Dealing with insurance co.

[SRF]

18 hours ago, Coralc said:

@katiel53

Funny you should mention that. I was kind of hoping shingles was a once and done. I had them a few years ago, on my face, and in my ear and in my mouth. On a cruise. Worst cruise ever and lost 3 days in the cabin. And just a day ago or so ago, I had suspicious symptoms on my waist. I am hoping that at least the possible second round was not as horrible as the first time. 

 

Why would you not get the vaccine???

 

When my ex got it, the first thing they did was give her a dose of the vaccine.

 

I got the vaccine then.  There is a new one, that it two injections, first one, then second 2 - 6 months later.  Supposed to work even better.

 

Based on the people I know who have had shingles, I DO NOT want to get it.  They were not easy short cases.

[katiel53]

33 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

Why would you not get the vaccine???

 

 

 

.

I wrongly thought that once I got shingles, I wouldn't/couldn't get them again.  When I got them again, my doctor advised my getting the vaccine.  I was put on a waiting list  about a year ago and still am not able to get the vaccine as my place has not come up on the waiting list.

 

I went to another pharmacy a few weeks ago and was told the wait is going to be a minimum of 8 months to get the vaccine because they give 2 shots and as the supplies come in, they have to give it to the people who have had 1 dose first.  So, hopefully, I won't get them again before I get the vaccine.

[CruisingAlong4Now]

Lots of shingles vaccine here in Connecticut.  Even the pharmacies at the supermarkets are advertising.  If you are near Vermont or MA, check there.

[Coralc]

Not that I really want to share, but it's not shingles again. It is a herpes simplex (type 1-oral) which unbeknownst to me can appear anywhere on your body including your waist. He gave me an anti-viral cream. It is just a patch of red blisters about the size of a silver dollar above my waist. It doesn't burn like shingles, but it does tingle and is very sensitive. And apparently shingles are herpes too. 

I've been trying to get the vaccine, and my doctor is not being at all cooperative about it. Now that I know it can occur again. I will make a further push next time I am in to see her. Thanks everyone. 

[SRF]

On 12/7/2019 at 7:05 PM, katiel53 said:

I wrongly thought that once I got shingles, I wouldn't/couldn't get them again.  When I got them again, my doctor advised my getting the vaccine.  I was put on a waiting list  about a year ago and still am not able to get the vaccine as my place has not come up on the waiting list.

 

I went to another pharmacy a few weeks ago and was told the wait is going to be a minimum of 8 months to get the vaccine because they give 2 shots and as the supplies come in, they have to give it to the people who have had 1 dose first.  So, hopefully, I won't get them again before I get the vaccine.

 

Wow, sorry to hear that.

 

I went to my pharmacy, and they had it in stock.  They did tell me to call them and give them a couple of days notice when I wanted the second shot, as it may have to order it.

 

But nothing about 8 month waits for the vaccine.

 

 

[katiel53]

1 minute ago, SRF said:

 

Wow, sorry to hear that.

 

I went to my pharmacy, and they had it in stock.  They did tell me to call them and give them a couple of days notice when I wanted the second shot, as it may have to order it.

 

But nothing about 8 month waits for the vaccine.

 

1 minute ago, SRF said:

I live in the Rochester NY area, and that is what I have been told at Wegmans as well as at Walgreens.  I have also checked CVS and they also have a waiting list as does my own PCP.  I don't know why this area is so different, but that's what I was told.

 

 

[bilyclub]

The Shingrix manufacturer has a page to find out which providers have been getting vaccine shipments.

 

 https://www.shingrix.com/shingles-vaccine-locator.html

[GeezerCouple]

On 12/8/2019 at 4:15 AM, Maverick61 said:

 

Actually my mother has had shingles.  Still has an occasional outbreak.

But that is all irrelevant.

