Summer Challenge

[hana]

Finish the epic book cull ongoing
Pack books going to Husband's friend did a little bit
Empty 4 boxes in the storage unit nope
Figure out what we're going to do with the shelf in storage unit still no idea
Knit Cardigan 25% done
Keep the guest room bed clear of junk ha ha no
Have one non screen day every month have to figure it out soon

Life decided to dump things on my head all at once this month, stuff with my elderly parents, I was informed that upper management has a thing for certifications and it would look really good if I had one when I do my yearly review early next month. I'm still in the probationary period so any cost comes out of my pocket. Once I'm past the probationary period I can get the company to pay for the fees. So I'm doing a Google certification for something adjacent so I can a certification for free, it's just time consuming. Trying to get this over with so I can do my no screen day on the 30th and/or 31st.

Gave away more books on Buy Nothing and received a DM from a science teacher who is looking for specific titles to show her students how fast science can change things. There are a few Science Fiction titles from the 50s and 60s where the science was outdated right before or shortly after the novel was published. Normally I do lots and people can give away the books they don't want, made an exception for her since she's a teacher and asked nicely. Did tell her I could not guarantee I have the books or they will be available for pick up before the school year begins.

Just came to terms that the spare room bed is now the staging area for our fall trip.

[Yppej]

My update:

Through 9/21 I hope to:

1. Lose the weight I am rolling over from the summer challenge. Done - working on the next five pounds - currently plateaued
2. Draft a city charter change to make the Board of Health elective rather than appointive. To avoid gathering thousands of signatures I will need to find a City Councilor to sponsor my petition and ideally that person would also help me draft this. One has volunteered an interest and another has said maybe. Both are attorneys. But they are busy so I need to gently nudge them. City Councilor sponsoring the petition will draft it for me
3. Fix (really, enlist DB who is willing to fix, only he has been sick) board on the side steps that is coming up. It is currently weighted down with a big rock. Done
4. File a gender discrimination complaint against the City for among other things the Health Director repeatedly talking to a member of the public about her butt after she asked him not to. My city is so bad! Done
5. Fully fund another year's contribution to my Roth IRA. Due in August
6. Continue with hiking at least once per month. On track despite issues with my joints
7. Scrape clear all the small scraggly growth in the yard between my nice ground cover. Done but it's growing back - will need to do again
8. Continue with efforts to hold the Board of Health accountable for their actions. Recently I filed an ethics complaint with the state that may require follow up. The Chair has high ($1 million) payments from the pharmaceutical industry whose EUA products he mandated for children. Very wrong. State did nothing on ethics complaint; city ethics officer is also unresponsive. Awaiting response of state medical licensing bureau
9. Attend city council meetings as needed to fight tyranny. The Historical Commission is working on an ordinance to fine people $300 per day if they don't like their stone walls. That should make it to the council this quarter. Working on this - reached out to the author whose book they are basing their ordinance on and he says their approach is overzealous
10. Continue my efforts to find medical/dental providers who do not require masks. Burned out on this for the moment but I will get there at some point. Contacted more but got nowhere - giving up

[rosarugosa]

The furnace cleanouts have been completed.
I've been focusing a fair bit of time and effort on improving my basic pot-throwing skills, which wasn't on my list, but feels like a worthwhile accomplishment as I see incremental progress.

[rosarugosa]

I finally reviewed the Medicare info I had received a few months ago. I don't know why I procrastinated on this one for so long, well maybe I do, because it was pretty BORING. There was an online presentation that was every bit as much fun as the e-learning crap I once had to do at work. Plus it really hammers home the fact that I'm really, truly not getting any younger. Ha.
I can at least say that I've paid enough attention in the past couple of years and have gleaned info here and there as I've come across it, so that I have a decent big picture understanding of the kinds of choices I will need to make and the general pros and cons of Advantage vs Medigap plans, etc. That's probably more than many 64.25 year-olds can say. I think I'll have to get closer to 65 to get the finer details and related price tags. (My younger sister says quite smugly that she doesn't have to worry about this because I'll have it all figured out long before she hits 65).
I started my friend's tax returns, but I need him to answer a few questions before I can go any further. Questions have been submitted and I'm awaiting a response. Once he responds, I should be able to polish this off rather quickly, since he has the simplest financial situation ever.

