Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part Seven

[WhiteHighlights]

Wow that's strange. I worked for BNSF railroad and even if you were still working you had to apply for Medicare, they had a rule about it. Medicare became your primary and the company insurance picked up anything that Medicare didn't or wouldn't cover. So if you wanted to have elective surgery or something like that even though Medicure didn't cover it they would.

I did see special rules related to the railroad as I was scanning the document. I didn't pay attention to the details but did think of you as I passed over it.

 

[Iffy]

... plus its worth the extra money to have that security cause you never know when the VA Choice program gets low on money.

 

[Kenna]

The Mom is finally home from the hospital!

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[MikeADore]

The Mom is finally home from the hospital!

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Great news, Kenna. It's amazing what effect a UTI can have on the elderly. My mom suffered through some of those, too.

 

[2legsshrt]

Well my civilian PCP got the results back from my sputum sample and I have a lung infection. She prescribed Cipro. Anyone have any experience with that one?

 

[Kenna]

Great news, Kenna. It's amazing what effect a UTI can have on the elderly. My mom suffered through some of those, too.

We had to fire the pulmonologist that kept changing her bp meds from what the cardio was doing. Practically had to pry her from his grasp. Lil Sister tied knots in some tails yesterday & today.

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[Kenna]

Well my civilian PCP got the results back from my sputum sample and I have a lung infection. She prescribed Cipro. Anyone have any experience with that one?

It's just an antibiotic. Good for chest & lung stuff.

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[Janet H]

You know you're in trouble when... I've been reading the Medicare guide on the SocSec Retirement Benefits page.

He did not apply for Medicare when he turned 65 because he's covered under the company PPO. There are special enrollment periods for people covered under an employers group insurance plan (and at the time it was 100% company paid). Now, reading the literature that's pertinent to his situation: in one place it says 'talk to your company personnel office' (oops, that would be one of the hats I wear) and in another it says 'we strongly recommend you contact the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for more information.'

I'm going to call the company benefits provider and see if they have any recommendations so it can be a smooth transition. He'll still get secondary coverage on the company plan through me. He may end up working part-time for another 6 months, there are a few gotchas that I think I found and I'd like to avoid them.

You need to make an appointment with the social security office to make sure you get the correct information. Then call the company benefits provider and work things out with them. They should have dealt with this when he turned 65 so you could make a decision about whether or not to start collecting SS.

I don't know if all SS offices are as knowledgeable and efficient as ours is, but they even back dated our application to the date we called to make the appointment. You can do that all online too at Social Security Administration.gov. They had explained everything to us when Mike applied at the SS office and then when I applied the whole process was done online. 3 days later I had my first check.

 

[3mg Meniere]

Well my civilian PCP got the results back from my sputum sample and I have a lung infection. She prescribed Cipro. Anyone have any experience with that one?

Cipro is a very powerful antibiotic that they keep in reserve for serious stuff, like anthrax and peritonitis. It will clear it up, guaranteed. Not amoxicillin, for sure.

 

[Semiretired]

Well, its the start of another Beautiful morning. Coffee and Vape in hand with a prospective towards a fruitful day ahead working on my honey do list...

 

[Kenna]

Good morning all!

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[yiddleboge6]

Good morning everyone...

 

[DavidOck]

 

[Semiretired]

Do you deliver?

 

[DavidOck]

Yep, from my hand to my mouth

 

[amoret]

I didn't know that the term for a female dog as a synonym for complaining, sounding off, etc. not in reference to a person, would be filtered out. Oh well.

Yesterday I got my new (refurbished laptop, but for several reasons just wasn't going to get it started up to update, install, etc. Now I'm kind of in the mood to, but the ac end of the power adapter is short compared to previous ones, so I really ought to - 1) clear off my tray/table and put the old laptop there, 2) pull my recliner out and tip it forward and pull my vaping end table out (trying to not knock stuff off of it), so I can 3) clean the entire area behind both end tables and my chair, so I can 4) see what my options are with running cords but not squishing them under the recliner base so I can 5) get everything that needs to be on the power bar/surge suppressor* and or an extension around the back of the chair even though I really don't think it will be possible. So then I need to do 6a) ordering a new bar or extension cord or 6b) wandering around the house trying to find an existing one to swipe, so that when I need to use whatever is plugged into that cord I can repeat most of the above steps.

So I really have done a bunch of the clearing/cleaning (the latter is a problem, since even though I'm a very disorganized and messy person, I want cleanliness under my mess. I don't stand up well lately, which means I need enough of a path through to let me pull my trusty office chair in so I can sort and sweep and scrub without standing up.

Or, I can try to find at least 1 unused extension cord, and I can come online and ..... about the process, and continue to work on a couple of other unrelated projects.

