Thursday, April 5, 2012

Tdap smack

My 12 year old has to get the Tdap shot. Right in the rooster. At least that's what I am telling him because it is really fun to watch him squirm.

"Am I gonna have to pull down my pants?" he asks uncomfortably.
"Yessiree. To the ankles, my boy."  Mean, I know.

So I called to get an appointment. Because we are in between insurances now, I wanted to know how much it was going to cost me.

"Well, some doctors, if they know you are self-pay will give you the free shot and charge you the $12 administration fee. While others will give you the regular shot which costs $35 plus a $35 administration fee," she explained.

Huh?

I understand the name brand shot costing more. That's just common sense

"Why in the world does it cost more to administer the name brand shot than it does the generic?"  I am pretty sure the same nurse will be administering whatever shot I choose. She will be walking the same distance from the medicine cabinet to our room. You can count on them giving the same standard circle band-aid that they give for every shot. It's pretty basic. Pretty much aim and shoot, right?

Of course I would go with the cheaper shot...right? But then I got to thinking...maybe there is something special that makes the second shot worth the extra $60 that they aren't telling us about.

 Like, maybe it turns your skin green for a few hours. But that wouldn't make sense because the shot is in the rump and who are you gonna show. "Hey, Best Friend! I got this really cool shot. It changes my skin green. Wanna see?"

No. Not worth the extra money.

Well, maybe it is a stronger dose. So strong that you are guaranteed not to get sick for 2 years. But what doctor's office would do that? Hello! They would lose money. And with my family, lots of it. Yeah, not good for business. I doubt they would offer that.

Maybe they give you a drink of water after the shot? A $60 cup of water? What? They do that all the time in the hospital after you have a baby. "You want some apple juice with ice? No problem. A binkie for your baby? Sure. An extra blanket, no problem." Yeah, no problem until you see the bill.

So pretty much it was a no brainer. We are getting the $12 shot.

Right in the gooser!

Hooking up with Jen Matlock's ABC Thursday...the letter T. 

**Reminder: Tomorrow is "I Learned It From My Kids" hook up. If you wanna link a post to mine, you will have the opportunity. 

9 comments:

CB said...

I don't know why the whole dang thing has to be so complicated. It is probably the same stuff in both shots.
It's all mind games to drive mom's crazy I tell you!

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

Isn't fun to mess with your kids once in a while? tee hee...

Juli said...

I opt out of the Optional shots for the kids. They have had all the big ones mind you, but Youngest ALWAYS has his Autism triggers set off when he gets a shot. ALWAYS.

It's just not worth it to keep him from getting sick. Especially since in the last 3 years, he's only been sick in bed once.

anitamombanita said...

mean mom! Love it.

Melanie said...

Poor Dude! I was go with the cheepo too.

Susan Anderson said...

That's crazy. But typical for doctor's expenses, right? They rarely made a lot of sense.

"/

To the Toy Box and Beyond said...

did they actually give him the shot in the butt?

Unknown said...

You are probably best off with the cheaper of the 2, it's what the majority get & they're all fine.... Well most of them;-)

Jenny said...

I haven't even heard of this shot. Gosh, I am soooo behind the times!

Young families today have so many choices...and with all the media hype on everything it must be hard to know what to do!

I hope his tooshie isn't sore, though!

Thanks for a terrific link to the letter "T".

A+