Monday, November 24, 2014

Happily Forward to the Healthy Future

And so begins another week of making myself healthy in mind, body, and spirit. While hypnotism is the focus of my efforts these days, I wanted to start out with a short rant. I watched and analyzed and devoted attention to the passage of Obama-care. I felt that what was in place prior to Obama care wasn't effective. After all, I had to pay for everything out of pocket. While there were aspects of Obama care I didn't like, at least it was a step in some direction that was better than the non-activity of years that left me and my wife precariously unprotected. How well I remember the hair splitting of a couple of my wife's pregnancies where her prenatal care was covered by Medicare (thank you) but anything beyond that wasn't. And then Obama care was passed. I looked forward to analyzing my options. My initial analysis showed that I fell into that gap of making too much for Medicare but making too little for Federal subsidies. But I continued my analytical pursuits, obtained Federal subsidies, analyzes more than two dozen plans, and launched into Obama care coverage.

I learned many things from the experience of obtaining and applying that coverage. One of the things I learned is that Blue Cross, while always as polite as possible, was more willing to pay for services when I was attached to them through an employer. It seemed that they were most interested in recouping their overly generous premium payment. Blue Cross required my wife to get a primary care physicians referral before starting physical therapy. Okay, that's a hoop. Let's jump. And then crash and burn. Blue Cross refused to pay the bill because the physical therapy was for my wife's chronic osteoarthritis, not an accident or injury. Stand back up, brush off, and try again. Chiropractors have been good to her. She switched to one. The chiropractor's office was in contact with Blue Cross several times because of MBWM's concern over payment. Blue Cross said that payment would be made. And Blue Cross, after a couple months of seeing the chiropractor, declined to make the payments.

But all of this is between me and Blue Cross. Now that it's time to renew within Obama care, I will be repeating my research. While I won't be excluding Blue Cross, I don't want to shoot myself in the foot in spite, I will be making my choice under the advantage of painfully won wisdom.

Another part of that painfully won wisdom deals with paying for Obama care. The government will be paying out less to me and most other people. They don't have enough to go around. I imagine that will become ever more a fact of health care coverage as time continues. Companies, after a year's worth of their fiscally painful experience, are almost unanimously raising their premiums. These two events change my monthly payment from $31.65 per month to an average of over $130.00 / month. That is an increase of more than 4 times. Since paying rent on time is hit or miss, that additional $100 is distressing. This amount is made all the more painful because I am paying on credit cards for the medical services that I thought were covered but weren't paid on. To make matters worse, because I qualify for Obama care, I will have to pay a penalty if I don't sign up.

I hope that the learning curve for the Obama care process becomes less painful with time because I'm not sure I can afford the Affordable Care Act.

At this point in time, Lemur asked me to put her name into my blog. Here you go, Lemur! Quail wants in too. Hi, Quail!

Although, for me, things might be looking up in the financial department. I have a difficult decision to make. The decision revolves around keeping the status quo versus possible 5 week deeper under-employment bookending an incredible, 4 month opportunity.

An opportunity in my life is the hypnotism I am undergoing. For it to work, I have to listen to the recordings as much as possible. Not doing as well as I'd like on that front. But I will be changing my scheduling to make sure it happens. To assist mentally, I have been viewing the hypnotism in a manner similar to prayer. For prayer to work successfully, I have to put forth the effort to bring to pass what I am asking for, whether it's physical or emotional or spiritual. The same applies for hypnotism; for a change in attitude to occur, I have to change my attitude consciously and intentionally.

And I will intentionally succeed.

Time to get on with getting on,

Eliot


P.S.:
When Flambeau took his month's holiday from his office in Westminster he took it in a small sailing-boat, so small that it passed much of its time as a rowing-boat. He took it, moreover, in little rivers in the Eastern counties, rivers so small that the boat looked like a magic boat, sailing on land through meadows and cornfields. The vessel was just comfortable for two people; there was room only for necessities, and Flambeau had stocked it with such things as his special philosophy considered necessary. They reduced themselves, apparently, to four essentials: tins of salmon, if he should want to eat; loaded revolvers, if he should want to fight; a bottle of brandy, presumably in case he should faint; and a priest, presumably in case he should die.

C.K. Chesterton
Father Brown: The Sins of Prince Saradine
Kindle Location starting: 2350

LLIB:
36. Donate two pints of blood every year.
37. Make new friends but cherish the old ones.
38. Keep secrets.
39. Take lots of snapshots.
40. Take a kid to the zoo.

No comments:

Post a Comment