eyedrb has claimed this numerous times in this section. I've asked for 1 single shred of evidence supporting this claim because my somewhat half-hearted attempts to verify this claim have proved unsuccessful. I want to believe this guy, but barring any sort of anything from a reputable source, I just can't.

[Edited on June 1, 2009 at 1:42 PM. Reason : also, thread subject/thread creator irony is at an alltime high here]

6/1/2009 1:41:40 PM

good lord.

Rogaine is NOT finasteride. One is a topical the other is oral.

Finasteride is covered by all states medicaid plans.

6/1/2009 1:46:36 PM

Ok, so is medicaid being wasted on finasteride for hair, and if so, to what extent is it being wasted?

6/1/2009 1:51:11 PM

I dunno the extent, I only work in two different offices, but it is happening.

But like I told you in the PM, I would think it would be pretty easy to see the extent of the fraud if they wanted to. Simply search teh amount of people on finasteride under the age of 50. The number should be pretty darn close, esp the younger they got.

6/1/2009 1:54:44 PM

Ok, so how often do you see it? Per how many patients? How much waste are we talking about per year in your state? $100? $200? $nukednorthkorea?

6/1/2009 1:56:07 PM

in our offices I see a handful a year.. maybe 10-15 or so. Like I said in the PM, they will tell you that they are taking it for hairloss. The reason I ask them is bc you dont see younger patients taking that medicine.

[Edited on June 1, 2009 at 2:00 PM. Reason : .]

6/1/2009 1:59:46 PM

10-15 out of how many?

6/1/2009 2:02:50 PM

I see 20-30 a day, all are not medicaid.

6/1/2009 2:08:31 PM

I'll take the fact that you haven't yet and don't appear willing to make a strong case for your argument that medicaid spent on hair loss is such a miniscule waste that our efforts are much better spent looking at other areas of the health care system.


This thread can be locked and/or trashed for all I care.

6/1/2009 2:10:20 PM

As ive said all along, and you denied, was that the point is that we are paying for hair pills for people on medicaid. The amount of fraud is not a concern to me, I was simply proving my point and Im glad you have conceded. What it does is illustrates the lack of oversight govt agencies use when spending our money. It would be easy to set a program to flag finasteride perscriptions filled for those under a certain age. Maybe its not fraud in the 10s of millions of dollars, but its still fraud. Ive seen it.

6/1/2009 2:19:49 PM

How do we know the pennies we are paying for hair loss pills doesn't save a ton on depression pills? Medicaid will pay for prosthetics to the tune of big time dollars when someone loses a limb, why shouldn't hair be any different?

6/1/2009 2:21:36 PM

so you think medicaid should pay for hair pieces and transplants now? classic

6/1/2009 3:39:35 PM

I take it you don't think medicaid should pay for prosthetic limbs, no?

6/1/2009 3:43:31 PM

limbs are ok. honestly, medicaid should pay for hair pieces and transplants? On what grounds? How can you possible support that?

haha, you got your arguement from your google searches huh.

[Edited on June 1, 2009 at 4:36 PM. Reason : .]

6/1/2009 4:22:54 PM

You are conveniently ignoring the "depression" aspect of my post. If it is significantly or even modestly cheaper to pay for some inexpensive propecia pills versus someone that for whatever reason becomes completely debilitated because of their hair loss, then it's a net gain to society. Do you have a counter argument or is it just going to be "they need to man the fuck up about their lost hair?"

You're whole point has been completely discredited as it seems like the cost to society for these pills is effectively nil. Now you're just arguing ideology and we already know where you stand. But apparently it's cool to pay for a limb if it makes someone more productive, but not for hair pills if it makes someone more productive. Only an idiot couldn't see the hole in that logic.

6/1/2009 4:49:51 PM

hahah, yeah the "depression" aspect of it all. Why not have medicaid pay for them to go on a shopping trip or buy a brand new car then. Listen to yourself failboat. Medicaid is supposed to be "basic" healthcare for the poor. Providing hairpills, hair transplants, or hairpieces are far from necessities and are rarely covered by insurances that people PAY for.

Having a limb that allows you to walk, would qualify as a necessity in my book. Being able to see hair when you look in the mirror doesnt. If you have the money to pay for this LUXURY then go for it, but expect taxpayers to pay for it is fucking absurd.

6/1/2009 5:13:04 PM

we over-medicate in this country. we would be better off if some people went to a psychiatrist every now and then. why do you think we have so many people on prozac, etc? because it's cheaper than actually dealing with their problems.

