No health insurance with hypothyroidism

sarahbe89

So when I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism I was on my dads health insurance, than I turned 26 and I no longer hand insurance. While having insurance I was proscribed 125mcg of synthroid which had little to no effect on my symptoms anyway. But here's the thing I have been taking 90mg of armor thyroid for the past month and I have about three months supply left, it's working, i don't know about my levels because I can't get them checked but I feel better and between that and diet changes I'm losing weight where as before it didn't matter what changes I made to my diet there was no change in my weight. So here's my question, what are my options as far as getting treated with no insurance and not having to pay a ridiculous amount of money out of pocket for doctor visits blood tests and meds? I cannot afford to just pay out of pocket, but health wise I cannot afford to go back to being on no medication. If anyone has or is dealing with a similar issue please give me some guidance. Everyday I'm getting closer to running out of medication and it scares the *kitten* out of me.

editorgrrl

sarahbe89 wrote: »

What are my options as far as getting treated with no insurance and not having to pay a ridiculous amount of money out of pocket for doctor visits blood tests and meds? I cannot afford to just pay out of pocket, but health wise I cannot afford to go back to being on no medication.

It's difficult to answer this without knowing where you live. If you're in the US, start here: https://www.healthcare.gov

But I agree that that you should not go untreated. I don't take Armour, but my endocrinologist checked my levels & adjusted my meds every three months for the first two years—until my levels entered the "normal" range. Now I go every six months.

LAT1963

You need to get your own health insurance. If you are low income, either use your state or the national exchange, depending on your state. If you are unemployed then you should qualify for medicaid expansion if you are in a state that did not refuse that element of the ACA.

Florida is a red state, so you may be SOL because many red states refused federal subsidy for healthcare expansion.

And yeah, go here: https://www.healthcare.gov/ To qualify for subsidies you have to buy through your state's site, or the federal site if your state doesn't have its own exchange. So don't go to other, commercially run sites claiming to sign you up for ACA insurance.

The cost of subsidized insurance will probably be less than the out-of-pocket costs for the number of medical appointments you will have this year tuning up your treatment.

CSARdiver

For care there are free clinics in every city. For medication, every company offers their meds to those who do not have the ability to pay for it. Both Abbvie and Forest Labs have a program - contact them to find out how to enroll in their program.

sarahbe89

CSARdiver wrote: »

For care there are free clinics in every city. For medication, every company offers their meds to those who do not have the ability to pay for it. Both Abbvie and Forest Labs have a program - contact them to find out how to enroll in their program.

Thanks Ill look into that. I know I can go to a free clinic to see a dr but I didn't know they have programs for prescriptions.

sarahbe89

LAT1963 wrote: »

You need to get your own health insurance. If you are low income, either use your state or the national exchange, depending on your state. If you are unemployed then you should qualify for medicaid expansion if you are in a state that did not refuse that element of the ACA.

Florida is a red state, so you may be SOL because many red states refused federal subsidy for healthcare expansion.

And yeah, go here: https://www.healthcare.gov/ To qualify for subsidies you have to buy through your state's site, or the federal site if your state doesn't have its own exchange. So don't go to other, commercially run sites claiming to sign you up for ACA insurance.

The cost of subsidized insurance will probably be less than the out-of-pocket costs for the number of medical appointments you will have this year tuning up your treatment.

I have looked into it and I cannot afford it through the market place. And I am unfortunately in FL.

lindsey1979

I don't know what the deal is with the ACA but I know when I was on Cobra during the recession, it was faaaaar more expensive than what I actually would pay out of pocket for thyroid treatment. I was paying over $800/month on cobra back in 2009 -- so over $10K/year.

My out of pocket thyroid treatment is much more reasonable. I've got two doctor's visits per year at $425 each, twice yearly testing which is about $300 each (through mymedlab or labcorp) and then medication. A month's worth of armour at 90 mcg should only about about $35 (see link below). So all out of pocket, that's less than $2K for the year or about $160/month. I know that's not awesome, but it certainly a lot cheaper than the cobra insurance.

I've got insurance through my job now so I get some of this reimbursed through my PPO, but the out of pocket costs for thyroid aren't nearly as great as a lot of other medical issues. And if that's your only issue, you may be better off paying out of pocket rather than going through the insurance route.

http://www.goodrx.com/armour-thyroid#/?filter-location=&coords=&label=Armour+Thyroid&form=tablet&strength=90mg&quantity=30.0&qty-custom=

sarahbe89

lindsey1979 wrote: »

I don't know what the deal is with the ACA but I know when I was on Cobra during the recession, it was faaaaar more expensive than what I actually would pay out of pocket for thyroid treatment. I was paying over $800/month on cobra back in 2009 -- so over $10K/year.

My out of pocket thyroid treatment is much more reasonable. I've got two doctor's visits per year at $425 each, twice yearly testing which is about $300 each (through mymedlab or labcorp) and then medication. A month's worth of armour at 90 mcg should only about about $35 (see link below). So all out of pocket, that's less than $2K for the year or about $160/month. I know that's not awesome, but it certainly a lot cheaper than the cobra insurance.

I've got insurance through my job now so I get some of this reimbursed through my PPO, but the out of pocket costs for thyroid aren't nearly as great as a lot of other medical issues. And if that's your only issue, you may be better off paying out of pocket rather than going through the insurance route.

http://www.goodrx.com/armour-thyroid#/?filter-location=&coords=&label=Armour+Thyroid&form=tablet&strength=90mg&quantity=30.0&qty-custom=

Thank you so much this info helps a lot!!! Much appreciated.

BeckFair

is armor thyroid lots more expensive than levo?