would you spend the $400?

[mamashark]

So we have the first half of the neuropsych testing for my daughter this week, and we have to make the decision as to whether we want to pay the $400 out of pocket for the academic testing or just do the other tests that the insurance will cover... I'm torn - and part of it is that we won't have the extra $400 until probably January, so we'd be looking at carrying that on our credit card until January. Or we just do all the rest of the testing and don't get the academic specific stuff, since I'm sure I'll get a lot of helpful info anyway that will apply to the academics...

What would you do? would you spend the money knowing you would be carrying that balance on a credit card for 6 months?

[Pen]

Is it now or never?  If you can wait on other parts for possible future I’d get whatever you can get covered and defer other parts rather than carry a credit card balance.

If for some reason there’s huge urgency and it’s an emergency to do it now ...   but ... it probably isn’t an emergency.    ?

[Arcadia]

3 hours ago, mamashark said:

would you spend the money knowing you would be carrying that balance on a credit card for 6 months?

 

No. The compound interest is not worth it for academic testing. I would wait until January and get all those tests that your insurance fully covers done first. I would put aside some money if possible every pay check in the meantime.

If it was a medical emergency instead of academic testing, I would be asking my parents for a gift of $400 because they would want to help out.

We waited a year to do WISC testing for both our kids because it was $1,100 total for both kids out of pocket as it was out of network. We did file a claim and got some reimbursement.

[Lecka]

No.  

[mamashark]

ok, that's what I was thinking. I was just bemoaning the fact that I couldn't get it all done at once, but honestly, if I'm not willing to dip into the emergency fund for it, why should I carry the interest on it? 

I'll see if I can get that portion done later in the year, or how it would work to complete that part separately another time.

Thanks for the input!

[Storygirl]

What about getting academic testing through the public school?

I do think that the neuropsych will be able to give you better information, if they are able to finish the testing. Sometimes they will look at testing from the school instead of doing it themselves. So I would ask about that.

And also explain the finances (if you haven't already) and ask if you can postpone the rest of the testing until January and get a revised report at that time. They may say there will be too big of a gap between testing sessions. But maybe not!

Edited July 17, 2019 by Storygirl

[Storygirl]

Although I am typically anti-debt, I would also consider the money that you have already invested in the first part of the testing. If you can't add on more testing later and still get a thorough report from the NP, would that make the money you have spent so far wasteful? I mean that if you have to repeat this round of testing that you just did, later on, in order to get a full report, that would require paying a second time.

There are some diagnoses that are made when the psychologist looks at the variance between the cognitive testing and the academic achievement testing. And the IQ testing is only considered valid for a certain period of time before needing to be redone.

So I think there are reasons why it might be a better financial choice to get the full report now. Because there would be a greater expense if you wait and have to redo it all.

[Storygirl]

And I would also say it would depend upon what learning or developmental issues you suspect, and whether the testing that has already happened can answer those questions for you.

My experience skews my opinions, though, because when my kids have had testing, I have ended up getting some results that have surprised me and that I would not have predicted. So I wouldn't have been able to completely predict what part of the testing would show important results.

[PeterPan]

I guess I'm unclear what testing the psych is doing and not doing. Maybe list it out and it will be obvious? I don't get why the psych would even schedule you if the testing isn't going to be adequate to diagnose whatever she's evaling for. And if it's adequate, then the rest is bonus.

Achievement testing is used for reading the tea leaves, considering SLDs. I think you could make the decision once you get into it and see what's coming up. You could go through the ps for achievement testing. 

And no, I would not go into debt for it. Yell at your insurance if there's a reason it should be done or go through the ps.

Edited July 17, 2019 by PeterPan

[mamashark]

I suspect dyslexia, and am looking for as much information as I can get to help me help her learn and to enjoy learning. Right now she tends to be emotionally immature and has weak executive skills, and will do anything she can to get out of "hard work" whether chores or school... but school at least is just really difficult for her even after a lot of work with Barton and other interventions.  We have a tourettes diagnosis and we are ruling out co-morbid stuff like ocd, adhd, and learning disabilities, mainly based on my concern about how difficult school is for her. I do not suspect adhd, that's just one that the neurologist said is common. I don't have a list of the tests, but rather a list of the 'categories' of tests - so we are getting cognitive functioning, social and emotional functioning, attention and executive functioning and behavior rating scales. The only thing we can't get through insurance is the academic functioning tests. Part of me feels like we don't need those scores because I know how she's functioning academically (aprox. K level reading and writing, 1st grade math) - and part of me feels like if we are taking the time to get it all done now, we might as well finish it now and get the most complete picture. 

