And I was hoping there wouldn't be a Part Two.... sigh....
I don't know what I'm whining about. Some people don't even have medical insurance. Some people don't even have Medicare. Some people don't even have supplemental Medicare coverage through the employer that their dead husband gave his life for.
BUT it's MY blog and I can whine if I want to.
I've been going to a dermatologist at Kelsey-Seybold for years and years. I recently went to a Family doctor and thought I'd be using him for years and years. I'm waiting for my appointment next week with a OB/GYN also with Kelsey-Seybold.
Yesterday I get a call from some clown representing Kelsey-Seybold and he tells me that he's just following up on the letter(s) I've gotten telling me that KS will soon no longer accept "regular Medicare"...they'll only accept the Kelsey-Seybold version.
I figured him for a salesman or a con.
For Christ's sake he was calling me on his cell phone and we lost connection!
Today I did some checking and sure as shootin', KS will no longer take "regular Medicare" after 1/1/09. I either have to join one of THEIR plans or take my poor old bones elsewhere knowing full well that it's not easy finding ANY doctor that will accept "regular Medicare".
WTF?
I CAN join KelseyCare Advantage Standard Option and STILL retain my retiree/widow supplement, but if I choose to go that route I can't go to my beloved cardiologist any longer. ONLY KS's docs are included in The Plan and they are all subject to change at any given moment. (To wit: KelseyCare Advantage has formed a network of doctors, specialists and hospitals. You can only use doctors who are part of our network. The health providers in our network can change at any time.)
It's a monopoly. Or a conspiracy. Or a private company in it for the dough and perfectly capable of calling all the shots and you can either like it or lump it. Don't let the double sliding glass doors hit you in the rump on the way out, sucker.
I don't recall if I've mention that you get more mail as you approach your Golden Years than ever before in your life. Everyone wants a piece of your Medicare pie. Everybody and his brother want to sell you their plan. After awhile you just toss them all away in disgust. Obviously ONE of those I tossed unopened was the one from KS telling me I was fixin' to be screwed and to just lean back and enjoy it. No cig after though because that's bad for your health.
I'm keeping that appointment next week and the one scheduled for August 20th with the dermatologist (it takes THAT long to see her) and come 12/31/08 I'm bidding them all adieu at Kelsey-Seybold. Next time I need medical assistance other than from Dr. DeBauche I'll just book a flight to Lourdes.
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8 comments:
Dang TX...I'm getting skeered..and I still have a few years before I'm 'there'!
No telling what shape it's gonna be in when I finally arrive.
Damn!
Think I'll go have a glass of wine with my whine! Care to join me?
Wine is good, but a couple of Ritas are even better!
I'll make some nachos...
Hugs....
I don't see the problem. With the KelseyCare Advantage RX Plan you get for free just about everything that AARP will charge you $300/month for if you took that Supplemental, plus Part D Medicare that most everybody charges ~ $50/month for. You have a problem saving $4000/year, and retaining access to all Kelsey Doctors?
Thanks for your comments, but...
Yes I do have a problem with it because, if you read my original babble above, you'd of seen the part where I couldn't go to my cardiologist WHO SAVED MY LIFE 12 plus years ago. He is not in the KS chain. KS told me that I could go to him all day long and twice on Sunday on my own dollar. I now pay for my Exxon supplemental insurance plus my Medicrap coverage and I'm not about to get anyone's "advantage" plan because once you tell Exxon/Aetna byebye you can't go back and they do pay quite well on my Rx needs.
I will sorely miss my KS dermatologist Dr. Marie Mack though as she is first rate and one of my better KS "finds". I'd been going to her for years and years and, again, I could still go to her if I wanted to pay ALL of it myself.
I hope KS takes some serious financial hits because they have excluded 2000 some odd of us that had insurance and paid our bills and tried to take responsibility for our health by getting checkups etc. and now THEY'VE quit on us.
I don't know the details and don't want to know them, but years ago KS got crosswise with Aetna and we were told we couldn't use them. Some time later Exxon/Aetna/KS all kissed and made up and surely the bottom line was dough-rae-me. Who knows, maybe this too shall pass and we'll be welcomed back into the fold.
In the meantime, KS sucks and Medicrap has its lips all puckered up and is beginning to look just as suckie for those of us in the over-the-hill gang.
Dr. Stephen Laborde at Laborde Dermatology accepts Aetna and Medicare. www.labordedermatology.com
Thanks for the link and the info on the dermatologist. I bookmarked it for future reference if and when I get any more "things" that need removing!
I like his picture. He looks like a young Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hickman).
I just read your article. I'm am reaching that golden medicare age this year. When I visited my KS doctor a month ago that's when I learned about not accepting traditional medicare. I like both of my KS docs, but also like my out of KS link Eye doc. My husband and I travel, when I reach 65 does that mean our travel stops at the county line? I'm not happy at all. Talk about your socialized medicine. UG
Medicare only provides good care if you can find a provider who will accept Medicare. Right now you can so it provides good care. But Medicare reminds me of a situation that I got into one day while using a government vehicle for work. I needed to fill the tank and had to go to 5 gas stations before I found one that would accept the government credit card..see also loan compliance.
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