I Just Said No to Drugs!

I got a nasty little surprise today.

While I was in Rite-Aid spending my +Up Rewards(I am officially out of them now), I went back to the Pharmacy counter to get a prescription refilled and give them my new insurance information.
We were forced to change coverage in 2014....not because of ObummerCare or anything, because our previous coverage company was an HMO deal and doctors and services are ONLY available in the northeastern PA area.  Seeing as the Daughter has been in Louisiana since last May and #2 Son is leaving for college(only one  of the schools he is considering is in this area), half the family can't use the medical coverage and we'd had to pay out of pocket since May for Daughter's expenses(ouch)and if #2 Son goes elsewhere for college, we'd be paying OOP for his medical care too.

So Hubs changed the coverage for 2014 to one with participating doctors and coverage nationwide.

The plans we have ALWAYS had up until this new one have had prescription benefits that are NOT dependent on deductibles being satisfied first.  IE-You go to get a med refill in January and you haven't satisfied your coverage deductible, you still only pay the prescription plan price and your meds are not used to satisfy your deductible.

Until now.

So the pharmacy clerk tells me our $3K deductible hasn't been satisfied(well duh!...nobody has seen a doc or had a test or blood work done in the last 7 days)and the prescription that should cost me $20 OOP is going to be $290.

*Thunk*  That's the sound of my jaw as it hit the floor.

Obviously I did NOT get the meds refilled.
Hey!  Who needs medications anyway?

It's not one I need to take or I'll keel over dead.....at least not for awhile.
I've got a similar drug I was taking they changed to this one, so I'll just get the ok to go back on that one for now as I have something like a 2 months supply of it.

Hubs is having a procedure the end of the week which we WILL have to pay OOP for and since that will probably satisfy that $3K deductible I'll wait until after that payment gets into the system to go and attempt any more drug refills.  I'm good with everything else for a couple of weeks so I'm hoping we can get this out of the way and back to paying sensible prices for meds.

If not, I'll go see if Walmart has any of my meds on their $4 list and transfer those over there which will help our bottom line.

I also have to find out if my various doctors(I have 5)take this new coverage, if the blood work lab will take this coverage, if the durable medical goods company will take this coverage and if the gastric surgery & nutrition classes will still be covered and if so, what percentages of each we will have to pay OOP.
This is going to be like a fulltime job for awhile, getting all the answers and everything sorted out!

Boy, am I going to give Hubs an earful when he gets home tonight! ;-)

Sluggy

This is All I Have to Say

I have 3 heat sources going at the moment in this room......the regular electric heat, the split unit system(which is waving a white flag of surrender at these temps)and a space heater.

And I am wearing a pair of sweatpants under my nightgown(which I never bothered to change out of today)and a wooly hat in the house.

After I hit "send", I am putting on a pair of gloves.

But the weather now is looking downright balmy......

Let me just make one comment before I go......

Global Warming my Ass!!!

Sssssssssssssluggy

January's 31 Day Challenge & Is It Cold Enough?!

If anyone wants some motivation to declutter in January, go check out Peter Walsh on Facebook HERE.  Just scroll down until you find the video for each particular day(One through Six are on there and he adds a new video/goal each day.).
He is conducting a small clutter busting goal for every day in January.

It's small doable cleaning/decluttering jobs for those that have a problem tackling large purging goals.
Sort of eating the job one bite at a time, instead of seeing the big goal of a totally clutter-free home at once and panicking. lolz

While we have missed 6 days of the month and their specific jobs, it's not too late to jump into the decluttering band wagon(plus catch up on those 6 days worth of chores during the rest of the month when you get a chance)and play along.

