random thoughts – Day 2,086 (Tuesday) – whine and snow

During May, June, and July, thanks to the bank merger that put me out of a job and group health insurance coverage, I had the senior citizen thrill of enrolling in Medicare and shopping for the extra plans that cost money to cover all the many things Medicare doesn’t (basically everything) and provide lifetime penalties for delaying enrolling certain features. It was actually lucky I was so close to qualifying for the old people’s coverage after the merger. I think. I am now allowed the privilege of paying hundreds of dollars a month (and have three ID cards!) for Medicare Part B, a Supplemental Plan that supposedly isn’t limited to network stuff, and a prescription drug plan that I enrolled in August 1^st and which sent a letter in October that it is being discontinued December 31 so I got the thrill of searching for another one all over again. 

In June, at my regular dental cleaning and while I still had Blue Cross Blue Shield medical and dental insurance, I mentioned a tooth that had recently begun to hurt if something smallish like granola, seeds or grains from bread, a crunchy chip, etc., hit it just right. The dentist looked at it and declared he didn’t see anything.

After the summer highlighted with the stress of unemployment and moving, I felt like I could finally pause for breath. That is when the pinched something or other in my neck bestowed me with roughly ten weeks (so far!) of misery, specialist visits, x-rays, and physical therapy.

A couple weeks ago, as the light was appearing at the end of a long tunnel, the tooth started acting up again. The pain from seeds and such was more frequent and it became mildly sensitive to cold but only sometimes. I kept forgetting to call the dentist or remembered and received the answering machine message because the office was closed for the day.

My annual eye exam, booked a year ago, hit the calendar last week with a reminder text from the office. After confirming the appointment, the office called me about my insurance. They saw that my BCBS was no longer in effect. We learned together that my vision discount plan is not accepted by their office. The appointment was cancelled. 

I finally remembered to call the dentist late in the afternoon the day after Thanksgiving and got the message that the office was closed. On Monday, I remembered to call early and got an appointment for Tuesday. As in today, during the forecasted time for the snow storm and which would require going there directly from physical therapy, but I was willing to take on the challenges of weather and time.

Early this morning and remembering the cancelled eye exam, it occurred to me that the dentist probably didn’t have my new insurance info and I called the office. It wasn’t good. The supplemental plan I have has a dental discount program that my dental office of the past 12 years isn’t currently part of. To pay out of pocket for the visit is $200 and I don’t know what that includes besides someone looking in my mouth.

Based mostly on the insurance situation and partly on the coming snow, the appointment was cancelled so I can figure something out for standalone dental insurance coverage or find a dentist that takes the discount plan. After PT, I visited many web sites in search of info and called the group that helped me choose my coverages a few months ago. A call to talk specifically about dental and vision coverage is scheduled for the 16^th and now I get to look forward to spending even more money and potentially have a fourth ID card. Can't wait!

Early-afternoon, as the snow that had begun falling at 9:45 continued to steadily descend from the sky and accumulate on the ground, there was a debate about whether to make macaroni and cheese or layered zucchini with sauce, cheeses, and other vegetables. Or maybe both because there were no plans to leave the house and I was feeling all domesticated. 

While macaroni cooked in the saucepan, veggie chopping commenced. A sliver of raw zucchini was popped into my mouth and the tooth that was the subject of the appointment for which I would have been sitting in the dental chair at that very moment if not for the insurance stuff, broke off around the filling. The chunk sat on my tongue and I was glad I didn’t swallow it. It seems the “figure something out” clock had already run out (with nothing figured out) and I called the dentist office where they were on their way out due to the snow. I now have an appointment on Wednesday afternoon.

My hatred of the American healthcare system is at an all-time high. Who the hell decided that a person’s job should be the gateway to comprehensive health coverage? And that, no matter what the plan, eyes and teeth require separate coverage (especially where dental problems can contribute to issues like heart disease, stroke, and dementia)? Of course, there is no money to made in a healthy population or cures and the system needs to keep us barely alive or at best at some perpetual level of unwellness for as long as possible so they can continue to rob us of premiums, deductibles, co-pays, penalties for not having coverage or buying it at the wrong time, and whatever new crap they dream up.

Looks like I never touched it.

I went outside to shovel and burn off my aggravation. Halfway through clearing a couple inches of snow from the driveway the guy across the street came over with his snowblower and finished it off. That let me work on the front walk and front stairs and I was grateful. 

Six hours later, it was still snowing. The front stairs, walkway, and driveway looked like I never shoveled at all and I hope it stops soon. There will be another winter workout in the morning (after coffee).