We Survived

If I had a webcam on my computer right now, focussed on me as I'm typing this, I'm sure viewers would think they've stumbled on a scene from "The Exorcist", with Linda Blair's head spinning around.  I've just spent an hour and a half at the Medicare website, trying to decipher their new Medicare prescription drug plan information for Mom and Dad.  I probably could stop right here and you, my faithful readers, would give me all the sympathy you could muster.

I've been my typical self; procrastinating and putting off the inevitable - actually taking the time to go online to the Medicare site and see what the actual deal is with the new prescription plans.  I already sent off for a booklet from Medicare.  When I hear the word "booklet" I think 5 or 6 pages.  Au contraire.  When dealing with the government, a booklet means 50 or 60 pages.  When we got the book, we were scared to death because it was so big.  But (taking a deep breath) believe it or not, the booklet is actually very helpful.  Not as helpful as the site, but still helpful for those that don't want to venture online.  It's set up by state, and it basically lists all of the plans, the amount of the deductible if they have one, how much the monthly premium is and how much you'd approximately pay per prescription.  The website is much better - you can enter in the exact prescriptions a person has, and the pharmacy you'd like to use, and it will bring up the plans available in your state, with the exact dollar amounts you'll pay for the montly premium and the prescriptions. I have to say I was pretty impressed.  Frustrated and wanting to scream, but impressed.

The first frustration came when the site was busy and took forever for the Medicare homepage to download.  I thought it might have been a glitch in the desktop, so I ran back to my bedroom and got the laptop out, and sure enough, it was slow too.  So I came back to the desktop.  By this time, my audience (consisting of Mom and Dad) had assembled in chairs behind me and were anxiously awaiting me to start spewing forth knowledge and insight about the Medicare prescription drug plan.  Well, the longer they sat there, the more nervous and frustrated I got. They weren't bothering me or anything; they were just thumbing through the "booklet" as I was looking online.  The second frustration came when at the "compare the plans" page on the site.  It brought up 39 plans available in Kentucky that cover all of Mom's prescriptions.  Yet the site would only let you compare three plans at a time. WTF? And of course, my ink cartridge is on its last leg, so was only able to print out 3 pages before it was dry. But in the middle of this, the fog lifted, the clouds rolled back and I had the epiphany - I actually understood what the plan was all about.  It made sense.  Mom had an AARP booklet and was looking things up; Dad had the Medicare "booklet" and was picking plans for me to look up, and I was comparing them online.  After a slow start, we finally made some progress and started to make heads or tails out of it all. 

It was frustrating for all of us, not just for me - a person with no patience.  But we made it through the ninety minute ordeal without even cussing or raising our voices.  Mom and Dad thanked me for taking the time to research that for them, and said how sorry they felt for people who had nobody to help them figure it all out.  That made it all worth the effort.