Insurance issues suck.
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803
Well, yes, I can go to a pain management clinic, take a series of x-rays, do an MRI, and then probably get cortizone shots in my neck. DH went this route this spring with his back pain and got some relief (although he will have to go back in a couple months for more shots, as it only lasts about 6 months). However, this spring, when we had the good insurance, it still cost DH about $2000. Our insurance changed 7/1/18 to high-deductible insurance and an HSA and it would likely cost me twice that much now, and with the dental work I have coming up, I am not willing to spend that. Frankly, until it actually becomes agonizing, rather than simply nagging, I am not willing to spend much on this. Tet - hopefully happy quick-healing to your DW.
Well, yes, I can go to a pain management clinic, take a series of x-rays, do an MRI, and then probably get cortizone shots in my neck. DH went this route this spring with his back pain and got some relief (although he will have to go back in a couple months for more shots, as it only lasts about 6 months). However, this spring, when we had the good insurance, it still cost DH about $2000. Our insurance changed 7/1/18 to high-deductible insurance and an HSA and it would likely cost me twice that much now, and with the dental work I have coming up, I am not willing to spend that. Frankly, until it actually becomes agonizing, rather than simply nagging, I am not willing to spend much on this.
Tet - hopefully happy quick-healing to your DW.
thanks holly, . . . and good luck.
I'm with you on the nagging vs. agonizing.
.
Lot better when you can get on Medicare.
DW gets quarterly cortizone shots in her shoulder
for $35 co-pay and only had a co-pay of $200
for us to cover for the entire meniscus operation.
No help from MC on dental though, e.g. the 3-hours I spent in the chair yesterday for grinding, crown, filling, etc. needed for the apnea appliance. With my shoulder so sore from rock work in the garden, last week's 26-minute triathlon swim, and leaning on the bike handlebars for the 48-minute bike, I could only cross my hands over my stomach in the dental chair for about 30-minutes before my shoulder started edging towards excruciating too but I want to avoid any cortizone shots until absolutely necessary, if ever.
"Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)
Good new Leslie.
Ran along the Potomac this afternoon. Yeah that was a mistake. Dead legs and a heat index somewhere near 415F made for a tough run. Ah well. Another brick in the foundation.
Cheers.
"He conquers who endures" - Persius "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel
http://ncstake.blogspot.com/
Carolyn
Tet, hope your DW's knee heals up quickly!
Holly, those high deductible plans are awful - we had that for a few years, and wouldn't you know, my DH had lots of issues that year and it cost us $18,000 out of pocket. This year we have a really good low-deductible plan through the Colorado exchange, with a $200 deductible and $700 max out of pocket. I don't understand why people bash the ACA when it gives us affordable insurance like this.
I took my repaired knee out for a 2.5 mile walk. Hope that wasn't overdoing it, but it was such a nice cool sunny day!
I hammered down the trail, passing rocks and trees like they were standing still.
Hey y'all, another humid morning here. A bit over 5 miles, fairly easy paced.
As for the employed v self-employed...I've never been self-employed. I will say vacations in my career field are interesting. You can be totally unreachable but only with a lot of planning. The reserves have a different rule set than active duty--we have 72 hours to report if the balloon goes up, active duty was much shorter. So they prefer to be able to reach you if you're on leave but there should already be a succession plan (not to be a downer, but your first responsibility in a new position is to train your replacement in case you're a casualty).
Tet, I'm always impressed by what you IM types do.
Tom, nice stress release. Need to find one near here (betting there are plenty) and a new indoor range opened near the house. I got a new sidearm for my birthday and still haven't been able to try it out yet.
Have a great night everyone!
Interesting about the deductibles. We have a high deductible plan with an HSA and I love it. I've been saving and investing (and sometimes using) my HSA money since July 2013 and it's at a little over $32k now. And the IRS limits the maximum out of pocket for a family with the 2018 limit being $13,300 for an HSA qualifying plan (this does not include dental, but it does include your medical deductible and pharmacy costs), and $14,700 for an "ACA compatible" plan (such as on the exchanges).
Holly, can you send me the details on your plan? I'm always interested in what other employers are doing, especially government/public employers.
Carolyn, you guys must qualify for a subsidy. Not everyone does and it can make or break the "affordability" of the ACA.
Tetsujin, you're getting the benefits of not only Medicare but the state of Alaska retiree plan you have, too. Not many like that around anymore.
I dunno, I just don't think I could do the dry needling thing. I'm glad it seems to be working for you, KSA, but I just don't think I could go there. But then again, I'm not dealing with what you (and Jlynne, and Leslie, and Anneb) are dealing with.
DH is president of our local university alumni association, and this week is Fair week. So, tonight we're going to do our 4 hour volunteer shift working at the alumni association's hamburger booth. Oh joy! It'll be fun to see some of the folks working there tonight, who I haven't seen in awhile, and it's free admission to the fair but we won't have much time to get out and see much of it. But, it's good to support the group and he really doesn't ask me to do much of this sort of stuff so ok, we'll do it.
7.3 surprisingly sproinky miles before the rain showers hit.
Tet- that dentist appointment doesn't sound fun. It IS hard to sit in that one position, especially if something is hurting already!
Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth
A long time in a dental chair is just uncomfortable. Through in other issues -
(1) You have to be below a certain income level to qualify on the exchange and/or (2) you can't have insurance available to you through a spouse's employer. #2 automatically disqualified us, which is why we're currently paying $771/mo for The Hub's insurance, which has a $7,000 deductible.
40 min of core/ST this evening.
There might be some good news on the horizon at work. It may take 3 weeks for it to finally arrive, but I'm remaining hopeful. I had a good talk with my boss today. The office is hiring 2 new legal secretaries, but one can't start until Sept. 4. If personnel gets moved around the I hope, the associate and I will end up with a whiz-bang legal secretary that we can depend on to get things done. Fingers crossed!
Okay - Off to do The Hub's invoices. No rest for the wicked . . . .
Ok folks, I just typed a long post and it vanished suddenly. I've been lurking and no time tonight to catch up on everyone. Just want Leslie to know that I hope the PT and new doctor have some answers for you.
Healing vibes to Mrs.Tetsujin and Carolyn. Also, I am so impressed with you running races and doing tris without any training. You are awesome.
Anyway, I have been running off and on, but get busy (and lazy too). Today was pretty warm and getting warmer and I didn't run in the morning. So on my lunch hour I drove home (5 min), ran/walked 2.5 miles in about 40 minutes then dried off somewhat, changed and drove back to work. I grabbed some snacks from the fridge, something called Hula Pork that we bought from a meat market in Iowa. Man was that good! It should be for $21.99 a pound. It was like jerky, but not quite as chewy. I biked the lake, 6 miles, after work and worked up another sweat even though I don't bike as fast as some of you. I am afraid of crashing if I go over 15mph. I managed to dodge those stupid geese tonight. Last week I did a U-turn since they were smack dab in my way and I was clipped into my pedals. I have visions of crashing and going head over heels. Has anyone done that?
My health insurance is really quite good but I pay $600 towards it to cover the family, MrStarr. He'll soon get his own single plan at a new job so I'll switch to single. The HSA plan for singles is covered entirely plus they put in $750 a year. I have until December to figure out if it's worth the risk. I'll send you a copy, Erika, if you really are interested.
Moving day in two weeks, JLynne! Are you getting help from DH and your sons? A moving company is nice but kind of spendy.
gotta go before this post disappears too.
“Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall, but by those who fought, fell, and rose again.” — Adrienne Rich
MM #5615
Hello everybody!
I did a little 5k with my granddaughter, after work, today. It was some kind of group she was in for impowering girls. I thought it was cool that she asked me to run with her. I used that as my warmup for my 6 mile tempo run. I wasn't able to do a cool down so I ended up with 9.1 miles.
When I finished my tempo run, I stopped at my truck for a drink of water and, for some reason, checked my phone. Sure enough, my brother had left me a voicemail to get to the hospital. Unfortunately, neither of us were able to get there before my dad passed away. I'm okay.
I really do appreciate all the nice things that have been said and I am very thankful that I have a place to come to where I can share my feelings.
Okay--that's it. See ya!
Yes please! We don't put any money into the HSA as an employer, and we still have really good participation in that plan. We're thinking of changing our wellness program though to be an employer contribution to the HSA or FSA.
Mike, glad you had some time with your dad on pretty good terms before he passed.
Yes, Mike, for sure, you are okay.
Good luck on everything that ensues.
Erika - funny how, all of a sudden, ever since Medicare
started paying for virtually everything, the all the hassles
from the state retirement health program have dropped to zero
but, you're right, they both cover almost 100% of everything
and medical financial worries have dropped to zero too.
One of the few things that seems to make getting old well worth it.
KSA - as usual whenever I get in a reclining mode such as transPacific flights and in yesterday's 8am-11am dental PR, even though I had a solid 7.5 hours of sleep, I slept most of the time with a bite block between teeth to keep my mouth ajar and a throat block to prevent swallowing and choking (though I woke up two times hacking out some of the slippage).
Leslie - it was so long that, for the first time, they asked me if I would like a bathroom break.
Almost did but it's almost impossible to get me up out of reclining even on the ten hour transPacifics where I seem to have perfected the proper balance of hydrating just enough to avoid not over-hydrating and needing to get up all the time. Kind of like hydrating enough in those long ultras to keep on the move but not overhydrating so much to have to be unhydrating all the time.
Fatozzig, That's outstanding!
Tet, I hope things continue to go well with DW's recovery.
WildChild, I'm not aware of an insurance exchange in Michigan.
MikeE, we know you are better than OK.
SteveP
Marathon Maniac #957
(((Mike))) - still tough when it happens....
Tet - why did they have to make changes to your teeth for your sleep apnea appliance? DH just wears a mask over his nose.
Erika - I have to get out the paperwork and look it over with DH this weekend - I don't fully understand it myself. It seems that I have to pay for the first $2800 of medical for myself before they will begin covering anything, but I generally don't have much in the way of expenses other than regular doctor visits, which I guess I will be using only in extreme circumstances now.
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
((Mike)) - glad you had that time with him
Insurance - with Medicare and state retiree wrap-around, we're covered for most but dental. they tried to change our state retirement plan without warning last year on short notice and had to retract. we expect cut backs next year (july 2019)