Search Results for: basal cell

The morning-after edits, originally marked in italics, have been “accepted” (to borrow Word’s term) to show the final text.

Here are the results of my cost shopping research to get my skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma, aka BCC) removed. The first edition was done in a hurry because the #bcsm (breast cancer social media) Twitter chat was happening, discussing costs and shopping, and they asked to see it.

It started in February when I decided to be proactive about finding out what this would cost me. I have $10,000 deductible insurance, so this is all coming out of my pocket. In previous months I’d gotten sick & tired of getting unexpected medical bills, and people at the hospital and insurance companies having wrong answers or no answers about “What’s this going to cost?” (CT scan, shingles vaccines)  So, this time I published an RFP (request for proposals), the same way any business would do when making a substantial purchase decision. The RFP started:

Summary: I seek a care partner to remove a basal cell carcinoma (BCC) from my left jawline, under the ear. For a brief introduction, see blog post and photo (low quality) at http://bit.ly/ePDaveBCC.

I’m educating myself about the condition, I want to explore the available treatment options, and I’m “shopping” for a partner to do the work and follow-up with a good combination of quality, partnership, and cost.

It was a crazy thing to do, because hospitals don’t have RFP response departments (as many businesses do), and I was sure my request was largely uninformed. But I sure learned a lot from the comments on that blog post.

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I’m going to START with three clarifications, because sometimes people don’t read footnotes. :-)  Read before proceeding.

• I’m NOT saying there’s anything wrong here – don’t anyone assume that every time I blog, it’s a warpath. :)  I’m just asking a question. My guiding principle on medical treatments and costs is that people should know what their options are, so I’m presenting my situation and asking.

• I’m also NOT asking for treatment advice – I’m only asking about costs and whether it sometimes makes sense to get pathology done elsewhere. (We’ve already discussed treatments and I’m satisfied.)

• As I’ve said before, I’m NOT recommending that anyone else act as I choose to.

Also, regular readers know that as a former cancer patient in New Hampshire, my insurance options were limited, and I chose $10,000 deductible, so all of this will come out of my pocket. As I’ve blogged many times before, this turns out to be a nifty way to discover how the money actually flows in American healthcare, which is usually really hard to find out.
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Below is the pathology report from some biopsies I got in January. The bill is $416 list price; after the usual insurance discount, my balance due is $312.

My questions:
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Well, that’s not exactly what he said. And I’m not even sure he’s a dermatologist, though it sure sounds like it.

For newcomers, this is the latest in a four month saga, including these posts:

• Time to practice what I preach: I have skin cancer again. (Feb 9)
• I’ve started an RFP for my skin cancer (Feb 11)
• Decision: Just scrape it off (ED&C) (May10)
• Raw numbers for treating my basal cell carcinoma at three hospitals (May 21)

Today (Saturday 6/16) on the “decision” post, commenter “Joe” (apparently a dermatologist) said the most interesting, thought-provoking stuff I’ve ever seen anywhere about basal cell carcinoma treatment options:
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