My First Sergeant, who is a former medic, decided that he is going to reccomend me for a med board after the kidney transplant. He was vocal about not wanting me to do the transplant because it's expiramental medicine. Since he is a former medic, he knows all the paperwork to have me shown in a negative light to get me chaptered out of the military. I would lose our health insurance which is the biggie.
If I decide to not give DW my kidney so I could then stay in the military, I would in turn be chaptered out on a compassionate discharge due to the longstanding and ongoing nature of dialysis and her need for constant care. Once more, losing the health insurance.
Damned if you do, Damned if you don't. The only major difference is that with a med board chapter, there are two options. First, and most likely, is a medical seperation payment, or severance pay, of about $40,000. The second, and not unlikely, is to be placed on temporary disability retirement until it is known if there will be any issues from the kidney transplant. I would draw $1200 a month based on this for up to 5 years, and then if actually medically retired, continue to draw that $1200 for life, adjusted for inflation. Still without health insurance.
Does anyone know anyway to get health care coverage for someone with a longstanding, permanent disability outside of from a group rate from an employer? Tricare is paying $70,000 a month for her right now. There is now way we could come close to affording any of that. If my First Sergeant is successful in chaptering me, it would be about a year from now. Im going to college full time for an economics degree.
Health insurance
June 24th, 2010 at 02:13 pm
June 24th, 2010 at 02:42 pm 1277390541
June 24th, 2010 at 02:56 pm 1277391382
June 24th, 2010 at 03:00 pm 1277391613
I would read up on the new laws and when they go into effect. It won't be cheap, but at least it will be more affordable/possible to get insurance once the no-preexisting-conditions rule comes into play. Unfortunately the bill didn't go as far as I hoped, and there are still plenty of loopholes for insurance companies to gouge people (and they'll be even more aggressive about taking what they can).
June 25th, 2010 at 02:54 am 1277434483
June 25th, 2010 at 03:23 am 1277436181
June 25th, 2010 at 11:25 am 1277465107
Is there any way for you to cross-rate (sorry, I was Navy, so I don't know what they call it in the Army) into another specialty that is in need of manpower? If so, then you could extend your career, your coverage, and lead yourself away from this situation with the First Sergeant as well. Good luck to you...
June 26th, 2010 at 11:53 am 1277553227
A kidney transplant itself isn't experimental medicine. The way we're doing it is. We're not a perfect match. We're blood type compatible, but after her transfusions last summer she has antibodies in her blood that don't play nice with my blood, so her body would want to reject the kidney. There is a drug that effectively kills those antibodies over the course of 4-5 months, and then the transplant is done. There have only been 19 of these type of transplants done, and 18 have been successful. We're working with the Mayo clinic to be part of their next group. Surgeon General of the Army already approved it.