all i know is i do not expect much help from the gov programs when i get older - too many that do not give into the system take from the system and that well will dry
Coffee Break #20 - Baseball weather??
U2 is on SNL.....Bono is still so energetic after all these years. I wonder if he's eligible for gov support yet :)
Eligibility
http://questions.medicare.gov/cgi-bin/medicare.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=10&p_created=993576517
Love Bono-if he's eligible, thats a sexy senior :-)
I too worry about the well running dry if I happened to need it when the time comes.
Scroll down to how much it costs
http://www.massresources.org/pages.cfm?contentID=53&pageID=13&subpages=yes&dynamicID=706#pay
This is news to me because I too thought it was all free.
"The coverage gap or "doughnut hole" is when your prescription drug coverage stops because you have reached the benefit limit. The coverage gap starts when the amount you have paid in deductibles and coinsurance/copayments, plus the amount the plan has paid for you, reaches the benefit limit. Once your total drug costs have reached the limit, you must pay 100% of your drug costs until you reach the out-of-pocket limit. If you want drug benefits during the coverage gap, you can join a higher-priced plan with extra benefits"
This sounds like if your meds are expensive you could go broke trying to pay them.
This message was edited Oct 25, 2009 6:01 AM
Right, my ADVAIR is quite expensive, but inhalers no longer work & I like to breathe. By the way, I never smoked but lived in a house with smokers when I was a child. Not as much was known about smoking then & Dr. says asthma is inherited even if outside conditions are not right.
JJ, that site said part A is free if you or your spouse had worked and paid Medicare taxes for the past 10 years prior to becoming 65. My friend and her husband did not. He was out of work and started collecting SSI early. She was unable to work due to having had breast cancer twice and severe lung problems. So they have to pay, and it's not cheap, unfortunately.
BTW, for those who work under the table due to not wanting to have to pay the IRS, that kind of screws you up for receiving benefits from the gov once retired, as your not paying into the SS or Medicare. As far as I'm concerned, I would be happy if the gov got rid of the IRS and just instituted a federal sales tax instead. Then people would only be taxed according to what they spend on goods, rather than how much money they earn. Seems a lot more fair, as then people would no longer have to pay taxes on the money they pay out in utilities, mortgage/rent, food from the grocery store, medical expenses, etc.
IrisMA, I have asthma, too, and also did not smoke. I live with a husband who smoked, though, for about 12 years. After about 7 years or so with him I started getting a smoker's cough. I didn't know I had asthma for sure until just a few years ago, about 6 years after that marriage ended. I know not everyone believes you can suffer from second hand smoke, but I don't know how I could have gotten asthma otherwise. It doesn't run in my family.
Karen
Of course there are no guarantees in life and many will need meds despite helathy living. But if people did the right thing, there would be so much less need for all of that, and it would save billions and billions. The coming epidemic resulting from obesity is like a huge ticking time bomb.
We have a little place here called Old Country Buffet. You pay when you come in & eat & drink until you bust. At least that's the way it looks.
I stopped for lunch last week when school had 2 days off. It was very busy. 2/3 of the people there were at least overweight, & lots of them obese. (My idea of obese is when a persons belly hangs down to their hips.)
These people eat 3X what I did. And I over did it!
You can go back & fill your plate as often as you want, but they will pile their plate so high you would think it's their last meal.
At least the companies selling diabetics meds will be smiling.
Well, I am way overweight, and only have myself to blame on that one. But I'm still active, still get a lot done in my gardens, still go walking every chance I get. I don't do buffets, as I know that's like an alcoholic going to a bar. I have to sample everything. If I do an all-you-can-eat dinner, then they usually give you so much to begin with that I'm full before I can even get to seconds. I don't know how people do seconds, let alone thirds!
Karen
I never thought about it being uncontrollable, but that makes sense.
I agree with restaurants giving to big of portions. My wife & I do not like taking home a doggy bag, if we do it does go to the dog. Also hate the waste of food. That goes back to when I was a kid & my dad always saying, Some kid somewhere would be happy to eat that. We don't go out as much as we used to because of the too large meals.
I guess that's why I like a buffet, I can take only what I plan to eat.
So sorry Iris and Karen about the asthma. That is unfortunate and I didnt know it was hereditary. Those are the type illnesses that healthy living dont fix. I am all for exercising and making better eating choices (learned & practiced in my 20 years of military service) but when people are sick I dont think they want to be blamed for getting sick, they want help and it should be forthcoming without going broke. Karen, I like that idea of a federal tax.
CG- there is one of those OCB restaraunts here too, over the bridge. When I worked over there, we ate there every chance we got. The food is good and cheap and that means fattening. Go into ANY buffet place and you see obese people. You're right Victor, its an epidemic (I call it Wall-E syndrome) and I think they should re introduce real PT in the schools and make it a national goal like Kennedy did in the 60's.Also nutrition counseling. Our lifestyles have a lot to do with our weight.
