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flu shot/insurance comments (Vanity)
self, doctor's office receptionist | 10/19/10 | sfimom

Posted on 10/19/2010 10:41:56 AM PDT by sfimom

My children and I receive medical assistance and I was inquiring about getting our flu shots this morning since I had been told by a friend that she and her daughter had gotten theirs. Since we have the same doctor I figured that we should not have any trouble obtaining them. Wrong. I was told that I could get mine and MA would cover it but that the children's shots were not in. I was confused and stated as much. I asked if it was a dosage issue. I was told that the dr's office buys their flu shots but by law can only administer them to children with private insurance. Adults on MA can get them but not kids. Apparently the state sends flu shots only for MA kids and those are the only shots they can get. I was not given the option to pay for the shots myself, I was told that they will just have to wait till the state shots come in. I was also told that last year they didn't get any. I knew that they were late last year and gave up trying to get ours by January, this is the first I had heard about them not getting them in at all.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: flushots; insurance
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I would be interested in FReeper thoughts and comments on this. Why would kids have to wait for state issued shots and adults can get whatever they have on hand? Why is there a law barring the doctor from selling the shots that they have bought to their patients? Is it tinfoilly of me to question the quality of the shots my kids are 'allowed' to have versus those being given to non MA patients?
1 posted on 10/19/2010 10:41:59 AM PDT by sfimom
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To: sfimom

Vitamin D3 is (in gel caps) cheap and better...


2 posted on 10/19/2010 10:44:54 AM PDT by goodnesswins (f you don't support Obama, and the deconstruction of America: YOU are a RACIST.)
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To: sfimom

I can’t answer your insurance questions,but I would urge you to get your childen the shots as soon as possible. Around here the large supermarket chains are offering them for $15 apiece...well worth the price to protect the kids from H1N1 and the other two strains included in the shot.


3 posted on 10/19/2010 10:46:19 AM PDT by Palladin ("Congress--YOU'RE FIRED!!!")
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To: goodnesswins

Already do that :)


4 posted on 10/19/2010 10:47:23 AM PDT by sfimom (shift key on vacation again...)
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To: sfimom

Isn’t government wonderful? We sure need more! /s

I see signs at our grocery stores that they have flu shots for cash. I, personally, am passing this year. I understand that the flu shot contains the swine flu vaccine this year, and I’m not comfortable with that.


5 posted on 10/19/2010 10:47:32 AM PDT by JustSurrounded (Limited government -- the sane, moderate position between socialism and anarchy.)
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To: goodnesswins

Oh, yes—the Vitamin D pills...absolutely necessary for good health. My cholesterol is down 30 points since I started taking the gel caps a year ago.


6 posted on 10/19/2010 10:48:24 AM PDT by Palladin ("Congress--YOU'RE FIRED!!!")
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To: Palladin

I plan on getting them the shots hence my inquiry at the doctor’s this morning.


7 posted on 10/19/2010 10:48:41 AM PDT by sfimom (shift key on vacation again...)
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To: sfimom

Vitamin D3 prevents flu, the flu vaccine does not. Also vitamin D3 does not contain mercury, lead, formaldehyde, MSG, or animal cells.


8 posted on 10/19/2010 10:49:12 AM PDT by goodwithagun (My gun has killed fewer people than Ted Kennedy's car.)
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To: JustSurrounded

I am in my seventies—had the flu shot last week—absolutely no ill side effects.

I hate being down with the flu, and the consequences, which often involve pneumonia in the elderly.

I’m glad I got my flu shot early.


9 posted on 10/19/2010 10:50:44 AM PDT by Palladin ("Congress--YOU'RE FIRED!!!")
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To: sfimom

It has to do with which funds are used, depending on your situation and state.

The children shots probably come out of Medicaid allocations for children. Adult shots come from a different funding allocation.


10 posted on 10/19/2010 10:51:37 AM PDT by TomGuy
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To: sfimom

If you’re willing to pay, then just go to a Walgreens or similar drug store or Target or Wal-mart, and get their shots.