While I spent November and December getting rid of tons of items, mostly in storage or in the garage, I could stand to sweep through the house this month to tidy up and purge some more things.
So who's with me and Peter?  8-)

They closed the schools here last night in anticipation of the extreme cold.
I've got the cabinets under all the sinks open to keep the pipes unfrozen and the room controls jacked up to 65F degrees and it still feels like 30F in here.
Brrrr!
I have finished all my important crucial chores for the day so I am going back and hiding under my blankets!
This crap is for the birds......
I'll see y'all when I thaw out. lolz

Sluggy
 

This Week on The Dining Table

The "Did you eat your Black Eyed Peas for New Year's so you can have luck this year?" Edition .....

Shame on me for buying ready to prepare peas and not soaking mine from dry peas!
My Southern ancestors are spinning in their graves I am sure. ;-)
I did a simple sauté of onions and bacon with bacon grease, add the peas to heat til hot, and serve preparation.

Around here they do pork something with kraut since it's heavily Polish-descent population.
But we hold to our Southern roots in this house.....

What is your family New Year's food tradition?

On to the Meal Planning.

Here is what was planned last week--

Sunday--Eating Out on Vacation
Monday--Eating Out as Son's apartment
Tuesday--Whatever we found in the fridge when we got home

Wednesday--Chicken Parmesan, BEPs
Thursday--Cod
Friday--Lamb Chops
Saturday--Pork Chops

Everything as planned(or not so planned)until Thursday, when we had pulled pork sammies with coleslaw from the pork #2 Son didn't eat while we were away.  Then Friday was Beef Stew using leftover rib roast from Christmas and Saturday was Kielbasa Sandwiches with California Medley Veggies(kielbasa, rolls and veg was already here).
 

As for the food spending last week....
There was 2 trips to the grocery store & 1 trip to Rite-Aid and I spent a grand total of $73.53(including my Rite-Aid trip at $.69)on $157.70 worth of groceries/toiletries at 3 different stores.  I am going to strive for another $300 or less grocery month for January.  At this much spent, I am on track to accomplish this, crossing fingers. ;-)

Leftovers going into this week--Pulled Pork, Coleslaw, Beef Stew, Lula Rolls, Roasted Cauliflower, Corn Casserole.

Here is this week's meal plan---

Sunday--Lamb Chops(have), leftover Roasted Cauliflower, leftover Corn Casserole
Monday--Leftover Pulled Pork Sammies, Coleslaw
Tuesday--Leftover Beef Stew, Biscuits
Wednesday--Mushroom(have) Parmesan, Green Salad, Pasta(have)
Thursday--Clam(have) Chowder, Cod(have), Sugar Snap Peas(have)
Friday--Pork Enchiladas(using leftover pulled pork), Green Beans(have)
Saturday--Pork Chops(have), Red Apple Kraut, Stuffing(have)


What I need to purchase for this menu?....... Potatoes, Mozzarella Cheese, Tortillas, Red Cabbage, Grape Tomatoes and Salad Greens.  Other items needed(not for dinners)are lunchmeat and bread and maybe milk. 


What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy


 

Two More Xmas Mentions....

Okay, so I lied when I said I was over posting any more Christmas related stuff. 

I forgot to post about the card Hubs gave me Xmas morning.......

Words to live by, right? 8-)))



And we have a Christmas Mystery this year.

I used this gift bag to put one of Hubs presents in.....

It was a bag we got last year with a gift.  I "believe" this bag held a gift for #2 Son and came from my brother and his wife.
It's a nice bag so I reused it this year.

When Hubs pulled out his gift and the tissue paper, this flew out too......

An unmarked envelope that evidently was sitting on the bottom of the bag.....with this card inside....

And the inside of the card......

Now neither my brother or his wife are named Sharen or Bev.

So either one of them got a gift from someone named Kim, who previously got a present from Sharen and Bev and never saw/opened the card in this gift bag and she reused it to gift my brother or sister in-law and they never found the card either, so the card/envelope went undetected through 2 cycles of gift giving(or more!), until we found it.
Or.....I haven't a CLUE who/how/why this card was in this bag!

It's a bona fide mystery.
But we hung the card up with the others anyway.  It would be a shame not to enjoy it even if no one here is named Kim.

Sluggy