“You would think with a college education......”

Epson 10000XL

THE MEDICARE FOLLIES CONTINUE

Being both 65, we qualify for Medicare.
As a Transit retiree, my healthcare insurance pays the difference between what Medicare pays, and my provider charges.
We could have done that with Linda too, but her Transit healthcare insurance ends if I kick the bucket.
So she stayed with Aetna.
Aetna is her retirement health insurance copay. It’s not as good as me, but remains if I kick the bucket.
Aetna has deductibles; our reward for reaching 65.
Medicare also has deductibles, but they are different than Aetna.
The Aetna deductibles apparently apply to the Medicare deductible.
One is titled “Medical Medicare Share of Amount (Coinsurance).” (GIBBERISH ALERT!)
A few months ago, Linda had a pain in the left side of her chest. It seemed similar to a pain she had after Killian pulled her down and broke a rib.
But our concern was it could be pleurisy.
So she went to Bloomfield Family Practice to see our doctor, our so-called “healthcare provider,” Dr. Vincent Yavorek (“ya-VOR-ik”).
Medicare paid part of her visit, and we paid the rest out-of-pocket. This was because we were nowhere near the Aetna deductible.
Yavorek referred her to numerous X-rays and blood-tests, plus an all-day pee-test, at Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua.
We haven’t been billed for that yet, but apparently their charge exceeded the Medicare deductible; so Medicare will pay a part (we guess).
A notification (above) has been received from Medicare that has to be the most amazing and confusing letter we’ve ever received.
It says Thompson Hospital’s charge was $447; yet we may get billed $60.63.
Medicare only paid $58.04 of that; the approved Medicare amount.
Above all “This is not a bill — keep this notice for your records.”
and
“We are complying with the Paperwork Reduction Act.”
Um, that compliance notice was on a second sheet of paper.

“Transit” equals Regional Transit Service, the transit-bus operator in Rochester, NY, where I drove transit-bus for 16&1/2 years (1977-1993). My stroke October 26, 1993 ended that — disability retirement.

“Linda” is my wife of 41+ years.

“Killian” was our previous dog; a rescue Irish-Setter. He died of cancer last year, and was our fifth Irish-Setter.