OK, so they can't do an MRI at all because she has a vagel nerve stimulator (VNS) implanted. Even though it has been turned off for years. Her rods are OK and her baclofen pump is OK (although they would have to turn it off beforehand) and her shunt is OK, but not the VNS. I don't understand what the difference is...they are all metal.
They weren't sure they would be able to get a good MRI anyway because the rods cause the light to refract and makes it difficult to get a good image.
So now they want to do an ultrasound of her spine. It is scheduled for 11:30 or Noon tomorrow. Ultrasound is not as good of an image as MRI, but at this point MRI is not an option for her.
I debated on several surgeries having them remove the VNS, but always thought if her seizures got bad, maybe we would come back and try the VNS again.
In some ways I want them to find something and in other ways I don't.
They are still going to make her switch to clear liquids a few hours before the ultrasound in case they see something and have to rush her in to surgery. Although I think that is unlikely.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Insert your own chosen title here
Earlier tonight I spoke with her Dr. and they said nothing is growing yet from the CSF fluid (from the shunt). But then again even if there was something there it might not grow at this point because she has been on antibiotics. But the white and red blood cells look good, so they think
She said she looked into her past CRP numbers and her CRP now is higher than it was when she had her spine infection. I was shocked. The spine infection was BAD!!!!! They said yes, they are concerned.
They contacted Infectious Disease and they want to switch her Zocin (the new antibioitc) to meropenem. Meropenem covers CSF infections (if she has one). When she had her spine infection she was on meropenem and I never saw any outward signs, but her bloodwork showed her eosinophils were low so they thought she might be slightly allergic to it. They still want to put her on it.
They want to do a sedated MRI of her spine to see if they can see any infection. Even if it is not in the CSF, there could be a pocket of infection outside of the CSF.
Also they noticed that one of her feet was cold and one was hot...they asked if this happens at home, I said sometimes. They said it could be a blood clot.
She said she looked into her past CRP numbers and her CRP now is higher than it was when she had her spine infection. I was shocked. The spine infection was BAD!!!!! They said yes, they are concerned.
They contacted Infectious Disease and they want to switch her Zocin (the new antibioitc) to meropenem. Meropenem covers CSF infections (if she has one). When she had her spine infection she was on meropenem and I never saw any outward signs, but her bloodwork showed her eosinophils were low so they thought she might be slightly allergic to it. They still want to put her on it.
They want to do a sedated MRI of her spine to see if they can see any infection. Even if it is not in the CSF, there could be a pocket of infection outside of the CSF.
Also they noticed that one of her feet was cold and one was hot...they asked if this happens at home, I said sometimes. They said it could be a blood clot.
We are running out of tests
She keeps spiking fevers and her CRP is only down from 25 yesterday to 21 today. They would expect her CRP to be cut in half each day.
The CT with contrast from yesterday did not show anything except normal fluid from the shunt draining into the abdominal cavity.
Her hands have started shaking (like arthritis or Parkinson's). If I hold them, then the shaking stops.
She has been having diarrhea, but we have been blaming the antibiotics. She was started on a probiotic, which has not helped yet. Her bowel sounds do not sound super active however, just normal bowel sounds.
She has not really been congested. I have suctioned only twice since Tues.
They tapped her shunt this morning. Pulled shunt fluid (which is the fluid in your head and the fluid around your spinal column---also called CSF---Cerebral Spinal Fluid) out of her shunt. They will culture it to see if she has a shunt infection or meningitis, etc...
They said if the CSF doesn't show anything then they will call in Infectious Diseases.
AHHHHHHHHHHH....I am afraid if they call in ID that they will want to pull out her baclofen pump and tubing and possibly her rods along her spine. ID are the ones that oversaw the infection she had after she had her spine surgery last Aug. Even if they don't want to pull out her hardware, I am afraid it will mean a PICC line and months and months of antibioitcs. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!!!!!!! If ID gets involved this situation will get big really fast.
To be honest she is doing pretty well. She is awake and alert all day and is acting quite normally besides the fever and the hands shaking and the diarrhea. But the most concerning is the fevers and the elevated CRP.
I asked if the new antibiotic (Zocin) covers pseudemonas and they said yes. Pseudemonas has literally almost killed her twice.
I asked if she could have MRSA ( a antibiotic resistant bug) they said that the antibiotics she is on would kill it.
They said between the Zocin and the Vancomycin that she is on, basically everything is covered, they are the biggest guns they have (the broadest spectrum antibioitcs covering the most bugs).
