The other day I got a bill for over $200 in the mail for a test to measure my Vitamin D levels. Medicare says the test is medically unnecessary and that I have to pay for it!
Wait a minute! My doctors at the local clinic have always told me my Vitamin D levels were just fine and I take a daily supplement, so I am wondering just why the test was ordered in the first place. I get it that the government has to save money, but not that I should have to foot the bill for unnecessary testing. Surely every doctor in the world got a notice that the test was no longer covered?
Apparently Medicare is weeding out unnecessary testing, and I am fine with that - but it might have been nice if I had been given the information that this test is no longer covered.
I live on a severely restricted budget and paying this bill will be difficult. I am writing my doctor to ask that I no longer have to have this testing done, and hopefully I will remember to remind her not to do it again as I have been tested for various other conditions twice a year. Four hundred dollars is more than my mortgage payment!
I urge others who are on Medicare to talk to their physician about the cost of the tests they order. It is apparent that doctors do not know what costs are incurred and order tests without thought about the impact on the life of the patient.
Just saying - in the meantime, it is a pretty day so take a walk on the sunny side and collect some natural Vitamin D!
Love, Terry
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