I agree with your decision. $99 is not life changing.

My wife just talked to her cardiologist today (virtual visit) and asked him what he said to our insurance company to get them to approve her mri/mra that they had previously denied authorization for. The doctor said that insurance companies never argue with him whenever he had to call them to get authorization. According to her doctor, the insurance companies are just hoping to save money by denying approval to bet that a lot of doctors will refuse to take 15 minutes out of their busy schedules to make a phone call on behalf of their patients.

Hi Howard, just signed up this month for my Part G supplemental plan. Your video was very good timing for me. Interesting story about the billing.

I went to an Independent Imaging Center and had my CT Calcium Scan done for $55 self pay. Outpatient Hospital facility would have been much more. Score is high (> 400) so my cardiologist said it's time to get serious about my health. He ordered Lipid Panel & Vit D blood tests. My D level was ok, but he wants my LDL below 70, so he put me on rosuvastatin 20mg and said to take it with OTC CoQ10 200 mg, Vit K2 (MenaQ7) 180 mg, and a little Vit D3 25 mg. Will do another blood test in 6 months and CT Calcium Scan in 3 years.

Hmmm, Why not try the Statins for a year, barring unexceptionable side effects and see how you do. ( or check out my suggestions on the bottom. I was on statins for 10 years and they decreased my cholesterol fast. My family are self producers of cholesterol. Then they said Statins are bad for you so I went off. I then took Red yeast rice and coq10. One am and one pm. My cholesterol was better than it had ever been since they started tracking it. It raised my good and lowered my bad. The statins couldn’t lower my bad. I was shocked, told my doc and he said continue with that. The Co-q 10 is absorbed better in liquid form. Great information Mr. Howard. I love your show!

I just went on Medicare in March but Im still working full time so not drawing SS.So i pay my for 3 months at time 174x 3. Looked at my latest paycheck stub and im still paying in to Medicare even though Im paying 174.00 a month.

Same as the prescription patent issue. Prescription patents generally run 10 times their free market price. The test in the video is 6.8 times greater if billed through the government system. And the reason is the $681 once reduced for charge limits, then discounts, added expenses of filing and slow pay, will have to stay above the $99, if it takes $50 in bureaucracy or $300 in bureaucracy the procedure has to increase price to cover it.

Good evening Mr Howard, yes it seems like a good option to pay the lower end. However I don't understand why your Medicare with Medigap would not provide 100% coverage less any applicable deductible. Perhaps discuss the treatment with your doctor beforehand? I can understand that some folks with Advantage C plans typically need to dig into their wallet. Never the less, Otter appeared bored, perhaps he wants a nice big beef bone with raw meat hanging on the sides ?

i had same situation vegan diet for 2 months stopped statins and cholesterol WENT UP! liver manufactures cholesterol and doctor said back on statins. heredity. Cholesterol lowerd with statins. Had nuclear stress test a couple month later. OK result. 5 years later heart attack at night and 3 stents in widow maker wearing life vest for 1 month. No long term damage ... lucky. Statins do cause muscle weakness.

Glad you’re making some progress with IRMA. I was just typing to you if you’re making progress when you answered it on the video. lol. Mine seems to be holding up with them not taking out more money on me.

Thanks for sharing your story about the "self-pay" vs "maybe Medicare will pay" for your testing. I'm retiring in 12 months when I turn 70 & will start my Medicare Part B then (along with a supplemental plan) when I longer have medical insurance through my employer. (No Medicare Disadvantage for me!) It's good to know I could be faced with these issues like you described. And I agree with your decision to go ahead and do the "self-pay," I would have done the same thing.

Cubs Howard!!!

I’m 61 and Thankfully healthy take nothing for nothing. But my wife is type2. I sometimes worry about medical expenses as we age. I’ve heard numbers like 300k for those in retirement to cover everything. Hopefully your calcium issue isn’t one and doesn’t get you down.

Love❤ the cubs tshirt!

Yep 99

My financial advisor is SS Timmy,,, He’s the best He’s a drunken fool too😂

Fasting has been proven to reduce cholesterol levels. Insulin levels play a big part in cholesterol numbers. Fermented foods and Vitamin K2 are very beneficial as well.

Good update, I'm still fighting the SSA-44 refund for my wife. They gave her a refund for additional $$ paid in for 2024, but nothing for 2023. Also, lots of good books and videos on the statin industry. I will never take a statin drug. My latest health/blood issues are high ferritin and low sodium and chloride. Medicare and Tricare keep paying all the bills., so I'm happy!