[hana]

Guest room is officially the staging area for the Fall trip, at least it will be clear again when we pack the car.

Officially certified in Google Ads, I will ask about certifications and CEUs in my evaluation next week. Starting my no screen day when i finish work on Friday.

Husband sold his golf clubs so I'm counting it as one box from the storage unit.

[Alan]

I finally reviewed the Medicare info I had received a few months ago. I don't know why I procrastinated on this one for so long, well maybe I do, because it was pretty BORING. There was an online presentation that was every bit as much fun as the e-learning crap I once had to do at work. Plus it really hammers home the fact that I'm really, truly not getting any younger. Ha.
I can at least say that I've paid enough attention in the past couple of years and have gleaned info here and there as I've come across it, so that I have a decent big picture understanding of the kinds of choices I will need to make and the general pros and cons of Advantage vs Medigap plans, etc. That's probably more than many 64.25 year-olds can say. I think I'll have to get closer to 65 to get the finer details and related price tags. (My younger sister says quite smugly that she doesn't have to worry about this because I'll have it all figured out long before she hits 65).

I've been procrastinating on this for years. When I was automatically enrolled in Medicare I already had excellent insurance through my wife's employer so I rejected the Part B coverage. Now, she has retired with an effective date of September 1st so I'm having to scramble to get my ducks in a row. She'll also be converting to Medicare in October and has tasked me with finding the proper supplemental plan for the both of us.
The first thing I had to do was re-apply for Part B which wasn't a big deal, I received my new Medicare card today. I tried calling various providers last week but noone wanted to talk to me until my Part B thing was taken care of, which I guess now it is. I should be making those calls again today, but I'm not looking forward to it, maybe tomorrow.

[iris lilies]

We went to a Medicare insurance advisor who of course gets paid from the insurance company she refers us to. But anyway, the first few years of Medicare I didn’t want have to negotiate too much of it or understand it. Part of our challenge was going between regional systems although it’s unclear to me how much that really causes problems. And, we had spent a few months wrangling with the federal government about ACA coverage for DH who was, according to them, super poor and in need of Medicaid. They were wrong of course but that’s just the stupid government, and I wanted a rest from health insurance concerns.

Anyway, this winter I want us to give a cursory look to our health insurance plans. I doubt we will change them, though. I’m not terribly concerned about how much it costs on a monthly basis, I just want to be covered for super catastrophic events. The state laws that govern Advantage programs vary from state to state, so I’m leery of Advantage programs because I keep hearing different things about them.

We definitely have to look at our “other “insurance since I know that’s way too high: house, auto, umbrella.

Another thing we have to do is update our will and trust.

[Rogar]

The physician I've had for years recommended an insurance broker his staff and family have used. I don't think I would just pick an insurance broker out of some modern version of the yellow pages due to some suspicions about them out to make a buck, but he was very helpful. And I'd read the Medicare for dummies book.

I had an advantage plan that required a referral from my PCP to see other doctors or specialists, but switched to a PPO that doesn't require a referral. Over the winter I had a couple of complicated medical issues, all of which are happily behind me now, but not having to constantly go back to the PCP for a referral was worth some of the minor additional expenses for co-pays, deductibles, or out of pocket maximums (which I never came close to). Prescription issues seemed about the same although I think there would be differences for the higher tier more expensive drugs. I don't have any monthly premiums to pay and my plan was given four stars out of five by my state's rating system.

The medical systems tried to bill insurance well over a hundred thousand, of which insurance only allowed a small portion. My total out of pocket was less than a thousand. So my advantage plan has been satisfactory so far.

[Yppej]

I think it's awful how we've got this complex alphabet soup set of programs for Medicare that seniors, many not doing well cognitively as you all are, have to try to navigate, sometimes on an annual basis. It should be one program, funded with Social Security taxes, that pays for everything. Cut out the private insurers and save money.

Even after all the covid crap if the Democrats would give us a simple single payer healthcare system they might get my vote back. It could be administered by the states - in Canada it is administered by the provinces.

[rosarugosa]

I agree that the complexity of the programs is absurd. One of the things I needed to review was a presentation from Via Benefits, a program provided by my former employer that is supposed to help me compare and select the best plan.