Not to turn this post into a book but, another culprit is the ingredients in food. If you get a chance, watch the documentary "King Corn'. It follows two guys who grow an acre of corn and what happens to it. Its really sad how a depression era incentive to produce cheap food turned into a food product so depleted in vitamins and nutrition. The best laid plans of mice and men......
Joyce
Victor, how about a new thread ?
Some people are probably having trouble getting this open.
Dumbest thing they did was not allow the govt. to bargain with drug companies for Medicare Rx allowing for volume discounts. Seniors got much needed prescriptions by making it a field day for the pharmaceuticals.
Karen,I'm not too sympathetic about tax cheats getting coverage. It is nota victimless crime. The rest of us all pay more because of them. They are not supporting our troops, maintaining our highways, or helping to pay for prescriptions for seniors
Bernie - are you dial-up??
Fate worse than death??
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091022/od_nm/us_italy_prisoner
No, I'm on wireless internet, but I had dial up years ago & know how slow it can be.
That's one reason drugs are so high if Medicare or insurance don't pay for them. The ones Medicare pays for, the price can only be so much, so somebody has to make up the difference.
LOL! I wonder if he stopped to get flowers on the way home.
Another yummy brand of chips. Been enjoying these for years.
http://www.stacyssnacks.com/#/?page=products
The Vikings came soooooo close :(
Yum, Victor, those chips sound great! I may have to pick some up next time I'm at the store. I like the fact that it's all natural ingredients and not artificial junk, such trans fats and high fructose corn syrup. Is everyone here aware that HFCS will raise your triglyceride levels? The liver has to work overtime to process it, and it turns it into fat. Yuck! I think I found that out just last year. Since then I have tried to stay away from it. My cholesterol level is below 200, which is good for someone as heavy as I am. My blood pressure and blood sugars are normal, too, thank God. I do try to incorporate healthy foods into my diet.
Karen
I'm trying very hard to not let the Halloween candy incorporate itself into my diet. Every other day I win the battle :)
Good info karen, thanks. Thats what that documentary I mentioned earlier is about. How HFCS is made and its effects. Horrible stuff. Good on you for keeping your numbers in the normal range.
My temptation is bread. Can't resist.
I do like bread, too, but over the years I've really developed a taste for good, organic, whole grain stuff. I don't like that whole wheat cheap bread that that so many stores make, the stuff that's pretty much like the white bread, but just light brown instead. Tastes like cardboard compared to the good stuff.
Karen
True. You really have to read the labels.
Bernie, That's not true. They signed an agreement that the drug companies get full price for the drugs and the feds can not negotiated a lower price. Drug companies loved this bill.
took some pictures tonight... we still are not done...LOL... but almost there.. looks like we won't be able to put out the real good stuff for the judging... it is supposed to rain on wed
:(
http://picasaweb.google.com/AllisonNJ71/Halloween2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCOziqMzn8t_CvwE&feat=directlink
edit -- the link to the newest photos didn't work... skip to the 3rd row.. 4th photo to the right.. that's the newest ones
This message was edited Oct 25, 2009 11:15 PM
allison you are a halloween nut :)
Allison's the Halloween nut....
I'm the Halloween Grinch!
BOO! HUMBUG!
LOL!
yes I have to make up for you Nancy...
:)
Randy and I were out installing a strobe light last night... a car pulls up and parks outside.. a few people get out and tell us they drove from mount olive to see the house their daughter told them about... it's about a 15 min ride up route 80... I was beaming
OK now I'm mad
Just saw on the news some Credit Card companies will charge an annual fee for people who dont carry a balance.
Whats the world come to.
Many Credit Unions wont do this but Bank of America and Citi will and soon.
Guess the taxpayer not only bails them out but pays twice for financial responsability
Allison you did a great job, love that song by the way! DH has that Charlie Daniel's CD with that one on it. Good choice!
Nice, Allison. DH and the kids are starting on our graveyard. I'll get pics when they are done.
Wonderful Allison. You could work for Disney. How creative!
Ge- I ts a crying shame. I also read where they are cancelling peoples credit cards without even notifying them first. (They being citicard and HSBC).
Great job, Allison!
You guys did a GREAT job. I love the skeleton!!!
Venu, catch the game last night?
Allison, looks like you added more stuff this year huh???
I'm with you Nancy she makes up for both of us.
I got rid of Citibank cc long time ago, they called about a week before my bill was due to tell me they hadn't received my payment yet. I was like WHAT? It's not due yet...you'll get it when you get it, in the mean time they wouldn't let me charge anything else on it. Ok then see ya!
Great game last night. Andy was great in the clutch, as usual. Beat the Phillies!
Predictions???
I say Yanks in 6.
GO PHILS!!!!!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOO!
YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!