I've Got Mail!

Two interesting pieces arrived today. Both were mildly amusing in their own way, but some days I'll latch onto any humor I can get. Been just a bit of stress lately.

The first one had pink paper showing through the cellophane address window. Ooohh, somebody with no return address wants to look important. What the heck, pick this one first. I thought I knew what the other one was anyway.

My new home warranty may be expiring! I should check with them about renewing it before it expires! 

Wait, what? - my home has a warranty? Who knew? Maybe I could have checked in with them instead of those claims to the insurance company. Just a quick question first however. By "new home warranty" do they mean my 62-year old home is still considered new? That hadn't occurred to me.  Or do they mean there's somehow a new warranty on the house that is about to expire? If so, I wonder who bought it. I sure didn't. Who's been paying the bills on it? I have  questions. First, what do they want with my warranty, and second, why are they letting it expire... now? Do they hate me? Hard to figure out this stuff, right? Maybe I should call the number I saw on the... oops! Looks like the "dog just ate it". Must have gotten dropped into my dinner. Bad dog!

Sigh.....  Sorry girl, you're a good dog.

The second piece was from my friendly local (!) Medicare folks. I get these regularly when I "spend" their funds getting either medical services like a checkup, or renew prescriptions. It's a breakdown of what was charged by the optimistic provider, how much of that Medicare approved and paid, how much secondary insurance paid, and any balance if some was mine to cover. In the case of prescriptions, from the start of the year I've been picking up some of the cost. Apparently my coverage changed when I wasn't paying attention by adding a deductible. The envelope held 4 double sided pages, the top of each page proclaiming in bold that this was not a bill!  I hadn't been worried. It never was. Meds get paid when I pick them up or I don't get to pick them up. I have on occasion just noted these mailings arrived, decided I was busy for now, and set them in the "later" pile. "Later" may or may not actually arrive. I'm considering rethinking that policy.

I actually opened each sheet looking for numbers, out of curiosity. One always offers me a plethora of languages to get these announcements in. Immediate recycle. The second one I opened also said "check enclosed."

Wheeee!

This happens when I get charged for blood sugar test strips. It's always been a mistake to charge me for those. But I always pay just to get them, rather than arguing with the pharmacist. It's difficult enough anyway, with Medicare paying only for 90 strips per 90-day period. My strips do not come in bottles of 90. They come in 50 or 100. I've tried for several years to see if my doc can somehow get me 100 at a time, mostly because when we're up north and I try to refill that particular scrip there, it's always a hassle. Mid summer last year I was told their store was being audited and those items were "not available". I went a month without getting my refill.  Why the problem? Too many people test irregularly, and then sell the remaining strips. You see signs along roadways offering to buy them, along with a phone number. The problem is they are terribly expensive and the poor and homeless mostly can't afford them at the prices charged and don't have health insurance.

After explaining it again to my doc, and asking if he could somehow find out how to order 100 strip refills for me, I got a call that they were ready to be picked up. Actually 100 this time!! Of course I was charged. Enclosed in this envelope was a partial refund of that. 

$1.15!

Next time I have a check to deposit, I'll try to remember I have this one too. It costs more in gas than the check is worth to drive there just to deposit this one. I used to be able to drop by Joan's for a chat on my way home if she was up to it, but no more. Her urn of ashes is well beyond my capacity for an understandable chat. I just went to make a deposit at the beginning of the week with two other checks, and do not expect having another to deposit till next month. Perhaps I should tuck it into my checks pad. I always refer to it when I make a deposit here, since it goes up to their "sister" credit union and I always have to check the 9 digit code for them to deposit into when I endorse it.

The principle of the thing is nice, however. 

Now let's apologize to the dog for a while.