11 posted on 10/19/2010 10:57:39 AM PDT by stuartcr (When politicians politicize issues, aren't they just doing their job?)
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To: sfimom

In California, one can march into any Walgreens or Riteaid and purchase the flu shot for $25 (pneumonia shot is $60). Isn’t it that way in other states?

MA or not, I’d pay out-of-pocket just to not deal with red tape (of course, I’m of the persuasion that MA folks who are also working should be out-of-pocket for nominal charges like arbitrary shots).


12 posted on 10/19/2010 10:58:50 AM PDT by blueplum
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To: sfimom
If your kids are on medical assistance then some states don't allow the doctor's office to bill you. While it is intended to not allow doctor's offices to charge more than medical assistance pays, in this case it means you have to wait for the state provided vaccinations. You may want to try your local health department.

I have a child with Down Syndrome who was eligible for a state safety net that paid for things our insurance didn't pay for. The state even paid for his dental care. When the state decided that kids on this medicaid program only needed cleanings once a year I was stuck in the same situation. The dentist's office just started a blanket policy for medical assistance kids that they would eat the second cleaning.

We had the ability to pay. We only enrolled our son because we were worried that our insurance would suddenly stop paying for his medical care.

13 posted on 10/19/2010 10:58:50 AM PDT by USNBandit (sarcasm engaged at all times)
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To: stuartcr

I’ll get their shots one way or the other I just thought that the whole situation was rather odd. It didn’t quite pass the smell test to me.


14 posted on 10/19/2010 10:59:19 AM PDT by sfimom (shift key on vacation again...)
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To: goodnesswins

I use Life Extension’s dry capsules and my latest 25(OH) D level was 75.


15 posted on 10/19/2010 11:05:46 AM PDT by Magic Fingers
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To: sfimom
I had a problem last year getting the shot for my then 6 year old. I went to the Pediatrician and was advised they were all out of the shot and to call back for the next batch. I never had a chance to get the shot because they must have issued the shot to the welfare children first. This I'm guessing because I was asked “what kind of insurance do you have”. Then after repeated calls I was told to attend a free clinic in Wiles Barre. I advised the nurse that I would never go to a free clinic due to the fact that I am a working person and I will not go into the ghetto area for a flu shot. My kid never got the shot last year.
16 posted on 10/19/2010 11:07:23 AM PDT by angcat (YANKEES, YANKEES, YANKEES)
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To: goodwithagun
Vitamin D3 prevents flu

I still take it but don't buy into the grossly exaggerated D3 groupie claims. Last year both our kids came down with H1N1, 104.5 temps, emergency room physicians said there was 100% chance it was swine flu, and all this happened while they were on daily D3. I also got sick about the same time, 102 temp, and was on 3,000-5,000 IU/day. Other people on forums have reported similar experiences. I still think there is some merit to it, especially for us in northern latitudes, but like many preventatives (including vaccination) it is not perfect.

17 posted on 10/19/2010 11:07:42 AM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
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To: sfimom

I think pediatric flu shots are different from adult flu shots in that they don’t contain thimerosal. I might be wrong, but I think there was an issue made of this a few years ago.


18 posted on 10/19/2010 11:10:33 AM PDT by dawn53
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To: sfimom

Vitamin D-3, 10,000 units daily. My wife is a primary school teacher and has always brought home everything the children bring to school. That has meant we got flu or colds 4-5 times a school year even though she always got the flu shot. Last year- no shot. She and I took the D-3 all year. No flu, colds. At all. There was lots of respiratory ailment at school but wife brought none home. Shots do more harm than good.


19 posted on 10/19/2010 11:10:44 AM PDT by arthurus (Read Hazlitt's "Economics In One Lesson.")
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To: dawn53

The single shot doses do not have it, the multi-dose vials still do.


20 posted on 10/19/2010 11:12:26 AM PDT by sfimom (shift key on vacation again...)
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