How would you spend lotto winnings?

December 3, 2012

This has been a tough week, so instead of writing about trying to avoid germs while visiting a sick relative in the hospital, I want to focus on something ridiculous: winning the lottery.

If you were in one of the Powerball-participating states last week, or even if you weren’t, you probably heard about the record lottery jackpot.  I believe it was around $579,000,000.  That’s a whole lot of zeros.

The odds of winning the jackpot are extremely slim, but many thousands of people still took their chances.  Of course, their chances were miniscule, but still larger than mine since I didn’t buy a ticket.  With or without a ticket, I think this huge jackpot being constantly talked about made us all wonder what we would do if we won that kind of money.  I did, at least.  I couldn’t help it.  Thoughts of bit lotto spending kept creeping to mind.

Over a year ago I wrote about what I would do with more money.  I just reread that post, and found it interesting how some of my goals are the same but some have changed.  A big goal then was to work less than full time.  Of course, that was before I knew that my disability leave would be long-term.  Now, I just want to not have to stress about a lack of income.  I also mentioned what I was spending at the time: under $30,000 per year.  Now, I spend a lot less, even though I spend significantly more on medical expenses.  These days, I hesitate to spend any unnecessary money at all as I watch the numbers in my bank account getting lower and lower.  I’m putting off buying new winter socks, for crying out loud!  Of course, with $579M I suppose I could afford all the new socks I wanted.  Still, I would want to have enough to live comfortably, and then I would be so happy to give the rest away.

The big difference in my thinking between the last post and this one is how I would give away the money.  With a lot of free time, and the inability to be very active, I have been doing more reading than ever.  Among other things, I have become more aware of many of the problems in the world, and also more aware of the various attempts at solutions.  I want desperately to fix so many of these problems and I wouldn’t know where to begin, even with seemingly limitless money.  I suppose the key would be to find experts in each area and get their viewpoints.  How amazing would it be to fund disease research, help end human trafficking, and promote programs to get young girls involved in math and science?  That sounds like a fantastic way to spend each and every day.  It would be a dream come true.

*Sigh* I don’t expect to ever have a nine-figure sum in my bank account, and that’s ok.  I honestly don’t want to have that much money anyway.  But it would be so nice to one day be able to earn enough money to pay for all of my basics needs and some wants, and to be able to earn it by working at some fabulous nonprofit that’s helping the world.  I’ve done that before, and I miss it.  I hope so much that that happens again one day…..

In the meantime, I’ll try to save up for some new, warm socks.

Leave a Comment » | Expectations, Limitations, Rants, Raves | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

What an honor!

November 26, 2012

I’m thrilled and honored to say that I’ve been nominated for the Unsung Hero award!  Thank you so much to all of my readers, and to whoever anonymously nominated me!

Ideally, this is where I’d post an image for you to click on so that you can endorse me.  Unfortunately, as you can see, for some reason WordPress won’t accept the html.  Go figure.  But luckily I can link to the image, so just click here to see it (and to endorse me if you so choose, but that’s really not necessary.)

But for any who are interested, you can see more information about the various awards here.  And please consider nominating someone from our community.  It is a great way to recognize the incredible work that so many are doing.  I have nominated others, and I hope that you will to.

Again, thank you for reading!

Leave a Comment » | Milestones, Raves, Support | Permalink
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The rare CI benefit: helping others with a recent diagnosis

November 13, 2012

There aren’t many benefits to dealing with chronic illness.  I can only think of two.  The first is the one we all hear about constantly: a greater appreciation for what we do have, a better view on life, etc. etc. etc.  Sure, that’s all true, but hearing it gets tiresome, because it’s usually said with the implication that it makes all of the CI crap worthwhile.  I disagree.  I’d gladly give up my great insights if it meant greater health.  That’s a big reason why I started this blog.  But I digress.

The other benefit is being able to help others who are dealing with new diagnoses, which is what I did yesterday.

The first time I really experienced this was several years ago when my mother had a bad fall that resulted in multiple broken bones and kept her mostly off her feet for several months.  She became very grumpy, and my father had trouble transitioning to the role of caretaker.  I sat my mother down and explained that she needed an attitude change, like actually saying “thank you” occasionally, and not taking her frustration out on others.  Several times she started to say “But you don’t know what it’s like to be in so much pain….”  Then she’d remember who she was talking to.  She couldn’t use excuses with me, and so it forced her to confront her problems head-on and to address them.  I was also able to use my experience to help my father be a better caretaker.  After our talks, they did much better.

This week is less emotional at the moment and more practical, but I can see that the emotional parts will come soon.  A friend just got the official diagnosis that her son has autism.  She has been waiting for these evaluation results for a long time, and throughout the wait she spoke as if she already knew the results would be positive.  Of course, there’s a big difference between knowing and knowing, and she’s having a tough time now that it’s official.  We spent an hour and a half on the phone yesterday.  She griped about how poor the system is, knowing that I understood.  She vented about how frustrated she is trying to get answers, knowing I’d understand.  She didn’t talk about her feelings regarding the diagnosis, but I know she’s still processing that.