Her CRP is improving, but not as quickly as they would expect. It has the Dr.'s confused and they are running out of tests to run.
Prayers would be appreciated.
The CT with contrast from yesterday did not show anything except normal fluid from the shunt draining into the abdominal cavity.
Her hands have started shaking (like arthritis or Parkinson's). If I hold them, then the shaking stops.
She has been having diarrhea, but we have been blaming the antibiotics. She was started on a probiotic, which has not helped yet. Her bowel sounds do not sound super active however, just normal bowel sounds.
She has not really been congested. I have suctioned only twice since Tues.
They tapped her shunt this morning. Pulled shunt fluid (which is the fluid in your head and the fluid around your spinal column---also called CSF---Cerebral Spinal Fluid) out of her shunt. They will culture it to see if she has a shunt infection or meningitis, etc...
They said if the CSF doesn't show anything then they will call in Infectious Diseases.
AHHHHHHHHHHH....I am afraid if they call in ID that they will want to pull out her baclofen pump and tubing and possibly her rods along her spine. ID are the ones that oversaw the infection she had after she had her spine surgery last Aug. Even if they don't want to pull out her hardware, I am afraid it will mean a PICC line and months and months of antibioitcs. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!!!!!!! If ID gets involved this situation will get big really fast.
To be honest she is doing pretty well. She is awake and alert all day and is acting quite normally besides the fever and the hands shaking and the diarrhea. But the most concerning is the fevers and the elevated CRP.
I asked if the new antibiotic (Zocin) covers pseudemonas and they said yes. Pseudemonas has literally almost killed her twice.
I asked if she could have MRSA ( a antibiotic resistant bug) they said that the antibiotics she is on would kill it.
They said between the Zocin and the Vancomycin that she is on, basically everything is covered, they are the biggest guns they have (the broadest spectrum antibioitcs covering the most bugs).
Her CRP is improving, but not as quickly as they would expect. It has the Dr.'s confused and they are running out of tests to run.
Prayers would be appreciated.
Friday, October 4, 2013
More tests
Her 3rd urine sample is not growing ANYTHING. They will continue to treat for UTI, but they think there is something else going on.
The gallbladder and liver look good.
They see a small area in her lungs that might be something or might be nothing. It is a change from previous films.
There is also a small dark area around the shunt tubing in her abdomen. It is not the shunt draining, it is a different color. They are going to do a CT to look at it more closely.
They are going to change one of her antibiotics (ceftriaxone) to zocin. The zocin will cover both a lung infection and a belly infection. The other antibiotic will stay the same.
No other samples are growing anything yet.
We will have to watch her blood sugar for the next week or so because ceftriaxone is related to rocephin which is the antibiotic she had low blood sugar after stopping.
We have been getting a LOT more urine out than we had for the last few weeks. So I think her UTI is finally getting better. And she has actually had 3 wet briefs on her own.
The gallbladder and liver look good.
They see a small area in her lungs that might be something or might be nothing. It is a change from previous films.
There is also a small dark area around the shunt tubing in her abdomen. It is not the shunt draining, it is a different color. They are going to do a CT to look at it more closely.
They are going to change one of her antibiotics (ceftriaxone) to zocin. The zocin will cover both a lung infection and a belly infection. The other antibiotic will stay the same.
No other samples are growing anything yet.
We will have to watch her blood sugar for the next week or so because ceftriaxone is related to rocephin which is the antibiotic she had low blood sugar after stopping.
We have been getting a LOT more urine out than we had for the last few weeks. So I think her UTI is finally getting better. And she has actually had 3 wet briefs on her own.
A few concerning things
She did ok yesterday. She was awake most of the day, but not super alert. She did need oxygen at a few spots yesterday.
Last night she had a low grade fever.
Last night she had pain again.
She had some extra stools yesterday, possibly from the antibiotics, so they started her on a probiotic.
She was a tad congested during the night. I got a little out when I suctioned her nose, but nothing down deeper.
I think she may have caught a cold here in the hospital.
Her CRP (level of inflammation) went from 27 yesterday to 25 today. So it is down, but not as much as they would like.
Today they are going to do a chest x-ray (to look for pnemonia), an ultrasound of her liver and gallbladder another VRP (snot). They are trying to figure out why she is still having fevers, pain and inflammation (CRP).
Last night she had a low grade fever.
Last night she had pain again.
She had some extra stools yesterday, possibly from the antibiotics, so they started her on a probiotic.
She was a tad congested during the night. I got a little out when I suctioned her nose, but nothing down deeper.
