Miscellaneous

 We went to Cermak Food Market in Milwaukee to buy some food items hubby loves and can't buy locally. Then we went to Parthenon Foods to buy some Albanian sausage, which is actually made by a man from Kosovo who lives on the west side of Madison. A couple more stops and we got home just as it started to rain. That's a good thing since they are saying "stay home" until Sunday night because they are expecting icing. Fine with me. I have a pile of laundry to do tomorrow.

I tried to bake Pecan Sandies with mostly almond flour instead of the bamboo blend I usually use. The bamboo blend is very low carb and very high fiber. I was hoping to balance that out a bit, but I ended up baking crumbs! Guess I either eat them with a spoon or crumble them up into a pan and do something with them.

I had to move my bowl of Haworthia reticulata subregularis because they got too cold in the window. The still looked unhappy so I removed them completely and put them in a small pot. The bowl will remain empty for now.

Bowl with succulents, now empty

Haworthia I moved. Their roots look good so I am confident they will grow.

I got the acceptance letter for my new Medicare plan in the mail today. I think it will work out well regarding my medications (big savings). Estimate for my meds next year with this plan is a little over $500, for the whole year. If I had stayed with my old plan my medications would have cost me over $1700 for the whole year. 

That's all for tonight.

Response from My Insurance

 "Thank you for reaching out. We certainly understand your concerns and frustrations. There was a redesign done of the pharmacy side of things made by Medicare that we had to accommodate for. I’m sorry you are dissatisfied with our plan offerings in 2025. I will document your dissatisfaction with our 2025 benefit offerings. Our product manager does review feedback/complaints to take into

consideration when reviewing benefits for upcoming years. These are our Medicare approved benefits for 2025, we encourage you to compare plans and choose a plan that best fits your needs. This is your time to look at other plan options available, consider premiums, copays, network and make a choice that best fits your needs for the upcoming year."

So, I will repeat, the Inflation Reduction Act has broken Medicare. This so-called redesign that Medicare stuck us with will make my medication MORE EXPENSIVE. 

 

Again My Question is, What The H*ll Did They Do to Medicare?

 I downloaded my drug summary from Walmart. I added the costs for Oct. Nov. and Dec. 2024. Total $1212.33. That's my total out of pocket for 2024.

Now, for 2025 I will have a $325 upfront drug co-pay and medication will cost more so my total cost for the year will be $1706.48, that's almost $500 MORE. What the hay is going on? All this talk of no more donut hole and drug cost being capped at $2000 per year and oh woopie insulin is only $35 a month. Well, fine. But I have never had insulin or drug costs more than $2000 per year. Why do I have to pay $500 MORE? I looked at "Extra Help". Income limit for a family of 2 is $30,660. That in itself is a joke. I would already need to be on Section 8 and Medicaid for us to have an income that low. The best I can do is use their new plan that doesn't save you a feakin dime but lets you spread their outrageous costs throughout the year. Lower drug costs my ass.

I am so sick and tired of being kicked down and down and down by this economy.