After a lot of complaining about our broken healthcare systems, my friend mentioned how impossible it is to understand health insurance plans.  That’s when she first told me that she’s in her open enrollment period, meaning that for a short time she can change her plan if she wants to, and she’s lucky enough to have two options through her job.  Unfortunately, it’s possible that neither option will cover her son’s needs.  Boy am I glad she brought this up!  I told her that I was around to help any time she wanted, but she just sounded so overwhelmed that I threw out a few off-handed comments about various health insurance provisions and, sure enough, one caught her attention as something she’d read but not understood.  For the next half hour we just focused on health insurance.  I explained deductibles, co-insurance, and out-of-pocket maximums.  I explained the way doctors can sometimes get exceptions to the coverage rules.  I covered a few of the things that might change in 2014 as the ACA goes into effect.  I told her what to ask when she calls the insurance companies’ customer service lines, and what kinds of notes to take.  I told her that if they said they would cover something, to insist that they send her that statement in writing.  We didn’t cover everything, but we covered a lot.  And I promised to come to her house next week to read over the paperwork myself, so see if I might pick up on something that she wouldn’t know to look for.

Having chronic illnesses sucks, no doubt about that.  Again, I’d gladly give up all of my insights if it meant better health.  Still, if I’m going to be stuck with this bullshit in my life, I’m glad that I can at least use it to help a dear friend.  She has a tough road ahead of her, and she knows it, but at least by the end of our conversation she sounded a bit less overwhelmed, a bit less terrified, and a bit more in control.  She is a smart, caring person, and a great mom.  I know she’ll do right by her son.  And I’m glad she can focus on that now instead of studying the fine print of health insurance paperwork.

7 Comments | Educating, Expectations, Frustration, Healthcare, Isolation, Kindness, Raves, Support | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

So happy I could cry: I finally have great-seeming health insurance

November 9, 2012

I’ve long since given up on going out on a Friday night.  If there’s a special event, like a friend’s birthday, then I’ll make the effort when I can, but otherwise, I just stay in.  I hope that changes one day, but for now, paying bills is the same to me on  Friday as on a Wednesday.

So I was going through my bills and other paperwork tonight, and I came across my new health insurance handbook.  It arrived in the mail earlier this week and I hadn’t gotten to it.  Unlike most people, I actually read these things.  Plus, I went to my PCP’s office today to show them my new insurance card and arrange a referral for my rheumatologist and they said I didn’t need a referral, so I wanted to make sure for myself.

I started flipping through the handbook, figuring I’d do a thorough reading later, but then it really caught my attention.  You see, I’ve always had employer-provided HMO plans.  With these plans, PCPs (primary care physicians) must give referrals for all specialists, and I pay premiums and co-pays for everything.  I’ve been lucky to have plans that didn’t have deductibles or co-insurance.  It was a very restrictive system, but it was the only one I knew.

That’s why I was shocked to find out about my new plan!  Now, I haven’t used any of these services yet, so I can’t be sure if they’ll work out the way they’re supposed to.  And I don’t know how long I’ll have this plan.  For one thing, I appealed my denial of medicaid, so I could end up with that instead of this.  And of course that doesn’t compare to the uncertainty of the long term disability insurance mess.  If I get the insurance coverage when we appeal, then I’ll get my old health insurance back.  I’d rather keep this new insurance, I think, but I definitely need to win that appeal so that I have an income.

I was accepted for this new plan despite my pre-existing health problems because Massachusetts rocks, and it was given to me without having to pay premiums because I have no income and Massachusetts rocks some more.  Believe me, I know how lucky I am!  But I was still shocked to read the details of this plan.  I can see specialists WITHOUT A REFERRAL!!!!  I feel like I’m dreaming.  This means that I don’t have to worry about whether or not my PCP agrees with my decision to see a certain doctor!  My big issue now is that I need to find a new endocrinologist, since my last one dumped me for being the cause of too much paperwork and too many expensive tests.  I’ve been worried about finding someone who practices what I think is best approach based on the research I’ve done.  Then, once I find them, my PCP would have to approve…. but not anymore!  I figure if I can see someone soon, then even when/if I get my old insurance back, my PCP would be more likely to go along with it because I’d already have seen the new doc (or she’d be pissed, in which case I’d find a new PCP.)

Even more amazing, there are no co-pays for visits, and the co-pays for meds are incredibly low.  Now again, this is a plan for people who have no income, so I know this isn’t what everyone gets.  Still, it’s amazing to me that they did it right!  They are offering free coverage to people who can’t afford to pay, so that we don’t get really sick and end up costing even more money to them later.

It’s amazing, almost unheard of, but I think I’ve finally encountered a health-related, government-related system that isn’t broken!  I sure hope it turns out to be as good as it seems, because right now, it seems too good to be true.

I’m sure all of you readers in other countries are wondering what all the fuss is about.  I just can’t even tell you.  Click on the “Healthcare” category in the sidebar on the right (you might have to scroll up or down) and you’ll start to understand just a little bit.  It’s really lousy here in the U.S when it comes to health insurance.  Most of it is linked to employers, and many people choose jobs based less on their passions, the work, or the job potential than on the health insurance that’s provided.  I really hope this ray of sunshine lasts for me, and that the new Affordable Care Act helps things!

6 Comments | Educating, Expectations, Healthcare, Medication, Politics, Raves, Support, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

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