altivo

I have been fortunate in being isolated from the health care rip-offs by reasonably consistent good health and generally decent insurance. I read about horrible stuff in the papers all the time though: people dying because they can't afford insulin (a fairly inexpensive drug to produce) and school nurses unable to keep Epipen (emergency injectable epinephrine) on hand due to outrageous pricing by the producer for a product that costs about a dollar per unit to produce.

Apparently our government is so corrupt and utterly owned by big money corporations, nothing can be done about this. I think it's time for us to march on the Capitol with torches and pitchforks and throw a lot of corrupt politicians out on their fat asses.

My husband is supposed to carry an Epipen because he had a violent reaction to a bee sting a few years ago. Our doctor says it's a life and death choice for him. Last year when he tried to fill the prescription, he was quoted a price of $2200.00 for a two pack. (You can't buy a single one, they only come in twos.) He declined it.

This year the doc reiterated the importance and prescribed it again. We do have prescription coverage under Part D, and it isn't supposed to cost so much. Right. The pharmacy quoted the two pack at $375 this time. And that was for the "generic" version, which apparently is identical and made in the same factory but doesn't have the "Epipen" label on it.

I went to the insurance web site to look up the price that they say should be charged. They quote $90 when asked for "Epipen" and recommend the generic instead to "save $90." So I asked for the generic and was still quoted $90 for it. This is a "Tier 3" drug, so it is supposed to have a co-pay, but according to a different page on the same site, the co-pay should be only $30 if picked up at the participating pharmacy. The $90 is the maximum co-pay for using the mail order service.

So we called the doctor's office and told them about this. They sent the prescription to the pharmacy, I wanted to make sure we were talking about the exact same item. We were. They said it should be free, probably, and they are going to have someone call us about that.

So you have to scream and yell and jump up and down to get people to be honest, and nothing is done to correct that problem. I guess that's "business as usual" in the U.S. Disgusting, to say the least.

Current Mood: angry
Current Location: Home in the oak grove

So the much-vaunted "economic stimulus" check arrived today. I'll deposit it tomorrow. Sorry, Bush administration, I'll not be going on a spending spree, which is clearly what you hoped people were going to do. I hope others are following suit. You've been dragging the entire country into a state of financial ruin for almost eight years now, so anyone with the least bit of sense is not going to spend what pittance they can salvage at this point. We expect to need every penny just to get by in the next few disastrous years. That you saw fit to hand out largesse from an empty cookie jar is only proof of your own lack of faith in the intelligence of the electorate. It's our own money, and we'll just end up paying it back, with interest now.

Gasoline prices in Harvard actually dropped a penny or two today, to $3.97 at the cheapest station. I expect they'll be back over $4.00 before the week's out, since it's a long holiday weekend and the one that often sees the highest gasoline price of the calendar year. What I find even more noteworthy, though, is the price of Diesel fuel. In Marengo it's at $4.39, but in Harvard (just 15 miles away) the two stations that have it are charging $4.89. A 50 cent difference over 15 miles, within the same tax rate zone, is outrageous. Someone said today that the price of Diesel is rising faster because overseas markets are demanding more and US refineries are shipping it to them. I don't know if that's possible or true, but if it is, it belies every claim of the federal government to be seeking oil self-sufficiency. You wouldn't ship a scarce resource overseas to sell unless you put the profit margins of the oil companies at a higher value than the oil reserves of the nation...

Actually, I sorta fibbed about the stimulus check. I do intend to buy eyes and jaws for my wolf suit. But I was going to do that anyway, long before there even was talk of tax rebates or whatever they are supposed to be. This month has three paychecks in it rather than the usual two, so it's the perfect time to buy an extra book or two or get blue eyes for a wuff. On the other hoof, because of all the expected sales of corn to ethanol producers, farmers are planting less hay this year. I'm going to have to spend more to feed my animals over next winter, perhaps as much as 50% more. This is not good, and may stretch things too tightly at last. Real estate tax payment is due next month as well. Things are squeezing hard, and honestly, I think I'm probably better prepared than the majority of Americans. Handing out paltry little checks isn't going to "fix" anything, folks.

Current Mood: irritated

Not that I particularly mind lions. I know one or two that I really like a lot, in fact. But still. March comes in like a lion (which it did) and goes out like a lamb (the days are growing short, Mr. Leo.)

At least it isn't snow or ice now. But for the first day of spring, we've seen no sunlight. It is darker than most days of the winter were, and every so often a thundershower passes. The lights have flickered three times that I noticed, including the relays clicking on UPSes and so forth. No computers rebooted yet though, which is a relief.

In the Department of Other Irritations:

I couldn't put off paying the horse vet any longer. I pay her in advance for all the basic care for a year, which is nice, but it's a big lump when it comes. So I wrote the check this morning and now they're paid up to the end of the year. Four visits plus all their basic vaccinations and tests and stuff. It's a good deal, really. (I keep telling myself.) But combined with taxes coming up it still feels kind of "ouchy."

Looks like we will run out of hay before the first new hay comes in this summer. Means I have to find a source for at least a hundred bales and pay for those, at top price no doubt. Another ouch.

And the sheep are due for shearing. That will probably run over $100 now, we have so many. It's gonna be a slim spring, I can see that. I should get a raise next month, but they are usually just nominal, not much more than the cost of living. This year the cost of health insurance went up more than my entire raise from last spring. x..x

We still have to have the water pipes under the barns dug up and the hydrants replaced. That will probably run us another $1000 or so. Still uncertain whether the insurance will pay anything, though they offered to cut a check after we had the shut off valve installed. That job cost $620 and our deductible is $500. We told them to wait until the whole job is done. It all hangs on whether the well guys say "Yes, the pipes froze and that caused the damage" or "The pipes were old and would have failed regardless of weather." Apparently damage due to abnormal freezing weather is covered. Normal aging or wear and tear, of course, is not.

Current Mood: grumpy
Current Location: At work, alas

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That lion is still here

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