Geezer stuff

I turn 65 next month and companies pushing their Medicare supplemental insurance have been flooding my mailbox for months.

I have a shoebox full of their stuff that I haven’t read, or even opened. I’ve been in denial about losing my Gannett/Blue Cross Blue Shield health care coverage and having to go on Medicare. The idea of the federal government having anything to say about my health care is profoundly disturbing to me, especially in this year of Obamacare.

I finally decided last week, however, that I was going to have to come to grips with it and pick a Part D provider for my pharmaceutical needs. Since my Gannett/CVS Caremark coverage goes away at the end of this month, I figured it was important to pick a company soon so as to assure a seamless (hah!) transition.

But how to choose? I was completely overwhelmed. I called my BMW friend Charlie who is a pharmacist and he said he directs people to an independent insurance agency in Paragould. Maria suggested I go see Bev Parker at the Northeast Arkansas Center on Aging. I wasn’t eager to admit I could benefit from visiting anyplace with “aging” in the name, but I gave it a try.

Sure enough, Bev hooked me up with a woman in her office who specializes in solving problems like mine. She used a database of Part D providers and plugged in the medications I’m taking and came up with a perfect, inexpensive fit and signed me up on the spot. I was in and out of there in 30 minutes and presumably all of my Part D problems are solved. Maybe so, maybe not, but it took all of the anxiety out of the decision making process and I’m very happy about that.