2120 Well, at least I'm alive....

Friday, November 21, 2008

Still with the malaise.

It's time to select the medical, dental, and vision plans for my retirement plan for the next year. The Company sends a thick envelope outlining the choices available in your area. Here, I get a choice of like 10 different medical plans, 7 dental plans, and 3 vision plans.

For several years I'd chosen one of the catastrophic medical plans, where for $170 a month I pay the first x thousand dollars every year, and once that deductible is met, I'm covered for 100% of everything else, and there is no network nonsense. I can handle x thousand if I have to, and I'm getting old enough that catastrophe looms, so that sounded really good.

This year, the exact same plan ominously mentions in and out of network (with no indication of who is in the network), and mentions copays varying from 10% to 50%. The other choices offered don't look any better.

A lot of retirees don't read the package every year. If you don't make any changes, the previous year's plan is extended, so if they've been happy with what they had, they don't bother to look at the options. They just let it ride. I think a lot of people are going to be shocked when they find out that even though their plan still has the same name, and the same deduction from their pitiful retirement check, it's changed drastically.

I did upgrade my dental plan.

As to the malaise, it's affecting everything, even blogs. I go to foreign affairs, news, and political blogs that I had read avidly every day, take one look, and think "Who cares", and hit the back button. I go to personal blogs, click on "comment", and think "He/she doesn't really need my whatever", and click the red X.

It's like that with everything.

The temperature has been described as "January, not November!". I am miserable. My snowthrower is still in the shop. Snow showers are predicted several days next week, and since the temperature hasn't gone over 35 in what feels like ages (in the TEENS overnight!) any snow that falls is likely to stick.

I want to hibernate.
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