Loose ends

[susandennis]

Money and drugs. The last 24 hours have been all about money and drugs.

All of my income comes in monthly just after the 1st. Because of the holiday, it kind of straggled in this month but, finally, it's all here. And I finally broke down and called Citi who all of a sudden started charging me $15 bank fees. NO. I had to call to get it fixed but the call wasn't horribly painful and netted me $30 so ok.

The drugs are nearly taken care of. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with Amazon Pharmacy. I've had to call them twice now but both times, the calls were painless and productive. The people I talked to had no scripts. They turned out to be real people who knew or got answers quickly. Now that I understand their methods, things will be fine. Finally, I can see the price before I make the buy decision. This is pretty damn huge. Also I get the option of buying outside of insurance which is also pretty interesting. They delivery via UPS from Arizona. Fine by me. And since it's an Amazon charge, my Amazon Visa gives me 5% off.

I still have on outstanding issue on swapping inhalers but they say they will contact the prescriber and get clarification so that should work out without a problem.

Also yesterday when I was working out the new inhaler with the nurse practitioner, she mentioned that they were hoping to get the COVID vaccine in soon and would be calling me to come in and get mine. I was delighted to hear her volunteer that info. My best plan would be to have my doctor determine it is my turn and provide the shot. Sounds like that might just happen. Until then, I'm cool.

My USPS morning email shows that the final big first of the year bill is in today's mail. It's my annual long term care bill. Maybe this year they will finally offer online options. Next up, after this is Real Estate Taxes (Feb 15) and then federal income taxes (April 15). Then I get a break til December. Time to save up for the next round.

Tomorrow is house cleaner day and grocery shopping day. I need to make sure my grocery list is complete. The house is pretty much ready for cleaning.

I do need to find a new audio book today. The one I just finished had a terrific reader so I think today's hunt will start with him. (The book was the second of a two book series by Michael Robotham - When She Was Good and the reader is Joe Jameson.)

The sunrise was pretty spectacular this morning. Biggie caught all the action so I caught a bonus Biggie In Tree pic.

Comments

[gneu.livejournal.com]

I'm one day ahead of you on grocery shopping and house cleaning.

[susandennis]

:)

[alice-mccoy.livejournal.com]

I am curious when it happens how much you will be charged for the vaccine. Is price likely to be set by the insurer, or a nation wide price or a state price? Politics is bound to come into it.
Is anyone talking about how the uninsured will get it ?

[susandennis]

Google says "The vaccine is expected to be free of charge to every American who wants one — no matter which company made it, what type of health insurance you have, or even if you don't have coverage at all. "

[lenine2.livejournal.com]

King of the sunrise!

I'm nosy - is your long-term insurance for a time you require in-home care? Or is it for a facility? I am learning a lot pretty quickly about what Medicare does to folks thanks to my parents.

[susandennis]

Great question and the answer is... both. I have a very old policy that now will pretty much cover handy wipes only but... it pays $125 a day in a facility and $95 a day in home.

[susandennis]

And, I should add that I got the policy when I was in my 40's and it cost me $500 a year. Every year they slap on more so now I'm paying $1,500 a year.

[lenine2.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a good premium to me. Years ago my parents paid $250K for an unlimited policy that will provide 24-hour in-home care. They used it when my dad had a hip replacement and needed care when he got home. My mother is now trying to get it to pay for her "helper" who comes three days a week. They don't offer that policy anymore, because the money they paid for it will certainly not cover the costs of using it.

I'm wondering now if I am too old to apply for one. Any little bit will help. My good friends, who are in their 70s, are $100K in debt and growing because the husband had a stroke, and Medicare will not pay for in-home help.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

I keep meaning to ask you what your super-expensive fancy inhaler is. I'd like to check it against what my mother is using to make sure she's getting the best stuff.

[susandennis]

Incruse Ellipta, Dry Powder Inhaler, 62.5 MCG

I'm going back to Spiriva Respimat, Inhalation Spray, 2.5 MCG - I used it for several years before the insurance company talked me into the change. I can tell no difference in actual use.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Just saw you mention Spiriva in your earlier post too. I should start at the back in the morning and read forward, but apparently I am too stupid to ever learn this lesson. Just checked and Incruse Ellipta is available here and is fully funded (in other words just the standard $5 per 3 months prescription fee) so yay!

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

I had lunch with Mum and asked her about her medications. She's currently on Ultibro plus Flixotide and she really likes the Ultibro which is working a lot better for her than what she was on before (which she had a senior moment trying to recall:)). Ultibro is Ultibron in the US and the US dose and regimen is different from everywhere else (twice daily in the US instead of once daily everywhere else, for example). Outside of the US Ultibro is apparently the leading COPD treatment. So weird that the countries are so different. She was happy to have the names of Incruse Ellipta and Spiriva though as backups in case anything changes.

[susandennis]

I've never heard of that one. I think COPD is just a different scam there than here :) And of course the scam is driven by how much profit the drug makers can make. We're way better for that, I would expect.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be at all surprised! I was astonished to discover Ellipta was fully funded here - our drug buying agency Pharmac is so notoriously hard-nosed that when the US was negotiating to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership one of their conditions was that they wanted to be allowed to sell drugs to NZ at prices higher than Pharmac currently accepts. (That never happened of course as the Orange Pustule pulled the US out of the treaty, not that we would have allowed it anyway - we can't afford it.) If Pharmac, with our tiny drug budget, can afford to fully fund Ellipta here yet it's criminally expensive in the US, you are being royally ripped off.

[mollywheezy.livejournal.com]

A good reader for an audiobook is SO important! I have previously gotten a book from the library and taken it right back for another when I didn't like the reader.

[susandennis]

oh yes, this.

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

Very pretty sunrise.

[seekerval.livejournal.com]

Great sunrise-cat-in-a-"tree" photo!

I still haven't given up doing my own reading with the paper book in my hands most of the time. A deeply anchored habit of my life. However, MyJeff and I did listen to "As Time Goes By" by Michael Walsh. I believe the reader might have been Alexander Adams. We were particularly impressed with the job the reader did of presenting the varied characters' dialogue. The story is pretty darn good, too--a blended prequel/sequel of Casablanca.

[opakele.livejournal.com]

I saw that sunrise too.

Great picture!