Shots and potshots

The girls are doing fine at home. They are eating up a storm and are gaining weight, though we dont' know what they weigh at the moment because our insurance messed up and is still in the process of "processing" so I ended up taking the girls for their 4-month immunizations at the health department and cancelled our pediatrician appointment. We're bummed about that, because we were dying to know what the girls weighed now! I'm guessing around 13 pounds! I could be off though, it's hard to tell. That would cover the "shots" part of my post, now onto the "potshots."

My target: The government. Society maybe, I'm not sure who I really blame for the problem. Here's the situation. The cost of these babies has really hit home for us. We received an explanation of benefits from the old insurance company for Eve's care in NICU. And ONE line on the hundreds we have received stated "Newborn Level 4", meaning level 4 NICU -- charges totalling $155,000 or so. JUST for her to BE there. That doesn't include IVs, initially IV nutrition, any medications, x-rays, echocardiograms, the respiratory therapy. I wouldn't be surprised if they charged us for the air she breathed, they charge for everything else. And that's just Eve. Lily's care was quite a bit more extensive and between the two of them, that easily breaks the half a million dollar mark. Of course, we aren't RESPONSIBLE for all of it. But even 20 percent of profession fees is a lot. We have an out of pocket max, $1,710 for Eve, Lily and mom, plus I believe a $500 co-pay for all three of us, but even THAT is more than our meager single-income household can afford! And to think, the U.S. is waging a multi-billion dollar war in Iraq. It's amazing to me that our babies "weighed too much" to be on Medicaid. Yes, that's right, if they weighed less at birth, they would have automatically been on Medicaid and we would be responsible for virtually NONE of their care costs. BUT, that's not the case because they weighed too much. A whopping 3.5 and 4 pounds. Wow. Of course, I had insurance, thankfully, I can't imagine what would happen if you had two parents who worked for small companies, like Eric's father, and didn't have insurance. But made too much to be eligible for government assistance. They would be bankrupt in a heartbeat. And all because their precious babies needed care.

I guess I'm mad at the system. I'll admit I often wonder how the U.S. can spend so much money on seemingly everything but the medical needs of its people. And physician's offices. Sorry if any of you are in the healthcare profession, or friendly with the healthcare profession, but really now, must you kill a whole forest of trees with bill statements! I could probably wallpaper a few HOUSES with bill statements. Hey, maybe it would get me into some "Odd news" category or something: "Stay-at-home-mom wallpapers home with medical bills". And to think, they are constantly calling us asking for their money. No matter that we have two new mouths to feed and can't afford to pay them $100 a month like they want. I'm going to have to fight them to drop the monthly payment down. I don't think it's right that they can demand we pay that much a month when we have a billion other doctors who want a share of Eric's hard-earned money too. Not to mention phone, electric, water/sewer, oil, car payment, student loans, mortgage, credit cards, car insurance -- the list goes on!

So here's the point: What does the government need to happen before they get their butts in gear to help those who have extensive medical bills? No average American can afford bills like the ones, Lily, Eve and Mom have racked up. Especially not on a single-income. Now, if we had had triplets, we'd probably be eligible for Medicaid. Hmm...but I'm not that kind of person -- the one who goes out and has another kid just to get the government assistance. WE want our girls to have a good life, not a scraping by life. SO, if anyone has any suggestions on how to pay off these bills - let's hear them. We're researching cash-out refinancing and home equity loans for debt consolidation. Any advice??

Oh, and if anyone is interested, it would be immensely helpful if people had a little time and wanted to e-mail, say Enfamil, of Similac, or some formula company and say they have twins and were wondering if there was a multiple discount or a free sample they could have. It worked for us once, but we can only DO it once!! :-) Just a thought! Love you all!