So we only have spent out of pocket the co-pays, which all told will only cost us about $120. And to be fair, we would probably take the money from emergency rather than carry the balance, so we'd end up just having to refill the emergency fund in January. It feels a little unfair, I guess, because we had a mental health crisis for my older daughter a few weeks ago and as we are working through all of the impact of that, we spent a lot of our emergency fund on making some changes to the kids rooms, and appointments for her with various people. We were on the wait list for the testing, expecting it around January, and got called for a cancelation, so now we are looking at having to make this financial decision in the middle of all the rest of everything going on, instead of it all happening when we would have had the money in the budget anyway.

[Kanin]

If you already know her academic levels, you're not going to get much more info than you already know by doing the academic testing. The psych testing is the really important stuff... you'll find out about dyslexia and more from that. 

I do like seeing the academic testing, and it's nice to re-test a year or two or three later, but I wouldn't say it's absolutely necessary. 🙂

[PeterPan]

The whole thing sounds fishy. How does a psych diagnose/exclude SLDs without achievement testing??? 

[Heathermomster]

If money is an issue, save and get the full and appropriate testing in January.

BTW, the worst NP we ever used was paid for by insurance.  I would describe that experience as fast food drive up service.  Insurance does not fully pay them like a private psych so they are compelled to see multiple patients.  

[Storygirl]

3 hours ago, PeterPan said:

The whole thing sounds fishy. How does a psych diagnose/exclude SLDs without achievement testing??? 

I agree with this. Has the NP said that the achievement testing is optional, and that they can make the diagnosis without it?

It sounds like there could be some complex things going on, with multiple diagnoses possible. Personally, I would do as much testing as possible, to get the best answers possible.

Edited July 17, 2019 by Storygirl

[katilac]

I would want to knock it out all at once if I intended to get it done. That way I don't have to think about it, and I don't have to find time in January to get it done. 

If I wanted to wait, I would make sure that $400 will still be the cost if I do it separately. 

[Pen]

6 hours ago, mamashark said:

I suspect dyslexia, and am looking for as much information as I can get to help me help her learn and to enjoy learning. Right now she tends to be emotionally immature and has weak executive skills, and will do anything she can to get out of "hard work" whether chores or school... but school at least is just really difficult for her even after a lot of work with Barton and other interventions.  We have a tourettes diagnosis and we are ruling out co-morbid stuff like ocd, adhd,

 

Are there ocd symptoms? Anxiety?

ADHD Can often present differently than “typical” picture in most pop culture when it’s in girls. 

6 hours ago, mamashark said:

and learning disabilities, mainly based on my concern about how difficult school is for her. I do not suspect adhd, that's just one that the neurologist said is common. I don't have a list of the tests, but rather a list of the 'categories' of tests - so we are getting cognitive functioning, social and emotional functioning, attention and executive functioning and behavior rating scales. The only thing we can't get through insurance is the academic functioning tests. Part of me feels like we don't need those scores because I know how she's functioning academically (aprox. K level reading and writing, 1st grade math) - and part of me feels like if we are taking the time to get it all done now, we might as well finish it now and get the most complete picture. 

So we only have spent out of pocket the co-pays, which all told will only cost us about $120. And to be fair, we would probably take the money from emergency rather than carry the balance, so we'd end up just having to refill the emergency fund in January. It feels a little unfair, I guess, because we had a mental health crisis for my older daughter a few weeks ago and as we are working through all of the impact of that, we spent a lot of our emergency fund on making some changes to the kids rooms, and appointments for her with various people.

 

That’s a lot to have going on.

6 hours ago, mamashark said:

We were on the wait list for the testing, expecting it around January, and got called for a cancelation, so now we are looking at having to make this financial decision in the middle of all the rest of everything going on, instead of it all happening when we would have had the money in the budget anyway.

 

Maybe wait for January appointment instead of taking the cancellation.

not just for financial reason but because of everything that’s going on

and crisis with other child plus changes may affect this one

[PeterPan]

5 hours ago, Storygirl said:

Personally, I would do as much testing as possible, to get the best answers possible.

With someone else.

[PeterPan]

7 hours ago, Heathermomster said:

BTW, the worst NP we ever used was paid for by insurance.  I would describe that experience as fast food drive up service.  Insurance does not fully pay them like a private psych so they are compelled to see multiple patients.  

Exactly, nothing MamaShark is saying adds up. I've NEVER had a psych willing to speak to SLDs without seeing achievement testing. The whole thing sounds fast food and absurd, which means the results will be inaccurate, which means she shouldn't put a dime into it.