Today’s installment discusses prescription drug coverage under Medicare Plan D. Medicare Part D covers most outpatient prescription drug costs. This is a separate policy that must be purchased through an insurance carrier in addition to standard Medicare parts A and B and any Medigap coverage. In 2023, the out-of-pocket threshold for Medicare Part D isContinue reading “Eight Things You Need to Know About Medicare Part D Prescription Coverage”
Category Archives: Transplant
Important Changes You Need to Know About Medicare Part B Prescription Drug Coverage
Most people with prescription drug coverage through Medicare will be using Part D which is a third-party insurance purchased independently from the standard Part A and B Medicare coverage. One exception is for transplant recipients whose transplants were paid for by Medicare. In this instance, anti-rejection drugs will be covered through Medicare Part B, butContinue reading “Important Changes You Need to Know About Medicare Part B Prescription Drug Coverage”
Ten Changes to Medicare in 2024
It’s November and the holidays are rushing toward us. It’s also time for Medicare open enrollment, ending on December 7. Like many transplant recipients, I have Medicare through Social Security Disability benefits. Also, much like many transplant recipients, I have a lot of medical and drug expenses, so it is of great importance that IContinue reading “Ten Changes to Medicare in 2024”
Pig-to-Human Heart Transplant Update
Lawrence Faucette, who had end-stage heart disease, received a genetically modified pig heart transplant at the University of Maryland Medical Center on Sept. 20, 2023. He passed away on Monday, October 30, just six weeks after he received the xenotransplant. He had been making progress after the surgery, going to physical therapy and spending timeContinue reading “Pig-to-Human Heart Transplant Update”
Medical Trauma
Content Warning: This post includes a first-person account of a recent hospital visit that triggered my own PTSD. Anyone with a chronic illness can tell you that repeated medical encounters can be both physically and mentally exhausting. Additionally, those who have experienced life-threatening medical experiences can tell you how traumatic those events can be. WhenContinue reading “Medical Trauma”
Reorganization of the U.S. Transplant System – October Update
Friday, September 22, President Biden signed the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act into law. “Everybody knows the system has been broken for years with heartbreaking consequences. Now with the president’s signature, we are taking significant steps to improve it,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre after President Biden signed the bill intoContinue reading “Reorganization of the U.S. Transplant System – October Update”
Gratitude
I owe my life today to two people who I’ve never met, and never will. I received the gift of life in the form of a heart transplant on January 6, 2006. That miracle heart came from a young man named Roy. He was a teenager when he passed away, and his family made theContinue reading “Gratitude”
Heart Transplant Anniversary
Next week is my five-year heart transplant anniversary! My Heartiversary! On October 4, 2018, I received the call from Vanderbilt University Medical Center telling me they had a heart that was a match for me. We went straight to the hospital around noon, and they set me up in a room. After we filled outContinue reading “Heart Transplant Anniversary”
Xenotransplantation – the Future of Transplant?
Recently, a 58-year-old man received a heart transplant using a donor heart that came from a pig. This is only the second instance of a pig-to-human heart transplant. Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center performed the surgery on September 20, 2023. The heart came from a genetically modified pig grown by Revivcor, aContinue reading “Xenotransplantation – the Future of Transplant?”
Educate and Advocate
My experience with the medical system began when I was a young child running around like most little kids do, but I became very short of breath and tired after a brief bit of exercise. My pediatrician diagnosed me with asthma and gave me an inhaler. When I was seven years old, I collapsed whileContinue reading “Educate and Advocate”
Dawn Levitt, Author 