Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Some Random Thoughts from My Soapbox

It was another 'fun' day in Kay's World as I mustered my courage to deal with bureaucracy and assorted other nonsense on the never-ending list of gottados.
(Why do I have the urge to have a good stiff drink before I deal with some of these people?) And I didn't get it all done. Sigh.

* I spent over TWO hours on the phone with Medicare trying figure out what I have and don't have for coverage. Some of it came as a huge surprise to me. I don't know about y'all, but when I first got Medicare I was bombarded with enough paper from various medical companies to decimate several forests. I didn't bother to look at moat of it. And finally, I just opened mail from Medicare or CMS which usually tells me little or nothing. It turns out that because I am low income, I was assigned Part D coverage but never was notified of it and never got a card which angers me because I've been paying more than I should for my prescriptions. This Medicare stuff is so damned confusing that they need a class called Medicare 101 to clarify it. I am a pretty intelligent, well-educated person and if I find it difficult to navigate, I can only imagine how many people find it a challenge. The good news was that the ladies I talked with were patient, courteous and knowledgeable when I explained my plight.

* Question to y'all: Is a Medicare Advantage plan worth it? I talked with someone about it briefly and need to check to see which one(s) my doctor takes. (Y'all can email me at the addy in the sidebar if you have a lot to say about it.) I really do want to hear what y'all have experienced with it.

* The bad news is that I still have to make some more bureaucracy calls tomorrow if I can muster the courage. Argh!!! Then again, I might actually get through to talk to someone without sitting on hold for 45 minutes since most people will be getting ready for Turkey Day.

* I'm going to be doing my usual routine on Thanksgiving Day and volunteering at my parish's dinner for the homeless and hungry. I hope we don't have to turn anyone away. With 12% unemployment here and no end in sight there are many who will be in need. I haven't decided what my Thanksgiving dinner will be -- prolly what ever I scavenge from the fridge 'cause I'm damned if I'm walking in a grocery store today.

* AND y'all know I won't participate in Black Friday -- there's nothing I want so badly that I would risk life and limb to get it. I think that I'm just going to mostly ignore the holidays.

There were a couple other things on my alleged mind that seem to have disappeared (I gotta start taking notes) and it's the wee hours and I'm finally tired -- if my sleep patterns ever get back to normal it will be a miracle -- so I'm going niters.

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!

Kay

9 comments:

  1. I'll be going out on Black Friday but not to any of the scary stores. I'm staying away from Walmart, that's for sure.

    I'm sorry you're having to deal with that Madicare bureaucracy. My husband has had to work with it, too and probably got a few more gray hairs.

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  2. my husband has a Medicare advantage plan through Pacific Care --- its a really good one but her only has it because the company he retired from (IBM) pays for a lot of it (and it still costs us every month) Its a plan where he pays a certain copay for each service --- even so, we use the local $4 per generic RX every chance we get because $4 is cheaper than $10.

    I, on the other hand, have NO insurance now, so I'm dealing with what Alan Grayson refers to as the Republican plan --- "Don't get sick"

    good luck sorting it all out Kay, and having a Happy Thanksgiving -- you're doing a good thing helping others

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  3. Medicare is very confusing to sign up for and that's irritating. We do have an Advantage plan and I know that some of the help for Medicare comes in supplements based on income so if a person qualifies, that can give coverage at a low or even no cost. My doctor told me that you can get around the having a yearly (or ever) physical limitation (medicare doesn't cover one) if you are on prescriptions as doctors need to check on how they are doing and that basically amounts to a physical.

    When we signed up last year for Medicare, I thought we would stay with what we had for awhile but didn't work out that way. It all changed this year and we had to figure it all out again-- which is why I favor single payer health coverage which might make even the Congressmen care about how good it is if they are on it too.

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  4. Kay, without evening finishing reading your post I'm jumping in to say DON'T GET LOCKED INTO MED ADVANTAGE! AARP did us a real disservice when they went along with that gig. My first year on that plan almost bankrupt us with the copay on Rx alone. Sure you don't pay a monthly premium, but you pay through the nose for Rx. If you have a community office for help in maneuvering the health care options, call them. Ours referred us to an independent insurance agent who helped steer us to the best plan for us (we both had preexisting conditions) plus a separate provider for Rx. Even though our monthly premium seemed expensive at first (as opposed to $0) it was far better and less expensive in the long run. It took nine months to reach the doughnut hole, and we didn't have any extra money for anything that year. Now I'm going to finish the post.

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  5. Happy Thanksgiving, sweetie.
    I am thankful for Kay's Thinking Cap. you are a gem for a friend.
    hugs
    ~a

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  6. It is all pretty confusing. I have medicare and supplement with Kaiser. I have hit my out of pocket already for the year so I stopped getting charged for my infusions which run about $3800 a month.
    My plan is called senior advantage silver, not sure if it's similar or not.
    Good luck with it all, lots of good advice here.
    I'm with you and holidays, I sorta wish we'd just skip them. I've always felt this way but seems to be getting worse now that my son lives away from home.
    Volunteering is a wonderful thing to do!

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  7. My in laws had to go thru the hours of paperwork for Medicare. What a nightmare, I feel for you.

    I stay away from all stores on black friday week end, like you there is nothing I want that bad.

    Our Thanksgiving will be a quiet one with a small lunch/dinner. We also will be in front of the TV for Raider football. I hope your parish will have enough food for all who come. May the blessings of the loaves and fishes go into effect for you.

    Hang in there, kiddo. We are taking 4 days off, the first in a long time, so I will try to blog a few times.

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  8. I am one of the 'Hurrah for Jan 2nd club' which celebrates the holidays being history. Maybe in my next life, they will be a joyous occasion! Hang in there...one of my favorite sayings is, 'This Too Shall Pass.

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  9. I think women, who come precoded with the caring DNA, get stressed out far more than men.

    No scratch that "think"...I KNOW.

    We have about another 10 years before tackling the Medicare Maze, but I will be grateful if the program still exists in 10 years.

    Hugs to you as a late Turkey Day sentiment!

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