I think she may have caught a cold here in the hospital.
Her CRP (level of inflammation) went from 27 yesterday to 25 today. So it is down, but not as much as they would like.
Today they are going to do a chest x-ray (to look for pnemonia), an ultrasound of her liver and gallbladder another VRP (snot). They are trying to figure out why she is still having fevers, pain and inflammation (CRP).
Thursday, October 3, 2013
CRP is up
The CRP (level of inflammation) is supposed to be under 1, hers was 14.7 when she came in. They wanted it to be down today, but it was 27. They are hoping that it peaked in between (meaning in the middle it was actually higher than 27) and now it is on it's way back down. They will repeat the test tomorrow morning and it will hopefully be lower than 27.
They still think the 2 antibiotics she is on are doing their job. She has not had any more high fevers or super elevated heart rates. They said that the 2 antibioitcs she is on will cover all UTI bugs except pseudomonas, which she has never had pseudomonas in her urine (but she has had it for pnemonia).
Once they get the final results of the cultures (hopefully tomorrow) they will be able to narrow down the antibiotics (to ones that aren't as strong) once they know exactly which bugs and what they are susceptible to. Then if those antibiotics are available in an oral form then she would be able to go home.
Dr. Murphy's helper came by today so I asked her if we were at the point of injecting an antibiotic nightly into her bladder to kill all the bugs. When I talked to her after the last UTI she didn't want to do it yet because she had only had 2 UTI's. But now we are at 3. So we'll see what she says.
I finally caved about 2 weeks ago and we have been getting up in the middle of he night to cath her, so she is not going longer than 6 hours at any given time without being cathed.
So tomorrow will be a very telling day as to what the plan will be.
They still think the 2 antibiotics she is on are doing their job. She has not had any more high fevers or super elevated heart rates. They said that the 2 antibioitcs she is on will cover all UTI bugs except pseudomonas, which she has never had pseudomonas in her urine (but she has had it for pnemonia).
Once they get the final results of the cultures (hopefully tomorrow) they will be able to narrow down the antibiotics (to ones that aren't as strong) once they know exactly which bugs and what they are susceptible to. Then if those antibiotics are available in an oral form then she would be able to go home.
Dr. Murphy's helper came by today so I asked her if we were at the point of injecting an antibiotic nightly into her bladder to kill all the bugs. When I talked to her after the last UTI she didn't want to do it yet because she had only had 2 UTI's. But now we are at 3. So we'll see what she says.
I finally caved about 2 weeks ago and we have been getting up in the middle of he night to cath her, so she is not going longer than 6 hours at any given time without being cathed.
So tomorrow will be a very telling day as to what the plan will be.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Test Results
This morning they started her on 2 IV antibiotics. Vancomycin to kill enterococcus (the bug she was growing from the sample on Monday) and Ceftriaxone to kill Klebsiella and Ecoli (the 2 bugs that she normally grows in UTI's).
The urinalysis (quick look at urine) from sample drawn last night has 11,000 bacteria. This is up from the 4,000 for the sample I took in on Monday. This is not the final results (the culture). They would normally not consider 11,000 to be a UTI, but where she is symptomatic and it is increasing they are assuming at this point this is the problem. He said there are 2 different bacterias growing.
Blood culture so far is negative for everything.
VRP (snot) from Tues is negative for everything so far.
Stool is negative for C-diff.
Tomorrow they will repeat the CRP (the test that measures inflammation in the body that is supposed to be under 1 and was 14.7 when she came in). If it is going down they will know they are doing the right thing, if not, they will reevaluate.
If she is still having stomach pain tomorrow they will do an ultrasound to look at her gall bladder for stones and if she has fat deposits around her liver (which apparently can cause pain).
She slept all day today. But we got to the ER last night about 10 PM. We got to a room at about 1 AM. We got to sleep at 3 AM. Between 4 and 5:30 she was boiling hot and so I gave her an ice bath. So considering she was up basically all night I'm not surprised. I just hope she sleeps tonight. so she can be awake tomorrow. They have been giving her regularly scheduled Ibuprofen and Acetaminophin, but she has not had oxycodone since this morning. Although she has been sleeping, she has not been in pain. So I don't think they will end up doing the gall bladder scan.
That is all for now.
What's shakin'?
So about a week and a half to two weeks ago she was having decreased urine output, increased temp, increased heartrate and was sweaty behind her knees (yes that was a new symptom she had never had before). She had klebsiella in her urine (another UTI). We treated it with Augmentin.
