The aging homesteader

Example of the wrapping .

Hi John,

I don’t see myself as a career educator. I did teach at the college level for 15 years. But that mostly was in addition to my day job.  My DNA is as an administrator.

I just went to pay Medicare Part D on line for my wife and I.   It had a notice that our accounts  were no longer active.  My last payment date was 10/27 ….AND …the account was made inactive on 10/30.   Interesting.  On 11/2 I had a script filled at the pharmacy without issue.  That begs the question of what inactive means and why.

Yes, I made the telephone call. Yes, I got the infinite transfers and being on hold.   Most gave me a party line comment about my account being cancelled due to non payment …even after I pointed out that  my payment was on their record.  Two conversations were more interesting.

One was about they could not open a new Part D policy for me until 1/1/27 ….BUT they could put me on an Advantage plan immediately.  It sure sounds like I am being pressured to go with an Advantage Plan.

The second conservation was with someone more open in her communication. Her comment was “This doesn’t make sense”. She went on to say that their internal records showed I still was covered.  She made a point of giving me her contact information. But, she did not have access to a means of correcting the problem. While she did kick it up to her superior, it was clear she did not have hopes of the problem being resolved.

Now there is one more wrinkle.  Less than a week ago I got a letter from my local pharmacy that they were no longer honoring plans from my insurance company.

I am not seeking advice …I know my plan of action for tomorrow.   I probably cant win a full frontal fight, but with the end of the year within 60 days, I can sign up with a different company…possibly immediately.  I can contact my pharmacy and see if scripts are still being covered …if so, I might be able to get a 60 day supply.   Finally, I do have contacts within the insurance industry in Illinois that will be willing to guide me. Frankly, if I can get the meds covered, I really don’t want to go back to the old company.

Sorry to hear it John.  I don’t blame you!  What a mess.

My thoughts on Medicare Advantage FWIW:  I guess it’s ok if you don’t have a better option.  I believe that somehow the same services cost medicare more if they go through “advantage”.

I’m pretty lucky I have great coverage through my retirement, and doubly blessed because I am so healthy.  I shudder to think about trying to manage to comply with ever changing conditions rules and policy changes.  I have a hard time with the automated phone robots!

Best luck tomorrow

I spoke with an insurance broker I know who has no vested interest. He flatly stated it was an attempt to force me into an advantage plan.

I spoke with a pharmacy. They were more guarded. But they stated effective Jan 1 they were no longer accepting coverage from that company.

John, for me some strange things have been happening.

I went to the doctor (actually a PA) and did yearly checkup though my prescription came back for only 90 days with no refill instead of for the normal year.

I don't know what is going on.

Have you look at Medicare.gov to see what Part D plans are offered in your county?  You might find that that company has pulled out of your without notifying you.

Hi Anne,

To be sure, I was not notified.   But I am confident the insurance will produce a copy of the letter they set me.  When everything settles down, I probably lost 1 month of coverage. I am more interested in getting the word out to others.  I already checked out what my cash outlay will be for the meds.   I suspect when it all shakes out, I may be out an added $100.00 ….possibly less.  


To clarify, one person I spoke with at the insurance company made it clear that my internal record indicated my insurance was active.  That did not match the screen that was available to me. In her words, “This doesn’t make sense.” I am confident no letter was sent to me.

John, one of my local friend's insurance company switched her, without her approval, to the 'advantage' plan. The way she found out was that she was suddenly getting billed for things that had previously been covered, and called to find out why. She left that insurance company. You and she are giving me brain fodder for my not-too-distant future. Any other warnings, things to watch out for/ lol for? I don't want to make those decisions in a rush, so I'm looking now, to give myself a couple years to get familiar with everything, so I will have a better chance of choosing well.

I don’t know if it will be helpful, but I have my secondary insurance with “Anthem, Blue Cross, Blue Shield”. They’ve been excellent.

Maybe what makes it such good coverage is that I am part of a VERY large group.  California Public Employee’s Retirement System.  You might not be able to be a member of such a large group, but maybe being part of a group is better than having individual insurance.  

Are there possible groups to check into?

I know AARP has something, but I am not a member of AARP, and don’t like  them, but it’s an example.

How about Alumni associations v, trade unions, professional organizations, possibly farmer organizations.

It’s just a thought, and dealing with insurance companies is fraught, but I did find this website with a list of articles

https://insuranceinformant.com/which-organizations-do-you-have-access-to-that.html

And, another thought, maybe it’s time for some person with the right kind of smarts to invent insurance coops.  Could there be such a thing?

I watch carefully what branch of AARP I deal with. I do stay away from their insurance.   My first move when dealing with an NPO is to check the salary
Of the CEO.  I am certainly for the CEO to be reasonably reimbursed.  Anyway, I think I remember the CEO of AARP getting $2,500,000.00 a year.  

As for my insurance issue.  I learned from an older WSJ article that they are dropping in the neighborhood of 600,000 customers.  So, that partially explains a good deal.  As I dug deeper, the figure may be much higher.   So, for me, they only need say they did not single me out, I was part of the demographic they selected to no longer cover.  

John F Dean wrote: As for my insurance issue.  I learned from an older WSJ article that they are dropping in the neighborhood of 600,000 customers.  So, that partially explains a good deal.  As I dug deeper, the figure may be much higher.   So, for me, they only need say they did not single me out, I was part of the demographic they selected to no longer cover.  

Health care costs go up dramatically when people hit certain ages. Hubby had a "travel insurance" program attached to the house insurance which was a very reasonable cost  - reasonable until he hit age 65 and the cost spiraled up to a ridiculous level, considering how rarely he travelled outside Canada.

So I am not surprised some companies have decided their "economic model" excludes certain "demographics".

John, I would suggest going on medicare.gov and looking at your options.

Besides Medicare Advantage, there are options for a Part D drug plan.  
The ones for my county are very reasonable.  As low as $5.30 a month.

I understand the advantages and disadvantages with Medicare Advantage.

Original Medicare has nationwide coverage not a Regional PPO, plus your providers have less paperwork, I believe.

Hi Anne,

At this moment, I have few concerns regarding the insurance.  My insurance agent and pharmacy are working closely with me. It appears my new plan will save me in excess of $1000 a year.   I am watching closely what my costs for November and December will be. My meds for those months will be close to nothing. The meds for my wife might be a little more exciting.  I will find out within 3 days.

My reason for the OP was to give everyone a heads up

Thanks for thinking of us, John. It seems like a time when anything can happen.

Fingers crossed for you and your wife

Without going into details that might harm people who helped me, my total real world hit came to $10 a month for  two months.  This is one of the advantages of living near a very small community.

Fun news.  I just received written notice that the policy was cancelled.  It arrived a little late.

John F Dean wrote:Hi John & Anne

I find raised bed to be critical.  I now have around 30, 2 ft tall raised beds.  I am considering making them taller. But taller creates other issues.  A taller bed for potatoes makes sense.  But, other plants are already pretty tall.  So this will take some planning.  I too am pretty healthy. My plan is to stay that way.

Yikes. When I first moved into this urban property, the landscaper I hired interpreted raised bed to me to consrruct a cinder block planting area that was 3 or 4 blocks high and 3 blocks across.  I've never used it.  Now I want to clear the area around it, break it down an spread the soil in it around to make maybe 3 raised beds of a few inches tall.

That's a tall order. I have to hire people to come in and prepare the soil around it, then break and remove the cinder blocks and spread the soil around. I have no ide what's in the 2 foot  and 3 foot tall "raised beds."

I sent yout lisiting to my Wisconsin friends who may be interested.

Good Luck!
Barbara