Tag Archives: medicare

The state of affairs.

Posted in cancer, cooking, husband, medicare, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

Things are good this week with 2 doctor appointments down.

B had clinic on Tuesday and I drove him to UCD med center as it was an early appointment so there was traffic.  He’s back on prednisone for a rash but it is minor and seems gone now.  I sat in the car dealing with the financial fallout from the Cobra.  What has happened is this: His group insurance ended as of 7/31 and that’s when we initiated the Cobra thinking at $700 a month that would take care of all the bills.

Ha!!! NOw UHC Cobra is still saying because he was Medicare ELIGIBLE they won’t cover the full costs. WTF????? Well, long story short, after numerous calls we are on the hook for the August appointments.  I made payment arrangements while I was waiting for him to finish up at clinic.  All his appointments from then on were covered by Medicare. But we still were paying the Cobra till actually just the end of last month( January). Not sure this was necessary but open enrollment hadn’t quite started so even though we could have signed him up with special circumstances, we just left the cobra in place.

All I can say is if you’re ever faced with losing group coverage and have to go on Cobra …DON”T.  Overall, the cost factor doesn’t cut it or you need to absolutely clear what the cover. In our case, I just assumed everything was covered.

So then yesterday, I had to drive back down to Mercy cancer center for my appointment.  It’s kinda what I thought he would say is yes, it’s going up but too soon to start treatment and to keep thinking of this as smoldering myeloma.  So it’s watch and wait. That’s okay and when the time comes and my numbers are going up faster, I’m sure we will move ahead.

Today, I’m going to do some cooking. I’ve made hardboiled eggs and I’m going to make the olive and feta topping again. Plus I ‘going to grill some chicken for lunches and dinner. I think I’ll grill some onions while I’m at it.

I have some house chores to catch up on and then I’m going to hit the gym.

 

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cancer, husband, medicare, Uncategorized, Walking by

It’s still cloudy and chilly here in Northern California. There was a big storm that came thru Wednesday and Thursday with I 80 getting closed due to spin-outs. The temperatures are supposed to go into the mid50’s and low 60’s next week so that’s better.

When it’s this chilly which is all relative, I don’t wander around outside much but I’ve decided to start doing at least 15 min outside even if it’s just raking.

Of course, I walk most mornings very early and it’s quite freezing. Literally 32 degrees, but somehow that’s just my MO.

I’ve had jury duty this week and I go one day next week. It’s all quite interesting but for me, with my IBS, I get quite nervous about bathroom access. I did fine because I didn’t eat in the morning.  I’m keeping track of what I’m eating to see what, if any, pattern there is. Plus I am somewhat claustrophobic so being confined to the jury room is a little stressful.  But I made it along with 12 others.

I’m definitely not used to being out all day and that was very stressful. My daughter made dinner both nights so that was nice.

I canceled the medical part of the Cobra so hopefully, that went thru as you do it by email. It takes up to 7 business days to reflect so I’ll be checking the online site. We did request to keep the dental and vision at least until I get that covered by something else. What do other people do? Is it AARP that has a separate dental plan and what about vision?

B was also able to get the very last of his 2019 SDI because we had the doctor say he was still disabled. It wasn’t a lot but it will certainly help.

We went to Costco and did some grocery shopping and filled the car up with Costco gas.

I read that there has been a norovirus at Yosemite from mainly people eating at the Ahwahnee so now we are decided to probably not go since we cannot even risk B getting something like that as it could activater his GvsH.  we have some time to think about it but there are other places we can go. We’ll see…..

I didn’t get to the gym today so I will go tomorrow.

 

Keeping on…

Posted in Blood test, Uncategorized by

Things are sailing along. Almost.

B had clinic and labs and all looks good although there has been a steady decline in his numbers. But that is not unusual. He will need an infusion next week of IVIg which is to boost his immune system. That does mean another trip to Sacramento but that’s okay. It might take up to 4 hours so I’ll find something to do or bring a book.