Last week she continued to have fevers and increased heartrate. I called urology, they wanted us to wait 2 days after finishing the Augmentin and then take in another urine sample.
I took the new sample in on Mon morning.
As a side note I finally got sterile cathing kits, so I can now draw my own samples at home. This is SOOOO much better.
This morning her temp was even more elevated (it had been 97 and was 100 this morning.
I called her pediatrician to get in with him and to get the results of the urine sample I took in on Mon morning.
The UA (urinalysis---the first initial test done in a few hours) was clean with just a few white blood cells. So Urology said that the Augmentin did it's job and the UTI was gone.
The urine culture (that takes up to 48 hours to grow) was not final.
I figured if it wasn't a UTI or kidney infection, it could be shunt. I called neurosurgery to have them look at her shunt. They put us in an appointment on Thurs morning. They thought it would be a good idea to have the pediatrician draw some blood and snot today so that the results would be final by Thurs.
Over the morning I left 3 messages with her pediatrician and never heard back. He often doesn't return phone calls until after 4 PM. But today I couldn't wait.
Finally I decided to just show up at her pediatrician's office and either talk with the nurse, or see the Dr., or see another Dr. or something.
The Dr. fit us in, THANKFULLY. He couldn't find an immediate reason for the temp. but wrote for the blood and snot.
Now if only I could draw the blood myself, then I would be all set. We went to the local hospital and had the blood and snot drawn.
A few hours later her pediatrician called me and said that her white blood count was up over 10,000 which says something is going on, but could be OK by itself. The other concerning number was her CRP which should be under 1 and hers was at 14.7. The Dr. said this is a marker of inflammation in the body, such as pnemonia, shunt infection, kidney infection, etc...I asked if it could be high from a cold or flu...he said no.
He wanted us to go to the Emergency Department at Primary's to have them look at her shunt.
Earlier in the day her stomach was contracting and she was having pain. When we got to the ER she was in ALOT of pain and having muscle spasms.
They looked at her shunt (CT and several x-rays) and said that it actually looks better than her last scans. Her last scans still showed some bloody fluid in the subdural space. It is a lot less now, although there is still some.
Although the previous UA was clean, the cultures were now growing out 4,ooo colonies of bacteria. And it was not klebsiella. And it was not susceptible to Augmentin. However anything under 10,000 they consider a contaminated sample, so at this point they are not calling it a UTI. They would only call it a UTI if it were over 100,000.
So we have a possible UTI.
They decided to do a kidney ultrasound and her kidneys look good.
Some of the blood they drew earlier in the day was to check her lipase and amylase for pancreatitis...they were both normal.
Primary's sent another urine and did blood cultures. I assumed her pediatrician had written for a blood culture earlier today, but apparently not.
Overnight her heartrate went from the 130's to the 170's and her temp went from 97 to 103. She was hot and sweaty (and she never sweats). I tried cooling her down with an ice water bath and motrin. It is slowly coming down. But it is taking many hours.
Her muscle spasms and pain have mainly been taken away (still there a little) by the oxycodone. I am so grateful for medicines to ease our pain and heal us. And that we don't live in "here...bite on a stick" time period.
They are going to send a stool sample to check for c-diff, not that they think that she has it, but because she has been on a lot of antibiotics. When you are on a lot of antibiotics it kills the good bacteria in your gut and the bad bacteria (C-diff) takes over. I don't think that is the problem either, but it can't hurt to check.
I still think it is a UTI.
Last week she continued to have fevers and increased heartrate. I called urology, they wanted us to wait 2 days after finishing the Augmentin and then take in another urine sample.
I took the new sample in on Mon morning.
As a side note I finally got sterile cathing kits, so I can now draw my own samples at home. This is SOOOO much better.
This morning her temp was even more elevated (it had been 97 and was 100 this morning.
I called her pediatrician to get in with him and to get the results of the urine sample I took in on Mon morning.
The UA (urinalysis---the first initial test done in a few hours) was clean with just a few white blood cells. So Urology said that the Augmentin did it's job and the UTI was gone.
The urine culture (that takes up to 48 hours to grow) was not final.
I figured if it wasn't a UTI or kidney infection, it could be shunt. I called neurosurgery to have them look at her shunt. They put us in an appointment on Thurs morning. They thought it would be a good idea to have the pediatrician draw some blood and snot today so that the results would be final by Thurs.
Over the morning I left 3 messages with her pediatrician and never heard back. He often doesn't return phone calls until after 4 PM. But today I couldn't wait.
