3 Tests in 5 days!!!

Nurses Recovery

Published

This program is starting to financially bleed me dry hard core! I've been selected for my 3rd drug screening in FIVE days. And the kicker? Two of them are super expensive blood tests.

For the past year, it's been averaging one a week. Maybe one blood test a month. Now Wednesday I get hit with blood, Thursday I get hit with a pricey urine, and today I get hit with another blood! I'm clean as a whistle, there is absolutely nothing to find. So I'm not stressing about a positive, but I AM stressing about paying $375 in a five business day span.

The only change is that they are voting to take me off of a narc restriction today. I straight up just emailed my case manager, asking her if that was the cause of the uptick. I mean, I'd rather it be a temporary increase rather than a new standard for the next four years. It was expensive enough before...but even working as a nurse with a contributing spouse, I can't afford to keep up this pace indefinitely. That's like a moderate car payment weekly!!!

I doubt I will hear back from my CM. Maybe it will hurt me to have even asked. Whatever. But this has me terrified for my finances and the ability to feed my family AND keep the utilities on.

ETA: no dilutes, no positives...ever

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Specializes in OR.

That is pure harassment. Even the 4 in 9 business day run that I quote on mine only ran $245. And that only happened once. I can't see what dumping your key restriction and this have to do with each other. This sounds like just a pure money grab.

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That is pure harassment. Even the 4 in 9 business day run that I quote on mine only ran $245. And that only happened once. I can't see what dumping your key restriction and this have to do with each other. This sounds like just a pure money grab.

I thought starting and paying for/having witnessed dosing of naltrexone was the hoop I needed to jump thru to drop the key restriction. Apparently not. Increased testing, more dolla dolla bills gone out the window.

I've asked the CM to call me to discuss this. If this pace keeps up, I'm either going to have to request to keep the stinking key restriction, or I'm going to have to pick up an additional 8 hours a week, give or take a few hours, to be able to pay for the new uptick in testing.

As far as I know, they haven't even approved dropping the key restriction yet. That's supposed to go to a vote today. So this still may just be "random".

If I could go back and kick my own stupid a$$ of 18 months ago for getting me into this mess, I would. I certainly wish that I could go back and have a stern come-to-Jesus moment with myself, because Lord knows I would lay into me and set myself straight..but I can't.

All I can do is sit here, nash my teeth into powder, stay clean, and pay the people whatever they want, whenever they want. This feels like it goes beyond securing public safety and into punishment. Maybe I'm wrong about that, I don't know.

End of rant

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What state are you guys in? Why are they doing blood tests? In Texas it's urine only as far as I know and it's either $55 or around 80 if you use an afterhours collection site.

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Specializes in Clinical Leadership, Staff Development, Education.

I had 2 blood tests in same week (PeTH) and I called monitoring lab (Labfirst). It was actually a mistake and the 2nd test was not charged. I think it is certainly OK to question testing that falls this far out of the normal.

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Yeah its totally a money grab. I honestly think these programs often try to soak as much money as they can from people. If the random testing frequency and dates have been turned over to a 3rd party lab that is also cashing the checks you can bet its a money grab pure and simple. I budget $300 a month for testing and that has been pretty close to the mark most months. I often feel lucky when I hear of some of the extreme testing that is done on folks. This program has many faults and I honestly think quite a few are tied to money and the third parties that cash the checks. My experience with the rehab industry tells me they are slimy snake oil salesmen who will say you need more treatment until the cash stops rolling in. I've seen people summarily kicked out of rehab because they couldn't pay and their insurance wouldn't anymore regardless of need. Imagine doing that to an unstable patient in a hospital. Its not treatment done by medical professionals but a shakedown done by 12 step thugs.

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Specializes in OR.

The stockholders/owners of the 3rd party testing management companies (Affinity, Recovery Trek, etc.) probably make an appalling amount of money by this form of semi-legal extortion (I say semi-legal because no one outside of the nursing universe comprehends how any of this passes for legal). I certainly believe that with a little research, one would find that the names of individuals with ownership interests in these testing management companies would match the names of affiliates with some of the peer assistance programs and/or BONs, either past or present. Not so much a conspiracy theory but a demonstration of conflict of interest.....but we don't ever see that in any of this, now do we????

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I've already been picked SEVEN times in a 2 week period. I was fuming!

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Specializes in Emergency.

Yes...it is completely about the money...do the math...usually when I haven't been "chosen" to P "enough" times in a month (randomly according to contract of course) I am often hit with the "3 in a week" scenario...and yes it is totally abhorrent and yes it is completely without evidence etc...but please do not waste your time and life energy trying to get anything like assistance or compassion from any of these snake oil case managers...you will be met by the blank wordless stare of yet another 12 step automaton that in most cases refuses to do the basic math that shows this atrocity for what-as stated so eloquently above by my fellow posters-is.

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Specializes in Emergency.
I've already been picked SEVEN times in a 2 week period. I was fuming!

When you are a number on a ledger quotas matter...no more no less...money needs to be balanced at the end of each quarter...I would never have thought my piss was worth so much!

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Specializes in OR.
When you are a number on a ledger quotas matter...no more no less...money needs to be balanced at the end of each quarter...I would never have thought my piss was worth so much!

Sometimes I have to laugh at all of this because I no longer have any other emotion left. Crying, shock, disbelief and hope that it was all a mistake went out the window a long time ago. I think I might be paraphrasing the sentiments of Orwell's 1984.....come to think of it, as I recall, Winston couldn't get a straight answer from his captors either, right?

****wanders off to find copy of book to re-read.

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Do you all have it stated in your contracts how many drug screens you will have per year? I mean, good grief! If you get picked 7 times in 2 weeks, how many do you do in a year's time? That sounds absolutely ridiculous.

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