We went to a terrific coffee shop that my son recommended called Philz. Oh my, it was delicious. Like the best coffee ever.  I guess it’s a San Francisco thing but there’s this one in Midtown.

Today is a gym day and then I need a few groceries like Almond milk and cream.

I’m new to Medicare and it’s already a PITA. I got a notice that my doctor visit was not covered, but it was.(????) I called and got 2 different stories from AARP and Medicare. Frustrating, to say the least, and I’m too irritated to do anything else today.

Tomorrow is a new day.

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Midweek musings

Posted in cooking, minimalism, Uncategorized by

Sunny again today and about 55 degrees. So not too warm but not too cold. I didn’t walk this morning so I may go out to walk @ 10.

Today, I’m concentrating on figuring out theMedicare part B. Mostly the drug coverage part. I’m planning on calling a few of the insurance companies to figure out the coverage better. Then I downloaded the form for part B and I guess that requires taking it into SS office.

Chores today include a quick swish and swipe of the bathroom, vacuuming, and just tidying up. I’ve been using my timer on my phone to see how long things take to do. It is a good technique if you’re starting out on your decluttering journey to set a time. I do 15-minute increments. Yesterday I ended up doing 2 sessions to get what I wanted to be done.

B has 2 injections at 3pm but he will drive himself as it is just a shot and no Benedryl is required otherwise I’d take him.

Last night I made a low carb chicken enchilada dinner it was pretty good even without the corn tortillas. Plus I made B a Mexican bean burger and it too was very yummy.

Tonight is leftovers, bean burgers, chicken enchiladas, and maybe some salad stuff.

 

Midweek musings

Posted in budgets, California, cancer, Uncategorized by

OMG, it is still raining!!! And I 80 is closed again!!

My daughter left Truckee at 2pm, the freeway was already closed but she was able to convince them to let her thru. So today, who knows. It’s still closed and it’s supposed to snow all day up there. The forecast is rain, rain, showers, cloudy for like the next 2 weeks. I’m convinced this is global warming changing our weather patterns.  I can only think of a handful of times since we moved here in 1975, that there is this much continued non-stop weather.

Today B has a blood transfusion but his platelets are ok. So that makes this day 17 for the blood transfusion so that is a big win!! Hopefully, the next chemo cycle does it even better.

So I’mgoingto drop him off and then go to the gym since the blood takes a minimum of 5 hours. Then I’ll come home and do some chores. If my daughter is home, which I’m expecting with the way the freeway looked, she can go pick him up @ 2:30 or 3.

I think we will be hearing soon on whether his one brother is a match. Maybe early next week. But I think they are already looking in the National donor bank as well.  Since we see the transplant doctor in March, I suspect he will have a plan in place.

All the budget stuff is in a good place. With the SDI checks, we are able to pay the months bills. Since his form from his HR says May is his back to work date( which is totally not happening) we will need to resubmit something but I’m not sure what.  I’m guessing HR will need to put in another date.

Has anyone done that? and how do you update EDD.??? I guess we’ll bumble thru since we’ve gotten this far but I’m not even sure how we did.

I’m still planning the Medicare but haven’t even called the insurance companies yet for pricing. Maybe Friday I can do that.  My target date is June 1st. But of course, it needs to be all in by then and ready to go.

Dinner is unknown.

 

 

Five on Friday or more…

Posted in Blood test, budgets, instant pot recipes, Uncategorized by

It’s been a busy week. The snow and weather have been a PITA, but we got thru. Yesterday morning there was ice snow on the ground and in the trees. It must have been like freezing rain in the early morning. The roads were a little scary.

We did recycle this week, and we went to Harbor Freight in Roseville to get a car canopy thing. This last week the Santa Fe has been iced over every morning and taken forever to defrost. So we will put that up over the weekend.

I had my labs this week and haven’t heard what the results are. I’ll probably call later if I don hear.  Usually, my doctor is really good about that but sometimes it slips thru his radar.  I go to Sacramento to see him next week.

