Double ugh. That was my first two hours this morning. Double ugh.  When I got out of bed later than usual, I decided to get my Medicare card ready to go for tomorrow. Be efficient, you know. I was going to say “anal retentive” but I couldn’t remember the term so had to do a Google search with keywords anal and efficient. And, what do you know, I am not anal retentive at all. After what I learned, thank goodness.  The Medicare card was not where I thought it was in the office, which took me half an hour to find that location and another half an hour to find out it was not there. I looked elsewhere. Nothing. Over there. Nothing. There. Nope. All the while, I took deep breaths to keep the panic away. Ugh. Then, I thought, maybe I could get a copy of my card at the Medicare website. Yes, you can, stated the site. You need to provide your Medicare number. I needed my card to give it. Medicare offered an alternative avenue to get my card via an online Social Security account. ...

Relief.  This morning I set up an appointment for the Husband and me with an insurance agent to help us enroll in a new Medicare Advantage (MA) plan. Hurrah! The insurance company that handles our plan decided to quit serving our county as of January 1, 2024, which means a lot of old folks in town are scrambling to figure out what to do for Medicare. The insurance agent, who we’ll be meeting, said that nearly all she has been doing the past week or so is help people figure out what kind of Medicare plan is best. We have three options. One, get on another MA plan, which is through a private insurance company. Two, go back to Original Medicare under the federal government, along with purchasing both a Medigap and a Medicare Part D (drug coverage) policy from an insurance company. Or, three, the same as number two option but without a Medicap policy to cover what Medicare doesn’t or won’t.  The third option is a high risk move, so I think, with the cost of healthcare. Than...