Wellness

          Medical insurance is a major concern for everyone.  Insurance can be very expensive and it often comes with many exclusions and limits.  But can you afford to be without it?

          For seniors, like us, the only real choice is Medicare.  We have been on Medicare for about 15 years and we have no complaints except possibly for its cost.  And most seniors also need to purchase a supplemental policy to cover the usual 20% of costs not covered by Medicare.

          While some may complain about this national plan, we certainly can't.  With only a few minor exceptions it has covered our needs and we have been happy.  However it and our supplemental plan do cost us about $900 a month for coverage, including drug coverage, and that is a major chunk of our retirement income.  But what other choice do you really have as your physical needs increase as you age?

          But Medicare does include a few things which I think are a waste of money.  One of these is their annual Wellness Visit.  Maybe it is a good idea on paper, but it is worthless in real life.

          My first wellness visit was in the doctor's office.  After I was seated, the nurse told me to stand up and walk to the hall.  I did that and then realized that she was actually timing me to see how long that would take.  Had I known I was being timed I could have moved much faster.  Apparently this part of the test has been eliminated.

          Then I was asked a series of questions - What year is it?  What month is it?  What day is it?  It was interesting that a large calendar was hanging right behind her where I could easily see it.  That part of the test continues today.  However now that part of the test is done on the phone which makes it easier to cheat - if you need to.

           Additional questions included - Do you smoke?  Do you drink?  Do you use drugs?  Do you use safety belts in your car?  Do you have smoke detectors or carbon monoxide monitors?  Are the batteries current?  Have you fallen in the past year?  Do you have throw rugs in your home?  Do you have safety bars in your bathroom?  Can you dress yourself?  Can you feed yourself?  Do you have help at home?  Do you have stairs?  How many steps are there?  Can you climb your steps without getting out of breath?  Do you feel safe at home?  Can you use a sweeper?  Do you need a walker and if so, how often do you use it?  How many times a week do you have sex?  - Oh, no, they don't ask that question, but they might get some interesting answers if they did.

          Now some of these questions are good and probably helpful.  But how often do people really tell the truth?  For example, are they going to be honest about their use of alcohol and drugs?  Are they going to admit to falling?   It's almost like all those questions you must now answer during Covid to be admitted to a medical facility.  Can you really trust the answers people give?

          Actually, I almost failed my first Wellness Test.  The nurse asked me to repeat after her three words, one at a time, - apple, table and penny.  I assumed that this was a hearing test - I would think a normal part of checking one's wellness would be checking hearing. I repeated them correctly.  But a little later she surprised me by asking me to repeat those three words.  I could only remember two of them since I didn't realize I was to memorize them.

          Now I ace this part of the test since I've found that Medicare never changes these three words.  They have been the same every year I've taken this test.  So I'm not a dummy, I'm ready with "apple, table, penny"!

          Well I passed my annual test in October.  I even remembered the three words correctly.  Will I be able to do it again in 2021?

          But there is one good thing about the visit and test.  Medicare doesn't charge for it.  So I guess that makes me feel a little better about the $900 a month I spend for health care.