New to the site, with questions (insurance and calcium)

[nia]

Hello, I am new to this amazing site and have few questions, one about insurance and the other about calcium.

1) I am 22 years old female with CE bovine valve (MVR Dec. 2003). I had no known medical conditions prior to this. I have a year until college graduation (I took a semester off following the surgery) and am wondering what my real chances are of getting health insurances after college. Will I be rejected for a group insurance policy that a company provides? All insurances have the pre-existing conditions clause. Even if I could get a health insurance as an employer benefit, will the insurance company actually pay for my second replacement surgery? I am aware that getting a private insurance is pretty much impossible, but, if I can?t get insurance through work, that would be very, very bad.

2) The Edwards Sciences webpage (http://www.edwards.com/PatientsAndFamilies/MyHeart/CareAfterSurgery/ )says in their ?Diet and Exercise? section that calcium supplements shouldn?t be taken without your doctor?s approval. I asked about this to my cardiologist, and she said I could take supplements but eating a balanced diet is enough, which made sense. However, because ?no calcium supplement? was on the website of my valve?s manufacturer, I am worried if taking excess calcium will speed up the calcification process of my valve. Is that what happens? Does that mean people with tissue valves should not drink too much milk or calcium-enriched orange juice? I really don?t want to get osteoporosis but I don?t want my valve to calcify too quickly either?

I would appreciate any insights that you could give me. Thank you very much in advance for your input. This site has been very helpful in understanding my conditions, and knowing that there are so many of us out there is great as well.

 

[geebee]

Hi Nia and welcome.
I cannot address the calcium issue because I have a mechanical valve. However, I am sure you will hear from others who can help.
As far as insurance goes, most larger companies have policies that guarantee acceptance into their plan. However, most of them do have a waiting period for pre-existing conditions of 6 mos to 1 year. After the waiting period, everything, even pre-exisiting conditions, are covered. That would include repeat surgeries. I went through this process in 1990 when I started work at a company. I was not covered for heart related issues for the first year. About 5 years after I started with the company, I had my third OHS and it was covered completely.
Every company is different and the smaller the company usually the stricter the regulations. Some smaller plans do not guarantee coverage so you should try to stick to the larger companies. There are even some companies out there that guarantee coverage from day one including pre-existing conditions (American Express is one I know of for sure because I used to work there).
The important thing is, once you are with a company and full coverage kicks in, always make sure you stay covered without a break. If you leave a company pay the premiums for Cobra until you start another job (if there is a break in employment). If you continually have insurance you cannot be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions when you start a new job. That is a US law. Just make sure you start working before any Cobra coverage expires.
Hope this helps and good luck.
Smiles,
Gina

 

[Harpoon]

I don't have that much experience with calcium in relation to tissue valve repalcements but I would suspect that a "normal, healthy diet" would be better for you than deliberately seeing to minimize the amount of calcium you take in. Osteoperosis isn't good for anyone and certainly not "better" for you than the possible increased risk of calcifying a homograft valve.

Ask your doc to be sure, but chances are he/she would say lay off the suppliments and just eat a healthy diet, including the OJ and 2% (or less) milk.

I've had private insurance since I left college. I had to go through a physical for it (the company set me up with an oncologist who had NO IDEA what transposition was, that's a story in and of itself...)

The carrier didn't throw up much fuss in signing me on.

You may have to court a few different providers and you may not get exactly what you're looking for, but chances are they will handle most of your medical expenses even for pre-exisiting conditions provided that they're "stable."

Your doctors may be the best people to talk to first actually. They have to deal with the same insurers all the time and may have some good advice to share on who best to contact first given your set if circumstances.

Plus, if a doctor refers you to a specific insurer, it may get you a few steps ahead of the game in securing coverage from them.



My carrier is a company called Independant Health (I'm not sure what range their coverage is, I'm in Western New York which is where their HQ is) and I've been with them since 1994. They took care of most of the expenses when I had my tricuspid replaced and they've been pretty good with a lot of other stuff I've needed done. I don't have prescription coverage (I'll be changing that pretty soon here when the window opens up) and I pay out of pocket for dental and eyecare but that's pretty minimal for me. They did great with my cardiac rehab as well.

Maybe sometimes you get lucky. Dunno.

Ask around, check with the doctors first.

 

[tobagotwo]

Calcium Quandary

Calcium Quandary

I have a Medtronics Mosaic porcine valve. Like you, I have seen older information in various places that "suggests" that users not take calcium supplements unless requested to by their doctors.

However, I haven't seen any documentation that calcium supplements affect the longevity of biological valves or their eventual calcification. The early calcification of valves through the formation of cardiolytic apatite deposits (thank you, Jurassic Cowboy) doesn't seem to be a simple function of free calcium in the blood. And when I pressed Medtronics about calcium supplements, they very carefully replied that vitamin and mineral supplementation was entirely up to my physician.

You might try sending that same question to Edwards Lifesciences. Please let us know what they reply. I assume you will receive something similar to what Medtronics sent to me.

In the meantime, calcium is essential to your health (yes, for your bones, but also for your heart and other muscles). Please be sure you are ingesting enough of it in your daily diet. I'm a dairy hound, so it's no problem for me. No need to go overboard with it, though. Please be sure to get enough magnesium as well, as that helps your body regulate your heartbeat, as a counter to calcium. A number of people on this site have found that proper magnesium intake helped them by reducing arrhythmias.

The insurance laws that Gina is so astutely referring to are the federal HIPAA laws (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). The part that allows you to bridge to your next insurance through COBRA is the "Portability" part. You can look it up on federal sites on the web for more information. From my understanding, Gina's expression of the practicality of the laws needs no embellishment.

Best wishes,

 

[nia]

Gina, Harpoon, Bob,

Thank you so much for your reply. I was really worried about the health insurance because my family was convinced at the time of my surgery that I would not be able to have any kind of health insurance whatsoever. As my parents are from a different country and don't quite understand English (let alone American health insurance system), all they can do is voice concern and suggest I move back to my home country, which I don't want to do. The next time my mother tells me American health insurances will never EVER pay for my second surgery, I have stories from real experiences to tell her otherwise. Also, since tomorrow is my first annual echo, I'll ask my cardiologist about the insurance.

As for calcium, I sent an inquiry to Edwards Lifesciences. I will post the reply when I get one. I do like dairy. I'll start buying milk again once my mini-fridge arrives; right now, I'm sharing the suite fridge, and my previous milk ran out unreasonably faster than I could ever drink it...

Again, thank you very much for your help. I really appreciated all of your replies.