 

You did not comprehend what I wrote.  Here is what I said:

 

"That said, I am not sure the insurance company will buy someone saying they have shingles in early December as a reason to cancel a cruise in February. "

 

And that is 100% accurate.  It is early to cancel a cruise in February based on getting shingles in early December.  Now if the person still is or will be affected by this in February, that is a different story.  But you can't have an illness in early December and just assume you will not be able to travel in February.  That is simply not how it works.  There needs to be certainty.  I just don't see that with shingles.  Something else like a major operation that the doctor can certify needs 3 months of rehab, sure.  But not something like shingles which could resolve quickly or could last longer.  No reputable doctor can sign off with certainty in early December that the shingles will be ongoing in February.  And I will bet that is what the insurance company says.

 

The OP needed to wait til close to February and if the condition was still ongoing, then make the case to the insurance company.  But since they cancelled the cruise already, they may have screwed themselves

 

Chances are that OP should have waited until closer to sailing, when it was more likely to be known to interfere with Feb travel.

 

However, we cannot know with certainty whether the OP's physician may have had a reason for OP to cancel *now*.  And IF that is the case (based upon something specific about OP's health), then waiting until there was a higher penalty may violate the terms of trying to mitigate the insurer's costs.

 

It's not at all clear that this IS the case here, but my point is that *we* cannot know all of this, and shouldn't be so specific in telling OP what to do.

 

What we have done when an "iffy" travel insurance situation arose (we have had similar situations... should we cancel now, or later?), we ASKED our travel insurance broker and/or the insurer themselves "what to do/how to handle this".  They provided helpful advice in all such cases, and we were covered fully.  Let the insurer help with the decision making.  After all, IF one makes a claim, all of the information would be disclosed to the insurer anyway, so there is no need to be coy about it.

 

GC

[katiel53]

2 hours ago, bilyclub said:

The Shingrix manufacturer has a page to find out which providers have been getting vaccine shipments.

 

 https://www.shingrix.com/shingles-vaccine-locator.html

I didn't know this was available.  I did contact the places listed for my zip code and the pharmacies have wait lists that are quite long.  I think there are many in my area who are on a few wait lists, myself included.  Thanks for posting this though.

[greykitty]

I live in a Chicago suburb.  The pharmacies around me had originally kept waiting lists last year for Shingrix, but abandoned that as the lists were long and pretty impossible to maintain as patients were bouncing from pharmacy to pharmacy and not cancelling their wait list positions.  Currently all the pharmacies are getting shipments weekly, but it's pretty first come/first served for patients.  I got shot one last month and am due for shot two in late December.  

 

I'd check with the local pharmacies and see if they've changed their procedures since last year.  I think everyone was caught a little by surprise by demand for the shot vs ability to produce it, and that people didn't seem to care much about the cost of the shots.  Even with Medicare, not cheap.   

[Maverick61]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Chances are that OP should have waited until closer to sailing, when it was more likely to be known to interfere with Feb travel.

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.

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It's not at all clear that this IS the case here, but my point is that *we* cannot know all of this, and shouldn't be so specific in telling OP what to do.

 

 

 If If and buts were  . . . .  well no one is telling the OP what to do.  People were simply trying to answer the question the OP posed.  My response specifically stated what is the "likely" way the insurance company will look at it.  But until the OP files a claim, they won't know for sure

 

But in general, it is highly unlikely any reputable doctor will say that having an outbreak of Shingles in early December will definitively impact your ability to travel at least 2 months later.  But the insurance company is the one who will determine that.

[npcl]

It is unclear from the OPs post if a current shingles outbreak was the reason for canceling.  They stated due to recent medical issues they decided to cancel.  Then they talked about getting shingles while on a previous cruise.

 

Bottom line with most policies unless the medical issue is sufficient to prevent someone from traveling on the actual date of the cruise it will not be considered to be a covered reason. So while they can apply their doctor will need to certify that the condition is still such that travel is medically not allowed when the date of the cruise occurs.