17 June 2008

Bits & Bobs

Just a bit of a catchup today....

I cancelled DD's operation for tomorrow.

Shed a few tears....I wish money wasn't an issue.

I found out that we aren't covered for it by the Health Insurance Co, and I just don't have $1500 lying around at the moment. And that is just the hospital. Medicare will cover about $250 which doesn't even put a dent in it (I'll leave my rant about Scheduled Fees another time!).

Now I know I was ranting and raving about the AH and his issues with paying for the op, but that was when we only thought we had a gap/excess to pay, so I'm not being hypocritical (in my mind any way....if you disagree...shutup! cos I'm a hormonal bitch at the moment!). So now I am trying to weigh up what my options are. I am waiting on a quote from the surgeon, and I am trying HARD not to stress about it until I receive that.

Options for now...

  1. Go see a different ENT that services the Public Hospital...the wait will be up to 8 months, only cost will be ENT's fee (about $180).
  2. Wait until the money is saved to pay up front....I'm thinking about a 3 month wait, maybe less if the AH cooperates.
  3. Try and get a higher credit limit & pay for it that way....this balances on whether I'd even be approved & hoping I get some back from the AH...this would mean the op could go ahead probably within a month.
  4. Wait the 6 months until we are covered. I will have to check this though as it is classed as pre-existing, so the wait may be longer.

Now the only trouble with 1,2 & 4 is that we are heading into "sick season"....well we are in it already...and whilst DD hasn't been sick for about 3 weeks now, she is getting a cold, and going on past history this means she will be back on the Merry-go-round in no time. Which means time off school, truckloads of anti-biotics & well...she'll be sick, sick isn't nice. Also, because of her ears she has a hearing problem, she is not deaf, but she has to make a real effort to hear, especially in class, she misses things in general, and comes home tired and cranky.

It is hard to not get annoyed at her, but I know there is an underlying reason, so I try my best to be understanding...but MAN she can push my buttons. And then of course DS is going through a turd phase, so I get the guilts when I pull him up on things but not her. Plus I'm sure he notices, and possibly she does too, and there is no balance and very little peace! And then my brain feels like exploding! So her being NQR effects us all in some way, shape or form...there is more, but I'm sure you get the picture.

Gah! This post was going to be a catch up on a few things, but it seems I had more to say on this matter than I thought....I still haven't had my rant about AH re the above & some other matters, the Stalker#2, my mum, my dad and other stuff....Oh well, will leave them for another post, your eyes are probably bleeding after reading this much.

But I'll leave you with a question....

What would you do out of my options above??

Or can you think of another option that I haven't?

K

**Edited to add: How's this for timing, the ENT surgeon just rang to tell me his costs. He's just lovely, another reason I don't want to go Public (The public ENT was an arse hat!), he alo told me to check out the ATO website as I may be able to claim on tax, as well as medicare, looks like the housework will have to wait, I have more research to do!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Email me offline re the tax stuff & I will let you know what you can claim - probably won't be a solution for you.

What I would do would be to put her on the waiting list for the operation to be done publicly & then save like a mad woman to see if I could save enough to pay for it to be done privately sooner.

The credit option is a bit scary as you may find yourself with a very high interest rate or a low doc loan given that you haven't started work yet.

I feel for you - I would hate to be in the position where I had to make this choice, especially when it concerns my kids.

(Hugs)

Kelli

agrantham81 said...

I think Kelli is right. Put her on the waiting list (at least then you do have something happening at some stage) and then see how you go with saving, medicare, taxes and the AH. You can always take her off the waiting list if you get the money together earlier. I personally am not against the increase in CC limit, but my finances are failry badly managed. Its also probably worth finding out how much you will be earning roughly and deciding on whether you want to save or pay it off a CC and time frames. I dont know that I really helped there at all.

HUGS.

Anonymous said...

I think what the other lovelies have said about putting her on the waiting list then saving like mad are all that I could have suggested. Oh and your family allowance advance might help a little. At least it's interest free.

Anonymous said...

Yep I am agreeing with the rest of the comments..

Best of luck..
cheers Kim

Anonymous said...

If you get paid FTB from Centrelink you should get $600 per child & $200-$300 for the family at end of financial year. It will depend on if you have any debts with Centrelink and what your income estimates were. Hopefully you receive it and get a nice little deposit for E's operation.

Genaine

Kirstie said...

Hi Genaine :)
I didn't know about the extra $200-300...maybe that is if you over estimate your income?
Last year was the first year I didn't recieve the $600, I think that is the baby bonus, and it must cut off at 5yo... I don't know! But I usually tell them I have a possible income so *maybe* without the AH I might get something....
Here's hoping anyway...any extra will be a bonus :-D
K