I recommend you write your story to legislators who wants to improve Medicare (such as Senators Sanders or Warren, rather than either of your Senators, who just want to blame & complain). It's ridiculous that the same test or procedure is $99 for someone who self-pays, but charged $681 if submitted to Medicare (and maybe, or maybe not Eligible)

I totally agree about not taking a statin. So many side effects. My husband's doctor gave him 40 mg a day. He was in such pain, as it effects your muscles. I kept telling him to let his doctor know. After about a year of pain, he finally told his doctor and he dropped his pills down to half a tablet every other day. He felt better after a few weeks, and I hated to say "I told you so"!!! I don't understand why Medicare has not yet approved the CT Calcium Scan?

Mea culpa.

It’s ok. Trust you.

The IRMAA girl is a tough chick.

Howard, I have had a calcium screening 4 years ago(that I paid for) and I also have elevated cholesterol and take a low dose of statin. My test showed “average” numbers with average risk. Generally “screening” tests should be used for the proper person(patient). Obviously if we just randomly screen every single person we will get some good info, some bad info, and a whole lot of “not sure” info. So we want to consider the cost, the benefit, and the potential negative consequences. Lots of “unsure” info, or false positive info leads to further screenings or unnecessary interventions. This can be costly, and even lead to injury, or unnecessary treatment. For the calcium screening there is currently still an argument for who should be screened. Insurance companies will pay for it with the proper reasons specified. The data for screening asymptomatic persons is not very strong, that is why it is rejected by the insurance companies. As to statins, I take a very small dose based on my risk profile and family history. I tried several that I didn’t like. The current one has been somewhat helpful with less side effects, BUT I’ve had the most success with my lipids and blood sugar since retiring. Likely due to way less stress, but also much better eating habits and ongoing exercise habits, despite the fact that all those were already much better than many before I retired. All my meds are now cut in half. I exercise at least 4 times per week for over an hour(cardio and strength) and am more active otherwise. I would say the stress reduction and better eating are probably the ones causing the improvement. By better eating, I would note that I only eat two meals and a snack, and naturally fell into the intermittent fasting routine. Beyond that I eat virtually no starches or sugar, fried or processed food, and a minimal amount of red meat, but do eat yogurt and cheese. I also avoid oils other than the “healthy” versions like olive oil. Statins are clearly a mixed bag, and I will continue to try to reduce my dose. At this point I’m not considering another calcium screening, unless my symptoms(none) change. There is now mounting evidence that only looking at LDL cholesterol may be problematic, and that the proportion of the other cholesterols like HDL are also important. I’m not making any recommendations, just telling my story to illustrate some of the complexities. And, Howard thanks for correcting the Medicare info.

My father had a quadruple artery heart surgery at the age of 60… I recently turned 60 and I was concerned and my Dr recommended the calcium scan to just check it out and insurance did not pay for it. Cost $250. To my surprise and happy about it the result was ZERO calcium detected.. kinda surprised me… but pleasently.. My Dr in the online portal said “excecllent result”… I think MORE people should do this scan just to know whats going on.. I think alot of heart attacks can be prevented by the calcium scan and insurance should pay for it !

I’d definitely just went and paid the $99.

Lol, and were supposed to think Government will be able to run medicare for all😂😂😂😂. I think Otter would do a better job. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Your Medicare story really hits on the thing that scares me to death about single payer healthcare. The $99 story just underscores it. It goes to show how cheap healthcare could be if insurance companies and the government weren’t involved. Do you hide beef jerky in the couch before you start a video? Lol 😂

Yeah, just pay the $99....it will be peace of mind for you whatever the outcome. I purposely let my cholesterol rise as I get older so eat a ton of meat, butter, whole milk, ice cream. You need cholesterol to produce testosterone. I was a bit concerned I'd be out grouse hunting and drop dead from heart attack. My dad had bypass at 69 yrs old. Calcium screening was recommended by my doctor during one of the few visits I have made. My score came back at 3 (less than my 30 something doctor's), so I felt a whole lot better about dropping dead spontaneously in the woods. I lift weights, walk, golf, shoot baskets, inline skate a lot...am 5'11" usually 175-185. Watch what I eat other than don't care about cholesterol....Mrs. eats about the same diet but eats some junk food and candy, whereas I don't. Is a couch potato, does not exercise, complains about walking too far from the store parking lot, and carries a few, um extra pounds....her cardiac calcium score came back at 0! So the stuff appears not to stick to our arteries, hers less than mine....but it's a good test. The $99 is well worth it.

Do yourself a favor. Start Social Security and go out and buy yourself a steak dinner. 😊