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Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
Condolences for your wife and family. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
PS, if she was a veteran's spouse, there might be about $500 available for her cremation through VA benefits. If not, cremation itself isn't very expensive if it's done without open-casket mortician costs. Depending on the state, you don't even have to buy a coffin for the cremation process. Hope that helps.
there are states that require you to buy a coffin for a cremation? :bulb:
since she had no plan, St. Joseph and the medical examiner have agreed to take care of the cremation. It may make getting death certificates a little more complicated, but this blunts all of the up front cost.
They also warned it could take weeks.
Yes. That coffin can mean a simple pine structure, or even a cardboard box. I learned these crazy state-specific things from cremating both my parents, in different states. The political power of morticians, mortuaries, and funeral homes is very state-specific.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
Uhm, just a heads up....but "taking care of cremation" doesn't mean you won't be billed for the costs of cremation. Again, it depends on state definitions of death and burial services.Quote:
since she had no plan, St. Joseph and the medical examiner have agreed to take care of the cremation. It may make getting death certificates a little more complicated, but this blunts all of the up front cost.
They also warned it could take weeks.
PS, transporting cremains across state borders and scattering cremains on public land/water has specific state guidelines. As does keeping grandma's ashes in a Mason jar, on the fireplace mantle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
Appears I'm looking at serious dental surgery in the near future. Like knock your ass out, ice cream only diet, no work for a week surgery. Price tag is up to around $1200 after insurance.
My wife just got all of her wisdom teeth taken out. Insurance didn't cover it. Seems like an odd procedure not to cover. The cost is $2600. :bored:
They had to be removed surgically ? I recently helped someone having all his teeth fixed in Istanbul (fillings, facings, caps, root canals, the works). Cost me about €2000,-
One is impacted, one is twisted and dangerously close to a nerve, and one is dangerously close to something to do with my sinuses. I think only one is going to get pulled with the old fashioned way. 2 of them have to removed by cutting into my gums, drilling into the tooth, cracking it in half, then removing each piece.
My wife had pretty much the same issue: all 4 were impacted, and one was dangerously close to a nerve. Hazir, they weren't fully out, so they had to be removed surgically. It's $500 a tooth plus another $500 for the anesthetics, etc.
My son has to have his impacted wisdom teeth surgically removed this summer. Luckily, it's covered by his dad's insurance -- not under dental but surgical procedures.
I think insurance companies deny the claim for adults, by saying if it was "medically necessary" they'd have been removed when they start to erupt, as teenagers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/ma...-fraud.html?hp
Except in this case, it was just starting to erupt. :o At least here they figured out the problem. In England, they refused to do x-rays for 2 years, and could never figure out why her ears hurt.Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
yeah, I remember you posting about that. Not sure where she had her childhood dental care, but it's pretty routine for US dentists to do a panorex during youth, to identify wisdom teeth, positioning, and rate of growth.Quote:
Except in this case, it was just starting to erupt. :o At least here they figured out the problem. In England, they refused to do x-rays for 2 years, and could never figure out why her ears hurt.
It's pretty routine for English dentists to not do anything.
<insert bad joke about Brits and their bad teeth>
I wasn't quite regular with my visits to the dentist untill I had to pay for my own insurance and stuff that wasn't covered by my insurance, but I'm pretty certain mine went out in my early twenties. The traditional way, I guess I was lucky.Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
What is really messing with my groove is that the last week or so, every time I want to visit this forum I find myself typing "www.a" before I realise that's not the right url.
Hm. Weird. Just had my first dental visit in five years. Had an x-ray as part of the normal checkup, for nothing more than to identify a bit of plaque buildup.
You don't lose coverage by not going to checkups ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbuk2
between horrible hmo coverage, the limited hours most health places are open, and work generally making it a bitch to take off for regular checkups for eyes, teeth, and health...its considered a plus to not go and use to much insurance or sicktime for preemptive maintenance.
a few years ago when to many people were using their coverage as they were entitled to, the county started a very forceful campaign to get people to only visit the county operated locations or suffer more rate hikes.
Have never been insured for dental treatment until last month.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hazir
And the only reason I'm insured now is because I work for a general insurer, so can elect to get a dental plan for myself and my other half at a huge discount.
Previously, I would just go to an NHS dentist, which is heavily subsidised so cheap. Most people here aren't insured, so far as I can tell, as they'll use the NHS. NHS practices are very over-subscribed though, so you can have a long wait to get an appointment.
This is the first time I've been to a private dental practice in the UK (would always be a private practice when I lived abroad). They were excellent.
To answer your question though, the general outline of my plan states that you should have checkups every six months. Which seems to imply that it is a good thing to do, rather than a condition. However, I don't have the smallprint of the Ts & Cs to hand, so can't say definitively.
It seems the Honda has forgotten how to shift. 11,000 miles and its heading back the dealer for being undriveable.
A couple of hours ago I was walking in Dam square where the last preparations were done for tomorrow's inauguration of King Willem Alexander. Everything looked pretty, buildings surrounding the palace decorated with banners, a covered walkway between the palace and the building where the inauguration takes place. And then I looked up and saw the royal standard on the palace. For the Royal Palace in Amsterdam that is highly unusual; so unusual that I had never seen it before in my life. And then I suddenly had this utter fin-de-siècle feeling thinking about the fact that in under 7 hours Queen Beatrix will abdicate. Strange that, since I am hardly a staunch royalist.
House being built behind me put grass down yesterday, and it stormed like a motherfucka overnight, so the grass washed away into the canal and blocked the drains, so everything got nice and flooded.
http://i.imgur.com/UOkTWgXl.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Td6QvQTl.jpg
but I got a shit ton of free augustine grass out of it :up: and 2 recycling bins, and a 40 gallon trashcan.
The owner forgot to look at the forecast eh? Whoops!
Zatoo is not really working, just when footy is on :mad:
Flying to Indonesia in 2 days, and still not really feeling like I want to go there.
Why go there? :noob:
Dental Health: Another big difference between the US and other countries. We don't really have an equivalent to a "NHS dentist". We basically have two groups of patients --those with employer subsidized insurance plans, and those without. I haven't had dental insurance since my divorce (over ten years ago), but I don't qualify for Medicaid or Medicare insurance, either. The best I can get is a 10% cash discount for my payment method, regardless of any procedural cost. Yay.Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbuk2
My kids have been fortunate enough to have dental insurance through their dad, as an employee of the Commonwealth of PA. Every visit had a $20 co-pay for cleanings and examinations, but didn't cover fluoride treatments (our water isn't fluoridated) or the full cost of bite wing x-rays.
Both of my kids needed orthodontia (braces) that wasn't a covered dental service, either. Their teeth weren't just crooked, they were seriously messed up. One of my sons had extra teeth growing in his gum/bone structure (supernumerary teeth) that had to be surgically extracted by a periodontal surgeon....and even using a medical/surgical insurance claim we had to pay a tidy sum.
No wonder we now have things like Clear Choice (dental implants) competing with the Denture industry. :sour:
I really think I shouldn't let Ronald travel there alone AGAIN.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loki
In Holland we don t have a 'NHS' dentist either. You are in one of 3 groups of patients.Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
1. under 18, all standard procedures are paid for by the state (through a complicated system, and it doesn't pay for braces as far as I know)
2. 18 and over with a private Insurance (really private, the state is not involved in any way)
3. 18 and over without Insurance, paying cash per procedure.
I think dental is covered until 21 or 23.