insurance, you are allowed to contribute pre-tax money by weekly payroll deduction to a Healthcare Spending Account, also known as a Flexible Spending Account or FSA. You get to use the entire amount of the pledge from January 1, but you pay against it from each paycheck. Last year, for instance, I pledged $3500, so on January 1 I got to start using that even though I wouldn't finish paying for it until sometime in late December. You can use FSA money to pay for things that insurance doesn't cover but that are medical in nature, such as the 20% not paid by the medical insurance, the 40% not paid by the dental insurance, the amounts not covered in that gap between $2500 and $5000 medical, and also non-insurance items like bandages. However, non-prescription medication is not covered. (It used to be, but they discontinued it a few years ago.) FSA money must be used in the calendar year for which it is pledged. If you don't use it, you lose it, and your employer gets to keep it. (It's supposed to be used to offset other medical expenses incurred by the employer under the plan, or rebated to employees through reduced medical insurance premiums if forfeitures exceed plan expenses.) Also, the maximum annual pledge was reduced from $15000 to $2500 effective with 2013. (I think this is part of the US healthcare reforms; FSA money "costs" the government because it's forgone tax revenue, so lowering the FSA cap recaptures tax revenue that partially offsets part of the cost of the healthcare reforms.)

Yes, it's all absurdly complicated. I particularly dislike FSA forfeitures. In my book, you should be allowed to accumulate such pre-tax money indefinitely as an additional hedge against large medical expenses that aren't covered by insurance, including elective procedures and things for which you can do some advance planning, without being trapped by artificial calendar barriers.

[buddykat.livejournal.com]

you should be allowed to accumulate such pre-tax money indefinitely as an additional hedge against large medical expenses

The Health Spending Account (HSA) does allow this, but you have to pick an insurance plan that is eligible for it, and they all have high deductibles.

Personally, I'd like them to change the FSA to allow a roll-over of the funds, or take it as a taxable distribution at the end of the plan year.

[daveon.livejournal.com]

Ouch.

This is one of the things I miss about the UK. Bad cough? Go to the doctor, get script, go to pharmacy, go home.

A few years into living in the US, I had a cough, it persisted. Eventually my other half forced me to go to the Doctor. I mutter, but it's a virus they can do nothing. The doctor examines me and says, it's pneumonia, here's a Z-pac (azizromycin) and stay in bed for a week. Oh and here's a bill for $170....

The US system still astonishes me.

[thirdworld.livejournal.com]

I hope it clears up soon. I'm assuming you're going to SmofCon and it would be nice if you were all cleared up by then.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Not going. I canceled a few months ago (not enough money to afford it) and sold my membership. Given that I'm still coughing today, it's just as well. I usually run my voice raw during SMOFCon under the best of circumstances, and this is not the best.