Pacemaker replacement

[akentryan]

I am 77 years old and have a Medtronic Pacemaker and would like to hear from someone who has had one replaced in Thailand.

For any Americans out there who are interested I will relate my present situation. I have a Pacemaker that was read at BHP in April and showed 3 months battery life remaining. I had previously asked a family member to call my cardiologist in Florida to ask when I should come to the USA for replacement. The family member says when it gets to two months life come to the USA. On June 23 my reading showed two months battery life. After I had bought airline tickets I asked that the family call the doctor and get the replacement procedure scheduled. She called back and says they will not schedule the procedure until the doctor sees you. I get on the airplane and go to the USA only to find that my doctor is on vacation for 3 weeks. No other doctor will see me as it is not an emergency. I wanted to find out some kind of a timetable so I went to another medical group where they did a Pacemaker read July 26 that showed one month battery life remaining. The technician told me it doesn't matter as Medicare (my primary insurance) will not pay. She says the battery has a reserve of two or three months and Medicare will not pay until it almost runs out. I scoured the internet and could find nothing on this so called reserve except that it does exist. Finally a Russian doctor at the group took the time to explain it to me. The Pacemaker, when sufficiently low enough will emit a signal much like your car emits a "low on fuel' signal and at this point Medicare will pay. The signal also tells the patient that he needs to get something done. The doctor said that I could have from zero to as much as 7 months battery life left but it depends on how much the battery is used. Left with waiting two or three months almost certainly I am returning to Pattaya. I will get my Pacemaker read monthly until the beeper goes off then I am faced with 2 choices: (1) Get the Pacemaker replaced in Thailand. BHP quoted me a price of 400,000 baht but that was a few months ago. My supplemental insurance may pay something but Medicare will not pay. (2) Fly to either Hawaii or Guam and have it done there as RT airfare is very affordable and Medicare and Supplemental will cover the cost of the procedure but not my travel or lodging costs

Anyone have anything to add?.

[DogNo1]

What would your travel, lodging and incidental costs total? Compare the total to the 400,000 that you would pay in Thailand. Factor in personal convenience and your choice should become apparent. If it were me, I would choose the earlier replacement if I could comfortaby afford it. Good luck!

[taxout]

As I recall, none of the Medicare supplement options pays for overseas treatment if you've been out of the U.S. for more than 60 consecutive days. And I believe they only cover "emergency" care overseas. But perhaps your supplemental coverage is something different.

[akentryan]

Thanks, but I have weighed cost vs benefit as I am a retired CPA. After much searching I finally encountered the term ERI. The "low on fuel" signal is Elective Replacement Indicator and when it turns on Medicare will pay. It also means you have 1 to 3 months of battery life remaining. Hospitals Medtronic recommends in Bangkok include Chula and Samitivej and 3 others. My supplemental insurance will pay in Thailand (confirmed by an e-mail) but I will still have to pay about $5,000.They do some replacements on an outpatient basis now which I would opt for. I still have a house sitting empty in Bang Sue so travel back and forth to Pattaya will be minimal. This debacle of a USA trip will end up costing me about that much but I will get to attend a family reunion before going back.

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2016 by akentryan