Thank GOD for insurance!

I have really good insurance. Really really good. I got a statement from them yesterday and I had no idea who this provider was. Never heard of them so surely I didn't get any services from them. It was for chemo drugs on 4/22. Now I did get chemo on 4/22 that was my first round but, at Dr. Barth's and I had already received a statement for that date. So I call Dr. Barth's billing and ask if they ever bill under this name. She said no but didn't the nurses down stairs explain this to you? I said well, no (but, I'm thinking the nurses already have their hands full). She says we administer the chemo but the drugs are supplied by OSO Home Care (name of the other provider) and they bill you insurance directly for the drugs. So I pull out the statements and then I can see where Dr. Barth bill for chemo admin. and OSO for chemo drugs. But, there were four things listed and I'm only having two drugs and the statement doesn't say what they are just chemo drugs and one non oral drug. So I call OSO because I want to know what the heck is going on. I'm real nice, just got my insurance statement and they are so vague in their descriptions and I just want to know what was what. Ok. Here we go, one is for the cytoxan nine hundred and some change. One is for the taxotere nineteen hundred and some change. One is for ninety-five buck what? that's for an addition 20 ml vial of the taxotere so that the dosage is correct and it come separately so they bill it separately. Ok. So far so good. I'm OK with this so far. I know chemo drugs are not cheap. And they are saving my butt. But now, the kicker I say to the woman on the phone what about the fourth thing on here. She says what's that, I say well the amount is $3,876.20 and she says oh that's for the neulasta. I said for the neulasta! the neulasta! she says yeeaaa. Ok. Well, the insurance did pay for it.

The neulasta is the shot I get on Fridays after chemo that boast my white blood count. It has made a huge difference in receiving chemo in that patients can stay on schedule because their counts don't get wiped out. And if your white blood counts get wiped out you run high fevers and end up in the hospital. Not from catching something from someone but, because you white blood cells are low. But, man. I looked it up, suppliers charge anywhere from 3,000 to 9,000 for this shot! Man! dad said what do they have an armored truck to deliver this stuff. No kidding. If I have to have any more chemo, I'm going to appreciate the fact that I have over $3000 being shot into my arm!

Stuff was developed by Keiren Holding company. A Japanese company that mostly makes beer. It sold the licensing to some company Amgen. E-coli is used in making it. Nice.

I have had four of these shots. Do the math.