Well, my second son is off to work. Maxim and Mika have had their early morning potty break and gotten sent back to bed with their ‘mama’ (Rachael doesn’t go to work until 1:30 today) My little boys have had their potty break, begged for a couple bites of my breakfast and they’ve gone back to bed to nap away the next few hours. My cats are up and are playing nicely on their cat tower. Everything is quiet in my world.
I don’t remember if I mentioned it on here, but for a couple months I was in a quandary over the Medicare supplemental insurance situation. I have never had any medical insurance to speak of in my whole life—a few months when I was teaching in public school I think, but other than that I’ve not been able to afford it. Now that I’m 65 our benevolent government told me that I had Medicare. Well, dandy. But the catch was that I needed to buy supplemental insurance because, wise and kind as they are, the Congressional Fathers do not pay all of our medical costs. They only do 80% of any expenses that might be incurred. Phooey. Who designated the US Congress as my Daddy anyway?
I was sorely tempted to chuck the whole thing in the trash. The only thing that kept me from doing just that was the same thing, partly, that sent my father through two surgeries and many trips to the Roswell Cancer Center. I felt responsible for saving my kids grief. I knew that if I were to become sick or be hurt, my kids would want to see that I had medical attention. And that would cost money neither they nor I have. So I began reading all the reams of information sent to me by the SS system and all of the insurance companies anxious to provide me with assistance. And it just got me more confused.
Our government is so good at double talk and excessive explanation-that-leads-only-to-more-confusion. I am not a stupid woman, not exceptionally brilliant, perhaps, but far from stupid or thick-headed in the intelligence department. And here’s the point of the whole thing. They STILL didn’t tell me what I needed to know. The talked and talked about supplemental insurance and what was needed and what was available. In a very short paragraph they mentioned the Medicare Advantage Plan. It was presented in such a way that I discounted it immediately. It seemed that I would need to buy private insurance that would cover all my medical needs and then I wouldn’t need to go through Medicare. Oh yes. I couldn’t afford THAT when I was working. Now that my income was reduced to ¾ of that amount how exactly could I afford it now?
Here’s where the blessing comes in. About 30 years ago I met a young man in our congregation who sold insurance. God is absolutely AMAZING. He planned 30 years ago to solve my problems in 2010! Is that not fantastic!
Okay, to go on. My entire Medicare dilemma began in December when I received notice that I would be eligible for Medicare in March (my birthday). That is also when I began getting more mail than anyone else in the house because of all the insurance solicitations that started coming to me.
About that same time or a little before, I got an email that said, “Are you the same Vondi that used to go to church in Dover? You had a pretty little girl whose dad was Navajo.” ( I don’t think that is an exact quote, but it was something like that.) Here it was the young man I had known thirty years ago. Brother Steve! It was good to hear from him and catch up on the years in between, but I didn’t connect him with my Medicare dilemma immediately. As the mail kept piling up, I remembered that he sold insurance! So I asked a couple questions about the whole thing.
As it turned out, he was involved right then in the end of year turn-overs in Medicare coverage insurance. Bless his heart, he was willing to drive up from Cincinnati to explain the whole thing to me! Aren’t the people of God great?!
I will talk about the whole Medicare situation later. If you are close to 65 email me, leave a comment or get in touch with me otherwise. You need to start thinking this through a LONG time before your birthday.
I don’t remember if I mentioned it on here, but for a couple months I was in a quandary over the Medicare supplemental insurance situation. I have never had any medical insurance to speak of in my whole life—a few months when I was teaching in public school I think, but other than that I’ve not been able to afford it. Now that I’m 65 our benevolent government told me that I had Medicare. Well, dandy. But the catch was that I needed to buy supplemental insurance because, wise and kind as they are, the Congressional Fathers do not pay all of our medical costs. They only do 80% of any expenses that might be incurred. Phooey. Who designated the US Congress as my Daddy anyway?
I was sorely tempted to chuck the whole thing in the trash. The only thing that kept me from doing just that was the same thing, partly, that sent my father through two surgeries and many trips to the Roswell Cancer Center. I felt responsible for saving my kids grief. I knew that if I were to become sick or be hurt, my kids would want to see that I had medical attention. And that would cost money neither they nor I have. So I began reading all the reams of information sent to me by the SS system and all of the insurance companies anxious to provide me with assistance. And it just got me more confused.
Our government is so good at double talk and excessive explanation-that-leads-only-to-more-confusion. I am not a stupid woman, not exceptionally brilliant, perhaps, but far from stupid or thick-headed in the intelligence department. And here’s the point of the whole thing. They STILL didn’t tell me what I needed to know. The talked and talked about supplemental insurance and what was needed and what was available. In a very short paragraph they mentioned the Medicare Advantage Plan. It was presented in such a way that I discounted it immediately. It seemed that I would need to buy private insurance that would cover all my medical needs and then I wouldn’t need to go through Medicare. Oh yes. I couldn’t afford THAT when I was working. Now that my income was reduced to ¾ of that amount how exactly could I afford it now?
Here’s where the blessing comes in. About 30 years ago I met a young man in our congregation who sold insurance. God is absolutely AMAZING. He planned 30 years ago to solve my problems in 2010! Is that not fantastic!
Okay, to go on. My entire Medicare dilemma began in December when I received notice that I would be eligible for Medicare in March (my birthday). That is also when I began getting more mail than anyone else in the house because of all the insurance solicitations that started coming to me.
About that same time or a little before, I got an email that said, “Are you the same Vondi that used to go to church in Dover? You had a pretty little girl whose dad was Navajo.” ( I don’t think that is an exact quote, but it was something like that.) Here it was the young man I had known thirty years ago. Brother Steve! It was good to hear from him and catch up on the years in between, but I didn’t connect him with my Medicare dilemma immediately. As the mail kept piling up, I remembered that he sold insurance! So I asked a couple questions about the whole thing.
As it turned out, he was involved right then in the end of year turn-overs in Medicare coverage insurance. Bless his heart, he was willing to drive up from Cincinnati to explain the whole thing to me! Aren’t the people of God great?!
I will talk about the whole Medicare situation later. If you are close to 65 email me, leave a comment or get in touch with me otherwise. You need to start thinking this through a LONG time before your birthday.
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