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| Trail 4, north end of Mount Pisgah, Howard Buford Recreation Area (Jan. 27) |
Mrs. Random has a surgery date now, coming up in a couple weeks. “Shit’s getting real,” as they say. We’re still taking things one day at a time, but one of these days soon will carry more disruption than encountered previously during the entire chemo slog.
We’ve been enjoying the current spate of sunny weather, cold though it is. Yesterday we accomplished what we call our “figure eight” hike, on the north end of Buford Park/Mount Pisgah, logging around 8500 steps and tackling more elevation than we’ve done in weeks. That felt good!
I turn 65 in May, and am looking forward to obtaining Honored Rider status with Lane Transit District, our local city bus system—I’ll be able to ride FREE anytime and anywhere on LTD buses! Another thing that comes along with that magic number 65 is Medicare. Every other day, it seems, I receive another piece of mail from some insurance provider offering to help me through the application process and, of course, pitching its own brand of Medicare Advantage, Medigap, etc. The Medicare mail is stacking up! Not since my senior year in high school, receiving recruitment pitches from colleges around the country, have I felt this targeted by institutional mail. As is typical, I’ve been in avoidance mode, but it will behoove me to get on the stick soon and figure out what plan(s) would make sense for me, and make some big decisions.
Wish Mrs. R the best from Lynne and me for her pending surgery!
ReplyDeleteI should sign myself up for LTD Honored Rider status too. Regarding Medicare, I worked with an insurance agent who was very helpful in guiding me through the enrollment process. She discussed my specific needs with me, explained the options available from the entire range of insurance companies providing Medicare coverage in Oregon, compared the various plans best suited for those needs, and provided enrollment assistance. If you're finding the process daunting (as I did) working with an agent may be something to consider.
Medicare Advantage plans have higher mortality rates than regular Medicare. The care is managed and people have difficulty getting imaging quickly and deal with more prior authorizations. I like regular Medicare. We will see if it remains an option. From when I was working I repeatedly heard that HealthNet is a problematic provider.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, Randy and Anonymous! I've reserved a spot on the Selco Medicare 101 Zoom webinar later this month, and am also trying to get an in-person appointment with our agent of record, so I'll be getting lots of info soon.
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