Unable to obtain medical care locally

Join Teachers.Net

Chatboards

Recent Groups

DODD Teachers

MEMBERS

287 Members

+ Join Group

Pinned Posts

ALLAll Teachers

Teachers.Net LIVE CHAT Support group - Tues eve!

Featured Jobs

Full-timeMontessori Teacher

Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

TemporaryTeachers, rural schools

Peace River North School District

Full-timeHead Teacher: 2nd/3rd Grades – Mills College Children’s School

Mills College

Teaching Jobs on Teachers.Net

Featured Job special only $39!

https://teachers.net/jobs

Become a Teachers.Net sponsor!

DODD Teachers Chatboard

Unable to obtain medical care locally

by NewinNaples

Aug 6, 2017

OK, I know most posts lately are about people getting hired, trying to get hired, pcsing, etc., but mine's different. I'll try to condense a little.

We moved here to Naples last year (my husband's the teacher, I'm the dependent wife). After having some issues with one of my breasts and going to the base hospital, they did a mammogram. They couldn't find the cause for the issues on the one I went in for, but found something on the other one. They wanted me to have a biopsy on the left, ductograph on the right. The doctor also wanted me to have both taken care of at the same time. They do not have the machine to do this at Naples. The doctors toured local facilities (for my case and others), and they do not perform the procedures (or at least not to the standards they wanted). One of my many calls back and forth to base had the one person say, "Oh, we heard you were going to the states to have it done," which was funny to me since that was never mentioned. I asked about having i...See MoreOK, I know most posts lately are about people getting hired, trying to get hired, pcsing, etc., but mine's different. I'll try to condense a little.

We moved here to Naples last year (my husband's the teacher, I'm the dependent wife). After having some issues with one of my breasts and going to the base hospital, they did a mammogram. They couldn't find the cause for the issues on the one I went in for, but found something on the other one. They wanted me to have a biopsy on the left, ductograph on the right. The doctor also wanted me to have both taken care of at the same time. They do not have the machine to do this at Naples. The doctors toured local facilities (for my case and others), and they do not perform the procedures (or at least not to the standards they wanted). One of my many calls back and forth to base had the one person say, "Oh, we heard you were going to the states to have it done," which was funny to me since that was never mentioned. I asked about having it done in Landstuhl, wanting to initially stay on this side of the world.

After they got back to me, turned out the machine was down in Landstuhl and they had no idea when it would be fixed. The person I was speaking to at Naples was very nice and trying to help get this sorted. She called my insurance, etc. and they said I could pretty much have it done anywhere. I expressed my desire was not to have it done it Italy (unlike TV and movies, not enough people here speak English and I was totally stressing about having something done where I couldn't converse). Initially, when they were going to try to send me local, they said they'd send me with a translator, but couldn't confirm if it was male or female and if it was male, they wouldn't be in the room with me (difficult to translate if you're not there).

ANYWAY.......since no sign of Landstuhl being up any time soon, we decided the states would work (doctor originally told me most people choose to go home to have stuff like this done, even though initially I was hoping to go the Germany). My husband had to fill out all the paperwork to request the orders, etc. That in itself is a process, since you're required to already have an appointment scheduled, not knowing even when you'll be flying out. Then, the wait began. And we waited, and waited, and waited. I had to cancel the first appt. and reschedule since we hadn't received a response yet (and yes, my husband kept trying to contact people, etc.) I contacted the base to find out how long my doctor thought was acceptable to wait for the procedures. The rep there got back with me and said 6 to 8 weeks, but preferably sooner.

At about 7 1/2 weeks, we decided to purchase the ticket and then file for reimbursement later. I bought on Delta, sticking with American carriers since I knew they wouldn't reimburse otherwise. I booked my stay for 3 weeks, since I did not know if I would need additional procedures. Turned out to be the right amount of time. The first appointment, they just wanted to check things out and confirm what needed to be done. They scheduled me for another mammogram and ultrasounds, and then determined the ductograph didn't need to be done at this time but the biopsy did. Then, had to wait for the results from that to know if anything else needed to be done.

Happy to say, the biopsy results were benign. I need to have another mammogram in 6 months to check on the other side, but so far, so good. I got home to have my husband tell me that he got word a couple days before I got home that they denied the orders. Oops, also forgot to mention about that before I left, I got word that the machine was back up and running in Landstuhl, but that they were only accepting active duty patients. Anyway, my husband submitted more documentation from the doctor and, again, it was denied. They're saying, of course, that I could have got it done closer.

Anyone have any experience with this or know the procedure to file an appeal? I think it's ridiculous that they expect you to wait this long without an answer. In my case, it came out well, but what if it wasn't benign? The long wait for a response would definitely not have helped my situation (the stress alone was almost more than I could take). My husband has emailed the contact again over a week ago and no response at all. Is there a formal procedure for the appeal? Or is there a way to have them reimburse for what they would have paid if I was able to go somewhere in Europe?

If anyone has any insight in this kind of matter, I would appreciate any feedback I could get. Sorry so long!!

Comment

(4)

report post

haha Hi. No personal experience of what you are describing (sorry you have had to deal with the stress and frustration while also dealing with health issues). I did have some serious health issues while in Germany and was very happy with the treatment I received from my German doctors/hospitals. Most German doctors speak very good English and the qualit...See More

Aug 6, 2017

report post

Couple of Questions Thanks for responding. Man, I miss Germany. I was stationed there "back in the day" and I'm hoping, one day, we'll be able to transfer there (I can always hope).

I will definitely have him get with his union person. He's so new to everything and not really sure how to proceed, so I usually do the research for him, LOL.

Aug 6, 2017

report post

**psych** This might also serve as a cautionary tale to folks around the world- both DoDEA and would-be folks. The Med ain't Germany and it ain't Japan. Whether it's Bahrain, Italy, or Rota, the medical situations are not comparable or even adequate to care for ongoing or specialty-type conditions. In many cases, you can only receive space A or primary care ...See More

Aug 6, 2017

Like (1)

report post

haha Definitely sounds like a much worse situation then Germany or Japan. I've had significant follow up care here in Japan that has also been amazing and covered nearly completely by insurance (virtually all meds are also readily prescribed and available on base and on the economy, although I'm sure that varies by location).

Aug 6, 2017

report post