Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! 

The deed is done! I have spent so much time and effort in the last six months trying to figure out Medicare Parts A, B, & D. Then figuring out Medicare Supplemental Insurance (Medigap Insurance), Medicare Advantage Plans and Prescription drug plans offered by various insurance companies and comparing them.  I decided that the Humana Medicare Advantage Plan would suit us best but I just wasn't sure. So this afternoon the Humana Rep came out to our house and we went over the various plans and yes, the Humana Advantage plan was what we needed. The prescription coverage is included. The price is right, the co-pays and deductibles are not excessive compared to other companies. So the Rep filled out the application online and we will be contacted to confirm the application within 2 weeks and then we will receive our Humana cards which will be effective February 1. I told JMM that if this plan doesn't work out and he wants to change it, he will have to do the research and fill out the forms and deal with it because I am finished! Hallelujah!

Wow! Oh, Wow!

I was so prepared for the Supreme Court to rule against the Affordable Health Care Act. I am just astounded that they ruled the whole thing constitutional. Yes!! Of course, the hate mongers are going to try to get it repealed. I wonder how people can really want their fellow citizens to suffer and die without access to healthcare. Anyway, I am so happy that this small step in the right direction was upheld. Wow! Oh, Wow!

A Trip to the ER

For 43 years DH's response to "Don't you think you should go to the doctor??" has always been an irritable,  "No, I don't need to go to the doctor!"  So when he was in bed groaning that he had hurt his back, hip, and leg while using the shovel to dig a hole to plant a tree, I was surprised that he answered in the affirmative that he indeed did need to see the doctor.  At 9am I made the appointment with the doctor for 3pm--6 hours to wait.  But at 11am he was in such pain that I suggested I take him in to the ER and he agreed.  He has never been in an ER in his 64 years.  I had to dress him and get his shoes on as he couldn't bend to put them on himself.  He was able to slowly hobble out to the van and off we went. They took him right in to an exam room and the ER doctor examined and questioned him carefully.  He determined that it was a nerve injury at the ileo-sacral joint.  60mg injection of Toradol, 5mg oral Valium and waited 30 minutes--some relief. 4mg injection of morphine--much relief.  I dropped the prescriptions off at the pharmacy on the way home, got him settled in the recliner, and went back for the prescription Naproxen, Valium, and Tylenol #3 and a new ice bag for his back.  By the time I got back, he was feeling much better and was very mellow from the Valium.  I made scrambled eggs and toast for dinner, got him in bed, cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, and collapsed into bed myself.  Today he has some numbness and tenderness in his right leg, but he is able to move slowly without pain.

We are both aware that the situation would have been much different if we were one of the 1 in 4 Texans without health insurance.  At least the president and the Democrats are trying to get health care for everyone.  Thanks a lot Republicans, I'll remember you at the polls.

Compassion

This past year has a difficult year for me physically. It has been a year that has made me ever more aware of suffering in the world. Around us every day there are people who are suffering physically and mentally; they go about their lives doing the best they can. This year has made me so very aware of the need for kindness, gentleness, and compassion.

I have insurance and a loving husband and daughter. But so many these days do not. How could I have paid my $35,000 hospital bill if I did not have insurance?? How would I have been treated if I had no job and no insurance? Even if I were to find a doctor to test, diagnose, and treat me, how much more worry and stress it would have been if I had to find a way to keep the bills paid. There must be a better way to provide healthcare.

Open Enrollment Time

It is open enrollment time at my place of employment. I've been reading through the benefits package and trying to make sence it all.

There are certainly changes in the health care plans available but the one that impacts us is the spousal insurance. For the last 19 years I have carried JMM on my insurance policy at a nominal increase in the price of the policy. Now it will cost an additional $100 per pay period since he is eligible to have his own insurance at his place of employment. So I have to figure out which would be the best plan for us 1) keep him on my policy 2) each of us have a separate policy 3) move me to his policy. Time to make a spreadsheet of costs and benefits.

The deductible on my insurance drops by $500 if I do a Personal Wellness Profile and a Biometric Screening. This is height, weight, waist circumference and glucose and lipid levels. My weight is within acceptable levels as are my glucose and lipid levels. These are confidential and are not required to get insurance but as I said will drop my yearly deductible. I definitely plan to do this as it costs me nothing and will save me money.

Trying to figure out the Flexible Spending Account is always a challenge since my crystal ball is a bit murky. Have to total up 1. Prescription co-pays for a year. 2. Dental co-pays and I need one bit of dental work 3. Eye exam and new lenses for one of us. 4. Deductible. (BTW, over the counter drugs are no longer eligible for FSA reimbursement.)

Well, back to the spreadsheet and the crystal ball.

(Later)
Sticker shock!!
Health insurance for me & JMM currently $183.44 per two week pay period. New premium for the two of us: $333.76
New premium for me only: $70.27

Next step: Find out how much JMM's health insurance would cost for him alone and how much for both of us.

I'm beginning to wish I'd never heard of

Health Care Reform. I'm really unhappy with the idea of the IRS fining you if you don't have health insurance. But then I'm really unhappy with any bill the insurance industry is happy with. I look at the mess we got into when the government decided that everyone should own a home. I look at FEMA or take a trip to the Post Office and decide that most likely health care will get worse the more the government gets involved. One thing is for sure, there will be more money going out of my pocket. We are a two high income couple and we are considered fair game any way the health care debate goes.

National Healthcare

Is this ever a topic to ruminate over!! Thoughts in no particular order:

1. We waste sooooo much money in the current system.

2. Other countries manage to provide reasonable healthcare for their citizens.

3. Everyone (with the possible exception of the Warren Buffetts and Bill Gates income levels) is really just one catastrophic disease away from bankruptcy whether they have insurance or not.

4. If I were an insurance company, I would sure want to require everyone to have insurance, i.e. pay me. (And we have all had such pleasant memories of trying to get the insurance to actually pay for things....)

5. The conversation stopper: FEMA

Dealing with Health Insurance Companies

I had to spend time yesterday on the phone with United Healthcare. They paid for my mammogram but rejected the radiologist’s fee for reading it. Just the usual insurance company harassment; they are betting that a percentage of people will just see the bill and pay it. I took the time and trouble to call them, tell them that it was absurd to pay for a mammogram but not the reading of it, and get them to agree that it should have been paid and that it will be paid.

JMM and I are in good health, are well educated, and have health insurance. How do people who have major health problems cope with the onslaught of bills and insurance paperwork?? How about people without health insurance at all??

The American public is so screwed by our healthcare system.