26 January 2024
John delivered the lemon bundtlet and we headed to Villa’s on 441 and Riverland. I haven’t eaten there in years. They serve Mexican/Cuban cuisine and it’s always good. Their prices have risen significantly since I last ate there, but it’s still a good value.
We came back to the house and caught up with each other and about 3:30 I crashed. After John left I headed to bed to nap and did for 3 hours. I don’t know what happened. I was groggy when I got out of bed and it took me a few minutes to get my sea legs back.
During our conversations, I think I know why my Jardiance was $580 and not $147 like I remember. It’s January and I haven’t met my $580 Medicare Part D deductible. After I meet the deductible, the Jardiance may be $147 again. I’ll check with Medicare.
John alerted me to a new law effective this year with Medicare. After you reach $2000 out of pocket expenses, Medicare part D pays for all covered drugs. This is a part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress and signed by President Biden.
Some web sites are saying that President Trump’s XO have done away with the ability of Medicare to negotiate drug prices and some say he has not. Only time will tell. There also seems to be some confusion as to whether aspects of President Biden’s signing is as an XO or a law passed by Congress and signed by President Biden. If it’s part of the law, then Congress would have to repeal the law.
Bette, a former colleague of mine at Itawamba College, sent me an email about her experience with panoptic lenses. Prior to her getting them, she filled out a survey and two questions stuck out to her. The first was when she was asked if she was a perfectionist. She said she is not. The second asked her opinion on wearing glasses. She hates wearing them. Based on those two answers and others, the doctor said panoptic was the way to go.
I am a perfectionist and I don’t mind wearing glasses. She said she did still on occasions saw halos but they were as bad and she doesn’t really pay them attention. I would pay them attention. She says her night vision is pretty good and she doesn’t need glasses to read. The only caveat is for really fine print she needs more light.
The price she paid in Naples is in line with what I was quoted for panotic lenses with laser surgery.
I think we talk (and write) about our health more than our parents and grandparents did. First, we recognize many more diseases and conditions that can be treated. Secondly, we are living longer (better living through chemistry) and as we age longer than many of past generations, we develop more diseases/conditions. For example, my parents didn’t know of the existence of RNA and I only learned about it in college. Even then, we didn’t have any idea it would become an important component of a vaccine.
What I’m getting at, it’s OK to complain about our health to our friends and family. We are experiencing more and more health problems that were either not diagnosed before or that are completely new (Covid-19). So, complain away! Judiciously!
Stay tuned!