Finally I decided to just show up at her pediatrician's office and either talk with the nurse, or see the Dr., or see another Dr. or something.
The Dr. fit us in, THANKFULLY. He couldn't find an immediate reason for the temp. but wrote for the blood and snot.
Now if only I could draw the blood myself, then I would be all set. We went to the local hospital and had the blood and snot drawn.
A few hours later her pediatrician called me and said that her white blood count was up over 10,000 which says something is going on, but could be OK by itself. The other concerning number was her CRP which should be under 1 and hers was at 14.7. The Dr. said this is a marker of inflammation in the body, such as pnemonia, shunt infection, kidney infection, etc...I asked if it could be high from a cold or flu...he said no.
He wanted us to go to the Emergency Department at Primary's to have them look at her shunt.
Earlier in the day her stomach was contracting and she was having pain. When we got to the ER she was in ALOT of pain and having muscle spasms.
They looked at her shunt (CT and several x-rays) and said that it actually looks better than her last scans. Her last scans still showed some bloody fluid in the subdural space. It is a lot less now, although there is still some.
Although the previous UA was clean, the cultures were now growing out 4,ooo colonies of bacteria. And it was not klebsiella. And it was not susceptible to Augmentin. However anything under 10,000 they consider a contaminated sample, so at this point they are not calling it a UTI. They would only call it a UTI if it were over 100,000.
So we have a possible UTI.
They decided to do a kidney ultrasound and her kidneys look good.
Some of the blood they drew earlier in the day was to check her lipase and amylase for pancreatitis...they were both normal.
Primary's sent another urine and did blood cultures. I assumed her pediatrician had written for a blood culture earlier today, but apparently not.
Overnight her heartrate went from the 130's to the 170's and her temp went from 97 to 103. She was hot and sweaty (and she never sweats). I tried cooling her down with an ice water bath and motrin. It is slowly coming down. But it is taking many hours.
Her muscle spasms and pain have mainly been taken away (still there a little) by the oxycodone. I am so grateful for medicines to ease our pain and heal us. And that we don't live in "here...bite on a stick" time period.
They are going to send a stool sample to check for c-diff, not that they think that she has it, but because she has been on a lot of antibiotics. When you are on a lot of antibiotics it kills the good bacteria in your gut and the bad bacteria (C-diff) takes over. I don't think that is the problem either, but it can't hurt to check.
I still think it is a UTI.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
ER and home again
Ellie has been having almost the same symptoms she was having when her brain collapsed a month ago (elevated heartrate, fevers, lethargy, grinding teeth). I was REALLY WORRIED. I really didn't know if I could do all of that drama again if her brain had collapsed again.
First I took in a urine sample to check for a UTI. She had white blood cells, but the culture was negative. The Dr. started her on augmentin anyway.
Then I took her to the Pediatrician to see if it was an ear infection. Nope, they looked good and he couldn't find anything wrong with her.
Then I called Neurosurgery to see if #1) they could see her or #2) they could order scans and call me with the results. They did not have anyone in the office that day (yesterday), so they said I had to go to the Emergency Department. Yuck!
My only consolation was maybe it was pressure (shunt not draining enough), instead of draining too much (like last time). They can adjust the shunt with radio frequencies to drain more or less without doing surgery.
So we went to Primary Children's ER yesterday afternoon. They ran blood, urine, xray and CT and could not find anything wrong with her. So they sent us home. That is good I guess???
I still feel like something is wrong. But maybe it just isn't showing up yet. Maybe the Augmentin will clear it up before it manifests itself.
It is so difficult not being able to communicate with Ellie at times like this. What hurts Ellie? Why are you in pain? Without being able to point the Dr.'s at a body part...they just don't know where to look.
Well, it will either resolve itself, or it will escalate into something bigger. Hopefully the former.
First I took in a urine sample to check for a UTI. She had white blood cells, but the culture was negative. The Dr. started her on augmentin anyway.
Then I took her to the Pediatrician to see if it was an ear infection. Nope, they looked good and he couldn't find anything wrong with her.
Then I called Neurosurgery to see if #1) they could see her or #2) they could order scans and call me with the results. They did not have anyone in the office that day (yesterday), so they said I had to go to the Emergency Department. Yuck!
My only consolation was maybe it was pressure (shunt not draining enough), instead of draining too much (like last time). They can adjust the shunt with radio frequencies to drain more or less without doing surgery.