[Edited on June 1, 2009 at 5:15 PM. Reason : note: this has nothing to do with rogaine or even medicaid speicifically]

6/1/2009 5:14:58 PM

^but a good point though sarijoul. While I agree we over medicate, im not sure if that is the cause or the symptom of the real problem. People are impatient, lazy, and WANT to be as irresponsible as they can get away with. Pills are easy, changing your destructive lifestyle is a bit harder.

There was a study done that polled doctors and patients before an actual exam of thier expectations. THe doctors thought the patients just wanted pills, the patients wanted an explaination and SOME form of treatment. In my opinion I think it shows how the doctors get a skewed sense of reality from their patients. The ones we see all the time are usually the ones who dont do what they should be doing, so that starts to alter our view of patients.

6/1/2009 5:25:32 PM

finasteride is usually prescribed for prostate problems. it's ability to make hair grow back is just another added benefit, but that's not usually why it's prescribed.

6/1/2009 5:42:10 PM

Quote :

"Why not have medicaid pay for them to go on a shopping trip or buy a brand new car then."

Because those aren't sustainable cures for depression? I had a feeling you'd take this line of thought. Why should we bother with prosthetics then? I mean, tough shit if a dude loses his hair just like if a dude loses his arm. Just because many people deal with hair loss just fine doesn't mean everyone deals with hair loss. I like how you are treating lightly the fact that the cost of the propecia to society in some cases is probably miniscule compared to the cost of the depression. When you graduate from eye doctor from some podunk school in Tennessee to a therapist, we might care what you have to say about depression.

Quote :

"Providing hairpills, hair transplants, or hairpieces are far from necessities and are rarely covered by insurances that people PAY fo"

This bullshit is simply not true. The insurance I was last paying for granted me 100 massages a year if I wanted to use them.

Quote :

"Having a limb that allows you to walk, would qualify as a necessity in my book."

Who are you to determine necessities?

Quote :

"Being able to see hair when you look in the mirror doesnt."

Someone that has a profession that is dependent on their appearance absolutely needs to see hair when they look in the mirror.

Quote :

"If you have the money to pay for this LUXURY then go for it, but expect taxpayers to pay for it is fucking absurd."

Holy shit, so hair is now a luxury? I thought you cried about nanny state this nanny state that, now you're telling me its a luxury to try to hang on to what hair I have left?

6/1/2009 9:00:31 PM

Quote :

"Holy shit, so hair is now a luxury?"

Fail

6/1/2009 9:23:44 PM

Failboat you have lost your fucking mind.

I tell you what, why dont you trade in your arm or leg for some hair, see which one has more value.

Well since we have officially stopped the war on terror, we can take up failboats new cause, The War on Baldness.

Quote :

"Who are you to determine necessities?"

Well if the options are between you and I, we better stick with the one that isnt batshit crazy and believe HAIR is a necessity...im just saying.

Quote :

"now you're telling me its a luxury to try to hang on to what hair I have left? "

Im sure as shit telling you that you losing your hair isnt MY problem and sure as hell not the taxpayers problem.

Just curious, do you still have your massage providing insurance?

6/1/2009 10:24:09 PM

Eleusis, look up Propecia

6/1/2009 10:26:24 PM

can you prove that it is being prescribed for hairloss and not for the benefits to the prostrate gland?

6/1/2009 10:30:12 PM

Quote :

"The insurance I was last paying for granted me 100 massages a year if I wanted to use them. "

This may not apply to your plan (depending on which state you live in and what type of plan you have), but some states mandate all insurance plans (individual and small-group plans under their purview) cover massage therapy. In these cases, necessity is often determined by lobbyists.

[Edited on June 1, 2009 at 11:01 PM. Reason : .]

6/1/2009 10:38:33 PM

Quote :

"thread subject/thread creator irony is at an alltime high here"

pretty much

6/1/2009 10:53:21 PM

Quote :

"I tell you what, why dont you trade in your arm or leg for some hair, see which one has more value."

strawman

Quote :

"Well since we have officially stopped the war on terror, we can take up failboats new cause, The War on Baldness."

ad hominem

Quote :

"Well if the options are between you and I, we better stick with the one that isnt batshit crazy and believe HAIR is a necessity...im just saying."

ad hominem

Quote :

"Im sure as shit telling you that you losing your hair isnt MY problem and sure as hell not the taxpayers problem."

Neither is you losing your arm MY problem and sure as hell not the taxpayers problem.

Quote :

"Just curious, do you still have your massage providing insurance?"

As soon as this HCTC kicks in, yup!

