It's Been Lovely . . . NOT!

Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed. This past Saturday was one of those. It was cold in the house when I got up and my husband questioned whether I'd left the AC on. No, I'd changed the thermostat to "heat" because temperatures were dropping. No time to investigate though because we had to attend a meeting at his employer about changes to health insurance that will take place in January. About 2 years ago, his company dropped insurance with Anthem to go with Optima because premiums were lower. Every one is trying to save money. We expected to hear about an increase in the monthly premiums for next year. We were unprepared to learn that the regular HMO and PPO plans we had in the past would not be offered. All the company is offering employees are HMO and PPO plans with high deductibles and a Health Savings Plan. No more just paying co-pays for doctor visits or prescriptions. New plan would carry a $6,000 family deductible! If we could participate in the Health Savings Plan (HSA), the company would contribute $3,000 to the plan this first year (no promise on years to come) and we'd have to pay about $300/month into the plan plus the insurance premium. They tried to convince us this was a good thing - lower monthly premiums and the HSA would be in place to pay off the out-of-pocket expenses. Except, if employee or family member on plan has any other insurance (including Medicare), then you can't have a HSA and you pay everything out-of-pocket until you meet deductible. I have Medicare because I'm disabled. So I have to be dropped from the insurance so my husband can do single policy and HSA for his expenses. I don't have Medicare RX policy because I've had his policy and now to get on the Medicare RX plan, I'd pay a stiff penalty. We've had to contact our NY Life man who is a financial advisor and see if he can come up with a Medicare Advantage plan for me. To make matters worse, we have to make a decision by the 17th! Then we get home and discover the heating unit is kaput! No heat since Saturday (Friday night really) and the weather is turning colder. Today BIL checked out the problem and learned it's a part he called the "squirrel cage" that needs to be replaced. He can do that for us but the part had to be ordered and will be at least 3 days getting here. And guess what? weather forecast tonight says possible snow by Thursday! I could go to my father's to stay but both he and his girlfriend are sick with respiratory infections and that's what I'm trying to avoid. When it rains . . . When I'm not under quilts in bed, I've been spending a lot of time in PC room which is small and has the heat of 2 computers. Finished up some things that were in process and plan to put together some freebies for you tomorrow. Maybe a sort of grab bag but definitely something and previews of what's going in store too. Be patient please, I haven't forgotten you.