I’ve used the instant pot daily and I am really enjoying it. I made pinto beans( which turned out great), a butter chicken, rice again and hardboiled eggs.  I really like that it is quiet and the flavors are pretty impressive. Oh, yeah, I made minestrone soup that was excellent.

Because of 2 trips to Costco, I’ve gone over our food budget but I’m just chalking it up to whatever as some of the stuff was the Orgain for B which was pricey. We bought 2 of them, plus coconut waters and nuts to help him add on calories to gain weight.  So, I’m just letting it go instead of obsessing about it. ( which I probably will do anyway)…

B has labs tomorrow and infusion on Sunday.  He will need platelets and probably blood but the blood has been 14 days so that’s an improvement. But honestly, it needs to be better.

I have finally have figured out Medicare to a point. I still need to call the insurance company and ask a few questions but I have the basics figured out so I feel good about switching by June. B’s insurance stuff gets re-upped in June so I will consider that (May 31) as the last day and Medicare to start June 1st. I’m a little nervous about it but it’s going to have to happen sooner or later.

Well, I’m off to town to do some errands.

 

Quick update:

just saw my labs and my kappa light chains went up 4 points( bad) to 19.4 which is the borderline for high. So there it is I’m at the high normal range but at least not out of it.

Lambda went to 13. 6 which is in the normal range, high is 26.5

the ratio went to 1.43 high normal is 1.65 so that’s still below.

Well, I’m somewhat dismayed but heck it’s still a long way off till it would be back on treatment.

 

Friday stuff…

Posted in budgeting, budgets, cancer, Uncategorized by

Well, it has been a really busy week with doctor appts, chemo( still 3more days to go), Costco not once but twice. Uhgggg, I ended up going again to Costco today as the Vet didn’t get the dogs pills in on Monday. PITA.  So, it was back down. I ended up getting gas again.  Plus, I figured I’d get the stuff on sale. B has been using Orgain drinks to bolster his food intake and it was on sale. I got both the powder and the liquid. It’s pricey but since he’s lost so much weight (almost 20 lbs) the doctor and I want him to eat eat eat. He’s always been way to thin and now it’s critical he gain weight.

Anyway, this has not been a thrifty week at all. I’m not sure if I’m just going to not go to the store for the rest of the month or just minimally. I do need milk and almond milk so that’s more$ right there. Oh well. It’s only Feb 8 so that’s a while till the end of the month but as of right now, I’m over budget. I’ve been budgeting $200 a week for everything, food, and non-food. It’s actually been spot on. Since we do provide food for our adult children it’s more than if it was just the 2 of us. My daughter does pay rent/food but my son who’s in school full time we let slide.

I’ve also been on the phone a lot, which I greatly dislike, arranging payments for the hospital bill for B’s port placement and the surgeon. I did the one over 4 months at $350 a month and the other over 10 months at $270. They were very accommodating but still not really budget friendly. Well, at least they let us do payments.

We haven’t heard back from the financial coordinator about the insurance for the transplant or sending off the BM kits to the brothers. Maybe next week.

Next week I have an appointment with an SS advisor about Medicare. We are both still covered by B’s insurance but I’m thinking if I switch over to Medicare then that will give us an idea of what our monthly amount will be. I’m sure it’s more than what we pay now but it has to be done sooner or later. So, we’ll see what he says. I need to be sure the drugs I might need in the future such as the Velcade I was on will be covered or at least after we pay the initial amount of our responsibility. Honestly, sometimes I feel as if we are just bumbling thru. Take the SDI, we really had no idea what to put in the form and it was initially rejected.  Then after calling them and waiting forever on hold, we had it figured out.  Still, sometimes I wonder how are we going to navigate this stuff.

Any suggestions for Medicare would be most welcome.

Well, on a more positive note, I’m making a BBQ chicken pizza for dinner and leftover gourmet veggie for the Dad.