So we went to Primary Children's ER yesterday afternoon. They ran blood, urine, xray and CT and could not find anything wrong with her. So they sent us home. That is good I guess???
I still feel like something is wrong. But maybe it just isn't showing up yet. Maybe the Augmentin will clear it up before it manifests itself.
It is so difficult not being able to communicate with Ellie at times like this. What hurts Ellie? Why are you in pain? Without being able to point the Dr.'s at a body part...they just don't know where to look.
Well, it will either resolve itself, or it will escalate into something bigger. Hopefully the former.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Internet searching
I scoured the internet trying to find which diagnosis codes medicaid would accept to cover the ritalin. I came up with a few answers.
This link (page 5) says that methylphenidate is "Covered - Valid ICD-9 code must be written on the prescription."
AND No prior authorization is required
This one lists the acceptable codes for stimulants
This is what the above link says are acceptable diagnosis codes (without a prior authorization)
"ADD, ADHD, Narcolepsy, Organic brain syndrome, Traumatic brain injury, Treatment
resistant depression, Mental retardation if patient exhibits: injurious behavior, or is hyperactive or both, Severe sedation due to psychotropic medications, severe sedation due to chemotherapy medications. Please note, the Daytrana patch is not FDA indicated for adults, and Medicaid will not cover it past the age of 18."
She takes trazodone which according to my research is a psychtropic medication, and I am wondering if her onfi is also a psychotropic drug (that one I can't find specific info on...but other seizure meds are psychotropic drugs).
I called the nurse practitioner about my findings and she said she would have to talk to the Dr. She just kept saying...we can't just keep trying diagnosis codes until one works...she has to actually have the diagnosis. I kept saying I know...but here are the ones that would work (with out a prior authorization...so all I would need is a new prescription). I think when they were trying to get the prior auth they were putting in codes...but didn't bother to look up which codes would be accepted.
I believe she fits into this category (severe sedation due to psychotropic drugs). The nurse practitioner will talk to the Dr. about it.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Ritalin has been denied
Medicaid has denied ritalin. They have tried 2 different diagnosis codes. We can continue paying cash for it. I am applying for a hearing with medicaid to try and get them to approve it.
I asked the person that called from the Dr.'s office if other kids get ritalin covered and they said, well it just depends on what their insurance is. No duh! I meant through medicaid. The girl didn't know. She was non-helpful overall.
I asked the person that called from the Dr.'s office if there were other medications that would have the same effect that we could substitute, they said no.
I asked the person that called from the Dr.'s office if other kids get ritalin covered and they said, well it just depends on what their insurance is. No duh! I meant through medicaid. The girl didn't know. She was non-helpful overall.
I asked the person that called from the Dr.'s office if there were other medications that would have the same effect that we could substitute, they said no.
This is mainly for my own reference
Other medicaid parents may find it helpful, but this is mainly for my own benefit. I posted it a while ago on one of my support groups, but am in need of utilizing the information again, so thought I'd post it here so I can find it more easily.
Okay, so you know the problems we've all been having (or at least I have) since January with medications and pre-authorizations and co-pays, etc...I think I figured some things out today. (As a side note I have Medicaid Healthy U I'm not sure if that matters) Some medications are paid for (approved) by "State Medicaid" others by "Ventegra". The State Medicaid approves ones that are more controlled substances (mostly). You can call State Medicaid and go through your med list 1 by one and ask them if they approve that particular med or if ventegra does. The number for State medicaid is 1-800-662-9651 or 801-538-6155 and the number for Ventegra is 1-877-895-7159. Then once you know who is paying for what you can contact them to see which meds require a preauthorization. To see which meds State medicaid requires a pre-auth for follow these instructions, or you can ask the person you talk to on the phone...The website for State Medicaid is http://health.utah.gov/
Okay, so you know the problems we've all been having (or at least I have) since January with medications and pre-authorizations and co-pays, etc...I think I figured some things out today. (As a side note I have Medicaid Healthy U I'm not sure if that matters) Some medications are paid for (approved) by "State Medicaid" others by "Ventegra". The State Medicaid approves ones that are more controlled substances (mostly). You can call State Medicaid and go through your med list 1 by one and ask them if they approve that particular med or if ventegra does. The number for State medicaid is 1-800-662-9651 or 801-538-6155 and the number for Ventegra is 1-877-895-7159. Then once you know who is paying for what you can contact them to see which meds require a preauthorization. To see which meds State medicaid requires a pre-auth for follow these instructions, or you can ask the person you talk to on the phone...The website for State Medicaid is http://health.utah.gov/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)