Quote :

"can you prove that it is being prescribed for hairloss and not for the benefits to the prostrate gland?"

As best as I can tell, and he is being purposefully obtuse about this, is he has seen what he claims is 10-15 in a year but what is probably more like 1 that have it prescribed and claimed it was for hair loss and not prostate. He then asked TSB awhile back where the outrage was for this. I gave him benefit of the doubt that our good tax dollars were in fact being allocated in this way and to such an extent that I should be rightly upset about it. I saw him make reference to this a few times in the past months. Finally, for some reason I tried to google for it and couldn't find one iota of anything that led me to believe medicaid for hair loss was a real problem that anyone other than some douche doctor having to deal with rural Tennessee's finest should be concerned with. I informed him that I couldn't find anything and surely he had some links to some sort of wingnut website dealing with this issue. Crickets.

It's a non issue plain and simple. And until I get something other than "i swar i dun seen it with mah own eyes", I'm treating it as such.

6/1/2009 11:10:33 PM

thought as much.

6/2/2009 12:08:07 AM

this is a nice PM conversation between Fail Boat and eyedrb that happens to be a thread

6/2/2009 1:55:27 AM

1:55am James?

6/2/2009 7:35:41 AM

6/2/2009 8:36:13 AM

Quote :

"As soon as this HCTC kicks in, yup! "

Awesome. Enjoy your taxpayer supported massage.


Tree, this is how it started on PM, but someone decided they needed some backup.

6/2/2009 9:09:59 AM

Quote :

"Awesome. Enjoy your taxpayer supported massage."

Oh don't you worry. I'm living the American dream thanks to your political ideology!

6/2/2009 9:41:06 AM

Well you will have a tough time getting a job if your comprehension level tells you that my political ideology is living off of taxpayers and not producing.

I do wish you good luck though.

Quote :

"douche doctor having to deal with rural Tennessee's finest"

Insulting a doctor and other people who arent working like yourself. Did that make you feel any better about yourself? I actually do think you might need some therapy hoss. Or perhaps, you should use your time more wisely.

6/2/2009 10:11:35 AM

Quote :

"Well you will have a tough time getting a job if your comprehension level tells you that my political ideology is living off of taxpayers and not producing."

Is that what you think I meant with my last comment? Rofl, you're dumber than I thought.

Quote :

"Did that make you feel any better about yourself?"

Nothing about this website makes me feel better or worse, it's an entertainment diversion for the most part.

Quote :

"I actually do think you might need some therapy hoss."

Everyone needs therapy. If anything, it's the guy wearing the tin hat making these comments and getting worked up over 1 person using medicaid for baldness that needs it more than anyone else.

6/2/2009 12:51:02 PM

i'm not even 30 yet and i have hairloss (starting around 18 years old). know what i did about it? i didn't cry or drug up... i just got a short haircut and said to hell with it.



[Edited on June 2, 2009 at 5:03 PM. Reason : ]

6/2/2009 5:02:44 PM

I have even less hair now.


Anyway, how serious are politicians about fixing medicaid? I know of a situation where two parents have joint custody of a child, and the dad pays for "real" insurance on his kid through work. The mother, however, is poor and her family qualifies for medicaid, and she insists on using medicaid when she takes her kid into the doctor (which is always an urgent care or ER visit because this girl is white trash like that)

How is it allowed for a person to be fully insured yet still qualify for Medicaid?

10/22/2014 11:39:28 AM

health insurance is billed first, then medicaid

coinsurance isn't fraud

10/22/2014 12:01:41 PM

no, the mom uses medicaid as the primary.

10/22/2014 12:21:09 PM

do you know that for a fact? because the doctor office's billing department would need to be complicit in that fraud, they have to bill the primary insurance first.

are you sure that medicaid is not just covering their copays and you are misinformed?

10/22/2014 12:23:05 PM

yes I do. the mother in no way acknowledges that the father has full insurance for the kid.

10/22/2014 12:24:57 PM

report the fraud then

10/22/2014 12:27:25 PM

not my place.

10/22/2014 1:02:36 PM

Maybe the mom just doesn't know.

10/22/2014 1:18:56 PM

lol she knows. she doesn't want to use the real insurance because she would have a copay.
(or more of one? i don't know how medicaid works)

The problem is that the mom don't have a general pediatrician for the kid. they go to urgent care or the ER (which adds tremendous cost to medicaid) for illnesses, and next to no routine/preventative care. luckily the dad has stepped up on that end.

[Edited on October 22, 2014 at 1:22 PM. Reason : ]

10/22/2014 1:20:39 PM