I'm back

[Sheryl]

Hey Cori - Glad to "out" a lurker - whatever it takes. I am going to talk to my Dr. about whether the "L" word really needs to be in my record. The weird - but good - thing so far is I don't have any of the typical lupus symptoms, the bloodwork is what revealed it - so now I'm left wondering what I've got coming ...

I am lucky with the insurance situation, too, since I am part owner of the company. I just would like to get out of there someday, and don't know what I'll do then. Washington State has a questionaire you have to fill out and they assign different point values to the various diseases and conditions - anything over 270 points and you are not eligible for private insurance and have to go into the state high risk pool.

Anyway... enough about me! Good luck on your FI/RE goals - if you hang around this site awhile you will get plenty of good ideas and guidance along the way. I really believe the insurance thing is solvable, it seems the key - at least with the WA laws is never ever to let the coverage you do have lapse. As long as you have coverage to start with, somebody has to give you a policy... but at what price, I don't know.

And of course we can always hope the politicians may eventually do SOMETHING about the situation before it completely deteriorates.

Anyway, thanks for the input and ideas.

[MJ]

I just got around to reading the thread. I'm real sorry to hear about the change in your health. As many have said here, your positive attitude will help your body return you to a healthier state again.
At my age, still take my excellent health for granted and i'm not sure what I would do if I discovered a major health problem.

I pray for your miraculous recovery.

[cube_rat]

Sheryl: I hope you feel better soon! I miss your posts.

[Danny]

Sheryl - I'm sad to hear you are going through this...I did notice you gone and thought maybe you had found something better to do...
That's hard to believe, but it is possible... in any case, welcome back...wish it were under other circumstances.

Take care Hope the situation improves quickly

[MooreBonds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheryl I am lucky with the insurance situation, too, since I am part owner of the company. I just would like to get out of there someday, and don't know what I'll do then. Washington State has a questionaire you have to fill out and they assign different point values to the various diseases and conditions - anything over 270 points and you are not eligible for private insurance and have to go into the state high risk pool.

Sheryl,

If you're part owner in a business and are looking for someone to buy you out, you could always include a clause that you will always receive health insurance coverage. Simply estimate what your premiums would be, discount it with a 'reasonable' discount rate (6%-8%), then subtract that from your negotiated buyout price.

If the buyer is worried that you wouldn't be considered an employee anymore, you could always have an 'advisory' position part-time (and your exact involvement could be very, very, very limited, if you catch my drift ).

On the "L" word in your report, I'm not that knowledgeable about health matters, but if your doctor had a blood test done and there is a specific blood disorder that tests positive in an unambiguous way , I would guess that the doctor has to put that in your record, and that you would (technically) have to mark "Yes" under that box if it appears on a medical questionnaire.

[Yipee-Ki-O]

Sheryl,

Sorry to learn of your illness. Massachusetts General Hospital sponsors a group of forums they call BrainTalkCommunities which you might find useful. Here's the link for the lupus group. When I joined the spiney club* a few years ago I found their back pain discussion board to be helpful.

yko

[Sheryl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter76 Sheryl, If you're part owner in a business and are looking for someone to buy you out, you could always include a clause that you will always receive health insurance coverage. Simply estimate what your premiums would be, discount it with a 'reasonable' discount rate (6%-8%), then subtract that from your negotiated buyout price.

That is a really good idea.* Why didn't I think of it?* ** I have a buy-out clause with my partners that requires the remaining shareholders to buy back shares if one wants out.* I can imagine they would rather keep me on the insurance roles than cough up the cash.*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter76 but if your doctor had a blood test done and there is a specific blood disorder that tests positive in an unambiguous way , I would guess that the doctor has to put that in your record, and that you would (technically) have to mark "Yes" under that box if it appears on a medical questionnaire.

It's actually pretty ambiguous - the test is not 100% specific and by the accepted standards, you must have a certain number of symptoms or positive tests, which I do not have.* *So I might talk him out of it.* *

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheryl That is a really good idea. Why didn't I think of it?

One more satisfied forum customer. Sheryl, Dory36 has operators standing by to accept your payment for services rendered.

