Sure, I could post photos of every loaf of bread I bake or the the King Cake and jambalaya from Tuesday's dinner or the stuffed peppers and stuffed eggplant that I made two weeks ago or pics of Benni, the Dog doing dog things.
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| Our Mardi Gras was not as Elegant at Russ' and MP's |
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| A View of Cochiti Lake |
In other words you can't get there from here (easily).
We stopped at the nearby Valles Caldera - the remnant of an ancient volcano. At over 11,000 feet it has it's own climate.
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| Moisture on the windshield caused the effect |
In Los Alamos Smith's (Kroger's) Supermarket is on steroids. Competing with WalMart, but classier. It has a Pub with Beer on Tap if you aren't interested in shopping with the hubby.
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| And a whole section for clothing |
Italian class was going well, so long as we were focused on conversation...I did live in Rome for nine months when I was a Junior in college, a lifetime ago, so started this class with a little knowledge...but when we started to conjugate verbs I got so confused.
I can use the same verbs in various tenses in conversation, but when asked to just conjugate them out of context...that is an exercise in frustration. I'll have one more class next week and then I'll be on my own...unless there will be another "more advanced" class.
Had my annual physical recently and as usual it involved some referrals for updated bloodwork (my bad cholesterol is good and my good cholesterol isn't so good and my triglycerides are high which is status quo for me).
Also got a referral for a ultrasound of my bladder and prostrate (because I mentioned frequent bathroom trips at night).
One of the "nice things about getting older" is I am getting to visit the various medical facilities and clinics in Santa Fe!
Well, the "prep" involved drinking 32 ounces of water 1 hour before the test, which I did. I drove into town and walked into the testing facility unable to hold it any longer. I told the receptionist that I HAD to use the restroom.
"OK," she said, "but just go a little."
"Impossible," I said.
When I was done she gave me two more glasses of water and by the time I was called in for the ultrasound I was at the bursting point again.
Thankfully the "full bladder" test was over within minutes; After a a restroom break I got the "empty bladder" exam. (all the tests came back OK).
But what I got in the mail this week was enlightening. A bill/statement.
Amount charged $ 389.00
Adjustment $ 342.30
Insurance Paid $ 26.17
Patient Balance $ 20.53
So this is with a Medicare Advantage Plan. The "adjustment" is what the plan has brokered with the provider to just deduct from the bill. So does the provider just eat the $342 or is the charge just an arbitrary, inflated number to make it look like I'm getting a bargain?
If the charge is legit, the service provider is losing a lot of money. People with no insurance presumably pay the full price...and they are subsidizing Medicare/Medicare Advantage.
And just an added level of complexity, there are maybe 10 different Medicare "Supplement" plans offered by each private insurance company that come with a monthly premium that is NOT cheap.
Just saying..."Medicare for All" may not be what it promises to be.
3 comments:
A blog is whatever you want it to be. I decided before I started that I would *not* make it a "dear diary" thing - I keep many things to myself for the sake of privacy. But I have thought for years I ought to at least keep a short & simple diary of the lovely dinners M.P. cooks up week after week. But somehow I never find the oomph to pick up a pen or even type into a Word document about such things.
But in the last 6 months M.P. has finally figured out A) how to take pics with his magic talking box and B) how to email them to me. So now what used to take half a day going from his Nikon camera to his computer to his editing program to my computer and then the BT, now takes a fraction of the time and a lot less profanity. And M.P. said just the other day how happy he was that I am blogging his cookery, so maybe his grandkids one day will be able to look back and see what their Papaw could do.
Apart from that, like you I have little to say to the world these days - what is there worth saying to a cage full of screeching monkeys, anyway? I'm just disgusted with it all, and see no point in wasting my pixels. I know what I know, and that has to be enough.
As far as Medicare supplements, oh yeah I went through all that with my dear Mama when she was old and ill, and paid through the nose for the extra insurance, and STILL owed doctor bills and drug bills and an appliance bills, etc., etc., etc. So you're right, "Medicare for All," as presently set up, might not be as great as it sounds.
I don't know what the answer is. Trouble is, I'm not sure anyone else does either.
Awesome pics - and you were complaining a few weeks back about cold weather and ice and snow. But see how you guys are? You LOVE all that cold shit that you're always singing and dancing about - "walking in a winter wonderland" etc., etc., etc. You're not fooling me . . . .
LOL
Those bills are so frickin confusing... and meant to be. My mother had a Medicare supplement and their coverage as opposed to Medicare’s coverage debe me nuts. Well, we cover that except on Tuesdays or if the Monday is the second one of the month or followed by a Wednesday, after a Tuesday, except in months beginning with Y. Anyway, I enjoy seeing what you cook. Oh, the family of an old friend of ours is said to own the town of Los Alamos (ranchers from West Texas ... with oil)
What a newsy post! Your Valles Caldera photos are wonderful!
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