October 13-14, 2010 – Insurance, VA and Moving

Wednesday

Insurance Day – OH MY!!

Today we went to the Tucson VA Medical Center – First, let me say, this is a first class place and everyone was extremely helpful and friendly. We showed up early and were the first ones for intake. After we had our interview – so far so good in our approval – YEA! - (but it will still take 24 hours) – Andy went for his ID Card. If we are approved, it will be sent to our home in PA. (Dave and Tina – be on the lookout – LOL!).

Our next step was for Andy’s physical – next Wed. After that we went to release of Information (forms to fill out to release all of Andy’s medical information to the VA). Well it turns out, I did not bring the addresses – can you believe it!!!! My friends who think I am pretty A--L, may not, but I did not. So we got the forms and headed home.

Back at the motor home, we filled in all the forms and also found another place to stay. This campground is nice but even with the discount, it is more than we want to pay. After doing all our paperwork, we headed out. First back to the VA – no problems, they will take care of the forms. Then to the Pima County Fairgrounds. We talked with one of the workampers and checked out the different areas to camp. We will be moving here tomorrow. We can get full hookups for $100/week and there are many nice areas. (So stay tuned for some pictures of our new site.)

Our next stop was the visitor center. We do want to spend some time just chilling but we also have some things on our bucket list and needed more info.

Our last stop was Fry’s – really like these stores…….

Back home, we received a call from the Tucson Agency on Aging (I had called them for assistance). Well, it turns out that they cannot help us with supplemental insurance but they were able to answer many of our questions and gave us places to call in Pennsylvania for assistance – so that will be part of our “chilling” time.

Thursday

This morning we moved to Pima County Fairgrounds – nice place with full hookups for $100/week. We spent the rest of the morning setting up and getting organized since we will be here a week or more (depending on more appointments). I spent the rest of the afternoon/early evening learning all I can about Medigap policies, what they cover, etc. etc. I did find out that we will not need an extra prescription policy for Andy due to VA coverage – YEA!!!

So tomorrow the phone calls begin.

The weather has been HOT!! 95 degrees today. We had to laugh cause they are predicating a cold front coming in a few days – highs around 80. In PA, 80 is considered HOT!! Oh my!

Here is an interesting video… For Breast Cancer Awareness – feel free to vote!

Contest details

Stay tuned for our continuing adventures and some pictures tomorrow!

October 8, 2010 – A Different Kind of Day

We arrived early on the field and as we were waiting for our pilot, we received a call from our friend, Jerry.  Our pilot was sick and parked by the briefing platform with his children.  When we got there, the medics were there checking him out.  He did not have anything life threatening and after a while, we drove him back to his hotel.  (He did see a doctor later that day and it turned out to be an infection – on the mend now 10/09),

Because of the winds and some storms passing thru the area this morning, the competition was cancelled.   However some balloons and special shapes did inflate – and some even took off!   So here are even more pictures:

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Afterwards, Andy and I picked up our mail (thanks, Dave) and made a stop at Wal-Mart.  Back at the motor home, we were going thru our mail and had some bad news.   As of 12/31 of this year, Honeywell is dropping Andy for his medical insurance (supplemental to Medicare).  They will still keep me (for now and not sure of the cost).   What a SHOCK!!  We are still trying to wrap our brains around this and not getting really angry!!!   I am scared!!  Last year we had out of pocket expenses of almost $14,000 and we had insurance.   This year it is almost $10,000.  That is a LOT of money.  (Have I said we HAVE insurance and are relatively healthy!).  So once we calm down some, we need to make a plan on what we are going to do next…..    (I could go on and on but I don’t want to make this a political blog and in the end, it is what it is – we just have to deal with it and find out what we can do.)

Tomorrow will be a better day – :-)))

We did end the day having dinner out with friends, Madeline, Jerry, Judy, and Luke – great steaks and great time.