[Sheryl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yipee-Ki-O Sheryl, Sorry to learn of your illness. Massachusetts General Hospital sponsors a group of forums they call BrainTalkCommunities which you might find useful. Here's the link for the lupus group. When I joined the spiney club* a few years ago I found their back pain discussion board to be helpful. yko

Hi Yip - thanks for the link - I'll check it out.* I might actually belong better in the spiney club with you since the way my lupus presented was with transverse myelitis.* Mild case, thank goodness, but I find I have much more in common with the TM folks than the lupus ones so far.* *

[Sheryl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! One more satisfied forum customer. * Sheryl, Dory36 has operators standing by to accept your payment for services rendered.

I've hit that PayPal button more than once - but it's worth every penny!

[Dreamer]

I'm sorry to hear about your medical problems. I have taken many disability claims over the years and can see how quickly one's life can shift from being completely healthy to disabled. I think that is one of the reasons that I wanted to retire early and be able to enjoy some time while I am still healthy.

It sounds like you are being very proactive and have a very positive attitude. I hope that everything goes very well for you. Glad to have you back.

Dreamer

[Sheryl]

Thanks Dreamer!

I am feeling better all the time. Going through this has been a shock, but it definitely makes you think.

I "met" someone on a lupus message board who is looking for others with lupus to form a team and run a marathon at Disneyland in 2008. This will give me something positive to focus on and a group of others in similar situations to help support and encourage - I'm excited about it because running a marathon is one of the things on my "always wanted to do" list that I thought I might end up never doing. At least I'll give it my best shot - it always helps me to have long term goals to focus on.

[Lancelot]

Sheryl, sorry to hear about your health problems.

Chok dee krap! (Good luck to you)

Lance

[Maximillion]

Lance, glad you translated, I read Chuck the Crap, whew.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Sheryl,

I/we are Washingtonians, too and we know something about the system. (We also know something about lupus, but we aren't going to go there.)

First, DO NOT FILL OUT THAT QUESTIONNAIRE again!! NEVER, EVER!! If you do, it will be in the record everywhere, forever. If you ever think there may be a reason to do so (and I don't think so), ask to do a draft or a dry run. Your agent can do this for you. DO NOT have it submitted for an official judgement.

I have always heard that owners can participate in their company's group plan even if the company is not doing any business anymore. There was a post here long ago where someone was keeping their company active just to keep their group insurance.

If you were an employee in Washington, you could separate from the company, maintain your health insurance through COBRA for 18 months, then get an individual pollicy WITHOUT filling out the dreaded form. No exclusion for pre-existing conditions. (We couldn't do this because of a technicality. I had been working in WA through an agency with a business office in NY state. I could not convert because, even though we were all healthy at the time, we were outside the primary coverage area of the health insurance company--so we were told. We certainly were, although it is not clear that our state insurance commissioner would agree that we could be excluded. Never mind. We are OK today. The wife has a job with benefits now.)

I understand that lupus can be aggravated or triggered by stress. Worth thinking about.

heycori has some good advice. You will help yourself by becoming your own expert on the disease. A friend's daughter had a rare disease. He became an expert by subscribing to Grateful Med, but I see that service has been supreceded by the following:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/igm.html

In WA, you have access to the UW School of Medicine. You could do a lot worse.

Best of luck to you.

Please keep us informed.

Ed

[Sheryl]

Hi Ed,
Thanks for all the good info. I'm a little slow keeping up with the boards lately. I agree with your assessment of the Questionaire. What a crock! It rules out about everything and everybody. On further research I think I understand, as you stated, that I could transition thru COBRA to an individual policy. If I ever quit working, anyway.

I AM working hard on reducing stress. It is true that it really can affect you physically in huge ways!

I have been going to Virginia Mason rather than UW - not sure why except my PCP refered me to them. They seem good. Since most of my problems are neurological, I'm looking into a "vacation" at Johns Hopkins. They have a world-class center for my condition there. I've learned from my parent's health crises, there is nothing like going straight to the top.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Sheryl

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Hi, again, Sheryl,

We had Virginia Mason, too, when we lived on the east side. A friend worked there and thought highly of the place and we were never disappointed with them, either.

Quote:

Since most of my problems are neurological, I'm looking into a "vacation" at Johns Hopkins.

Sounds like a plan! I like it!

Best of luck.

Ed

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheryl Since most of my problems are neurological, I'm looking into a "vacation" at Johns Hopkins. They have a world-class center for my condition there.* *I've learned from my parent's health crises, there is nothing like going straight to the top.

My FIL had his cataract surgery there and highly recommends their patient-education services. If you show up already knowledgable, interested in learning more, and asking plenty of educated questions, they'll make you an expert.