Drugged and Dangerous

Or more appropriately, UN-drugged and dangerous. Ever since we switched to the My Blue independent health care plan in January, we've had nothing but trouble.  In the 35 years we had Blue Cross Blue Shield group health insurance, we never had a complaint about their service.  In the three months since we've had the independent version, we've had nothing but.

The situation with prescription medications has been the most problematic.  My husband takes two very important medications to control the pain from his peripheral neuropathy.  He's been taking them for over five years, and they were always covered under our group BCBS plan.   When the first medication came up for renewal in February, the My Blue plan would not cover it unless he tried a  different (cheaper) medication for 30 days.  During the weeks they made us wait for this momentous decision, he ran out of the original medication and went into withdrawal symptoms which put him virtually out of commission for nearly a week.  The medication they finally approved not only didn't control his pain symptoms, it made him sick to his stomach.  So for the rest of the month, he felt horrible.   And they've still not "authorized" the original medication.

With this experience under our belt, we started early to get "authorization" for his other medication, which we knew was very expensive.  It also has no equivalent, being the only type of drug in its classification.  But even with advance planning, he still ran out of it and went into withdrawal again.

But those symptoms were nothing compared to the sticker shock he got at the pharmacy.  Even though BCBS finally authorized coverage for this medication, the co-pay on the My Blue account is so much higher that the price tag was nearly $800 for a three month supply.  (For comparison purposes, we were paying $120 for three months with our previous group coverage.)

So now he's faced with the unpleasant prospect of weaning off these medications, which most assuredly will mean constant pain and debilitation, or taking on a second job at McDonald's to pay for them.

Actually, that might not be a bad idea, because he might be able to get group health care coverage at Mickey D's.

So when I heard about Canada Drug Center earlier today, I couldn't wait to click over and take a look around.  I have several friends who order prescription medications from Canadian pharmacies, and now I understand why.  The site is easy to use, they have some great reviews and accreditations, and best of all, their prices on some very expensive drugs are much more affordable.  They stock OTC medications too, at a substantial savings.  Although they only offer one of the medications Jim currently needs, being able to get one of them is better than nothing.  And when my osteoporosis medication comes up for renewal, I'll be bypassing the American pharmacy completely.

I believe that the costs associated with health care, health insurance, and prescription drugs are the most serious problems facing this country in the 21st century.   If something can't be done to contain the costs within these industries, God only know what's going to happen to us.

In the meantime, at least, I'm grateful there's an opportunity for a little relief just across the Canadian border.

Amen, Omar

For those of you following the story of Omar the Car Transport Driver from hell, the saga came to and end today, two weeks later, with the safe delivery of my son's car from Naples, Florida to Frisco, Texas.  Apparently, the car was sitting somewhere in Miami until Thursday, when Omar finally got around to getting his ass act together and driving it to Texas. As of about 1:00 p.m., it was safely berthed in its new garage- "dirty as hell," according to its owner, but otherwise none the worse for wear.

Amen.

Uniformity

If you went to parochial school, as I did, I'm sure you recall your school uniform with great fondness disgust. My high school uniform was the ubiquitous plaid, pleated skirt, with saddle shoes (yes!) and a white blouse.  The only one who kind of liked it was my boyfriend at the time (who is now my husband).  What is it about men and school girls in uniform, anyway? Since then, I've never had to wear a uniform, and that suits me just fine. One of my friends is part of the office staff at a clinic, and they wear medical scrubs to work.  She's just fine with that - says it makes getting dressed for work very easy, not to mention the fact that they're totally comfortable.  Sort of like wearing your pajamas all day.

In contrast, one of my co-workers, who was an ICU nurse before becoming a case manager, said one of the best parts of her career change was being able to toss all those nursing uniform scrubs in the trash and go shopping for some professional clothes.

I actually love wearing medical uniforms - I have a pair that I wear around the house sometimes, and they're great for hanging out on the sofa (like I'm doing now) with a glass of wine and a dish of hummous and pita chips.  They're also pretty good for exercising in - at least the bottoms are.  I still like t-shirts on top because they're softer.

But I'm very happy that my plaid, pleated skirt has been relegated to my mother's basement, where she's kept it all these years as a pleasant reminder of my youth.

Hmmm...maybe I should dig it out and wear it as an anniversary present for my husband?  Whaddya think?

What I'll Be Doing With All My Free Time: List One

Ever since I resigned from my job last week, I've been walking around with a giddy sense of excitement. I feel like one of those perky green shoots popping up in my garden, all bright and shiny with possibility.  It's not even as if I worked all that much - 20 or so hours a week, usually.  But I realize that my job was on my mind a lot more than that, especially in the past few years since we've taken to using e-mail more prolifically.  There was just never any letting go 0f it, especially with that work e-mail shortcut on my desktop.  So even when I was home on a "day off," there were often work issues on my mind. Soon that will be over, and the thought of that freedom is very intoxicating.  I've started making mental lists in my head of the things I'll do with my days.  Here's what I'm thinking about:

  1. Spending more quality time with my dogs.  If you're not a dog person, you won't get that.  But the entire time I've had my dogs, I've been working - for a while, at two jobs.  Although I lavish them with attention, it's usually at the end of my day when I'm tired.  They're more than halfway through their lifespan (just like me!), so I want to enjoy them while we're all still in relatively good shape.
  2. Find a favorite cafe and frequent it regularly for writing.  I've always loved the idea of having a "regular spot" to hang out, people watch, and do some writing.  I'm going to start looking for a place like that.
  3.  Start working in earnest on the plethora of writing ideas I've been filling notebooks with for the past five years.  I'm always getting brilliant ideas for things I'd like to write about.  Now's the time to pick one and go at it.
  4. Play more music.  This is a big one.  I firmly believe the loss of a musical life has been a big part of my recent depression.  I'm on a major quest for a good musical group to join, or a least a good teacher  to study with. Angie Mizzell, one of my favorite bloggers, wrote a post the other day about finding your "sweet spot," the place where, according to Max Lucado,  your past successes and deep feelings of satisfaction intersect.  As soon as I read that sentence, I knew where mine was.  Playing music ~ gotta get back to it.
  5. Read more.  My husband would laugh at this, because he already thinks I read more than anybody he knows.  But I recall the days when I was a young SAHM, I spent an hour or two in the afternoons while Brian was napping, curled up in a chair with my book (of course those were pre-internet days.)   I'd love to refresh that habit.
  6. De-clutter.  Every Wednesday this summer there will be a whole load of stuff coming up from the basement and going directly out to the trash.  Promise.
In the midst of thinking about all these things I want to do now that I won't be working, oddly enough I also find myself thinking about what kind of work I want to do next.   Do I want to go back to office work or maybe look for something in a school or college?  What about something totally different - in the media or marketing fields?   Because I do think I'll want to work again some day.  Not sure when.  Not sure where.
But I'll start another list for that and keep you posted.