And, online .....ing has its own rewards. While typing that last I was trying to visualize where I could find cords, and one of the other projects is moving a lamp from one wall to another in the corner where the air conditioner lives over winter, and I just bought a new 12' extension for the AC last spring. Ta Da!

* A classic example of a product not being thought through. The reason I got the one I did is that it has 2 outlets that are switched, using a remote switch. I use this for my solar heaters during the time of the year when I might want them on or not. So far, so good, but, any time we have a power glitch, which is often, the switched outlets need to be reset, using a small indented button on the power bar itself. I would assume that most of the users of this remotely switched power bar are doing it because they can't easily access the location it's at. Not thought through.

 

[WhiteHighlights]

You need to make an appointment with the social security office to make sure you get the correct information. Then call the company benefits provider and work things out with them. They should have dealt with this when he turned 65 so you could make a decision about whether or not to start collecting SS.

I don't know if all SS offices are as knowledgeable and efficient as ours is, but they even back dated our application to the date we called to make the appointment. You can do that all online too at Social Security Administration.gov. They had explained everything to us when Mike applied at the SS office and then when I applied the whole process was done online. 3 days later I had my first check.

Thanks Janet. We ran some numbers when he turned 65 with the accountant and decided not to start with SS then (his wages were rising so we decided to wait and get the slight uptick in SS payments). Health insurance was 100% paid by the company so Medicare wasn't a factor. Those were the good old days. Things will change in 2018 so it's time. I did talk to someone from the benefits company who specializes in Medicare to get a rate estimate for planning purposes and he confirmed the husband could move from the company plan to Medicare at any time. Now to work out the costs versus the company plan - the current 20% pre-tax contribution is less than Medicare, but has a high deductible which is effectively another offset to income through HSA contributions -- ack! We haven't come close to hitting the deductible this year so for the moment I think we're ahead considering the difference in cost and the tax benefit versus what we've paid out. I have to run those numbers and think about what next year might bring. I will set up an appointment with SS to get that part rolling. I appreciate the help & guidance from those who have been through this.

 

[MikeE3]

I didn't know that the term for a female dog as a synonym for complaining, sounding off, etc. not in reference to a person, would be filtered out. Oh well.

Yesterday I got my new (refurbished laptop, but for several reasons just wasn't going to get it started up to update, install, etc. Now I'm kind of in the mood to, but the ac end of the power adapter is short compared to previous ones, so I really ought to - 1) clear off my tray/table and put the old laptop there, 2) pull my recliner out and tip it forward and pull my vaping end table out (trying to not knock stuff off of it), so I can 3) clean the entire area behind both end tables and my chair, so I can 4) see what my options are with running cords but not squishing them under the recliner base so I can 5) get everything that needs to be on the power bar/surge suppressor* and or an extension around the back of the chair even though I really don't think it will be possible. So then I need to do 6a) ordering a new bar or extension cord or 6b) wandering around the house trying to find an existing one to swipe, so that when I need to use whatever is plugged into that cord I can repeat most of the above steps.

So I really have done a bunch of the clearing/cleaning (the latter is a problem, since even though I'm a very disorganized and messy person, I want cleanliness under my mess. I don't stand up well lately, which means I need enough of a path through to let me pull my trusty office chair in so I can sort and sweep and scrub without standing up.

Or, I can try to find at least 1 unused extension cord, and I can come online and ..... about the process, and continue to work on a couple of other unrelated projects.

And, online .....ing has its own rewards. While typing that last I was trying to visualize where I could find cords, and one of the other projects is moving a lamp from one wall to another in the corner where the air conditioner lives over winter, and I just bought a new 12' extension for the AC last spring. Ta Da!

* A classic example of a product not being thought through. The reason I got the one I did is that it has 2 outlets that are switched, using a remote switch. I use this for my solar heaters during the time of the year when I might want them on or not. So far, so good, but, any time we have a power glitch, which is often, the switched outlets need to be reset, using a small indented button on the power bar itself. I would assume that most of the users of this remotely switched power bar are doing it because they can't easily access the location it's at. Not thought through.

Shew ... I'm plum tuckered out just reading about all you have to do.

 

[Iffy]

... though I'm a very disorganized and messy person, I want cleanliness under my mess.

Oh my, how well ya've described my 'clutter'; pretty much organized <as to findin' what I need> and clean. But definitely cluttered.

Hopefully ya can resolve your 'challenge!

 

[Iffy]

We haven't come close to hitting the deductible this year so for the moment I think we're ahead considering the difference in cost and the tax benefit versus what we've paid out. I have to run those numbers and think about what next year might bring. I will set up an appointment with SS to get that part rolling. I appreciate the help & guidance from those who have been through this.

Thus far ya'll have 'done well' re med support. But don't let your shield down due to da fluid 'tides'. Keep on researching and chose your best option.

KIM, our options and well being are in a very venerable stage in our season of life!