Medicare Sign Up
Has Its Ups And Downs
Someone told me I needed to sign
up for Medicare prior to my sixty-fifth birthday, so I phoned the Social
Security Administration about three months ago in hopes of securing an
appointment. After a succession of errors and waiting on hold for perhaps
thirty minutes, I was able to speak to a "real" person, only to be rudely
informed that I could not make an appointment this far in advance.
"You’ll have to call three months or more in advance," the rude lady
stated.
"You mean, three months or less, don’t you? This is three months or
more from August 16th." I corrected.
She rephrased her remark and soon ended our short conversation by commenting
I should call back after May 1. In the interim, I found the following on
the website for Medicare, which not only exemplifies the complexity of a
government program, it also provides ample reason why Americans should never
opt for a government funded universal health care plan, no matter how good
the Democrats make it out to be.
"Your Initial Enrollment Period starts 3 months before you turn age 65 and
lasts for 7 months. Except in certain cases, if you do not enroll in Medicare
Part B during your Initial Enrollment Period, you will have to wait until
the next General Enrollment Period to enroll. General Enrollment Periods
are between January 1 and March 31 each year. When March 31 falls on a
non-business day, the General Enrollment Period is extended to the next business
day. If you sign up for Medicare Part B during a General Enrollment Period,
your coverage starts on July 1 of that year. Your Medicare Part B premium
may go up 10 percent for each 12 month period that you could have had Medicare
Part B, but did not take it. For example, in 2007, the Medicare Part B premium
is $93.50 per month. If you delayed enrolling in Medicare Part B for 24 months
from the time you first could have had Medicare Part B, your premium in 2007
would be $112.20 per month."
Later, I told my wife, if I could afford to do without Medicare, once I retire,
I’d just as soon the government keep it, especially if all their personnel
were like the one to whom I spoke. Fortunately, I had a couple of months
to cool off, before May 1, and I had spoken to Linda Thomas who was able
to address some of my questions about Social Security eligibility and Medicare
signup.
The first few weeks of May were busy ones for me and included: a fishing
trip, Mother’s Day, and Barbara’s Birthday, on top of my business
routine. In fact, three weeks had slipped by before I remembered to contact
Social Security. I received a more cheerful and helpful customer service
representative the second time around, and she was able to secure an appointment
for me at the Tupelo office of Social Security that very week.
Experience is a good teacher, and I’ve learned from my wife, Barbara,
that I don’t ask all the questions I should in a given situation. Thus,
I’ve taken to dragging her along to my appointments with doctors and,
where permissible, all others.
We arrived at the Social Security Administration office in Tupelo a quarter
hour prior to my appointment. The exterior of the building held little in
the way of clues to the security that was beyond the front door. Being the
gentleman that I am, I opened the door to allow my wife to enter the first
of two doors. When the second door failed to swing back after I release it,
I attempted to push it shut.
A security guard behind the desk near the door commented, "They’ll close."
Barbara, bless her heart, thought he said, "They’re closed!" and was
still in a confused state when the guard barked, "Sign in on the computer!
Read the instructions; then press the appropriate number!"
I suspected he had a military background or else his exposure to "idiots
among us" had steeled his demeanor. Mr. Personality he wasn’t.
The instructions above the "computer" (all I saw was an oversized numeric
keypad and a small monitor) listed several options pertaining to ones reason
for visiting the office and stated to key-in the number associated with that
choice.
Barbara, still a little confused by the original comment from the guard about
being closed, made her selection, and an error message appeared.
The guard, who had watched her actions, barked again, "Don't hit it so hard;
just press it."
Her second attempt was successful, and a small chit, similar to an ATM receipt,
popped up, which stated, in part, "You have successfully checked in for your
appointment. Please take a seat until your name is called."
Several rows of interlocking metal chairs with cushioned seats were placed
in the center of a large room with a center aisle separating the rows of
chairs. Directly in front of us but more than fifteen feet away were three
or four partitioned areas, each with two metal chairs sitting in front of
what appeared to be a security window with a metal covering.
The time stamp on our receipt read 5/24/2007 8:44:23 AM, and as others were
already seated and more arriving, I wondered if, like a physician’s
office, the 9:00 a.m. time slot was overbooked.
Another first-time visitor, a female, had a "guard experience," too. She
didn’t understand his instructions and may not have read her receipt.
She followed him to a door, secured with a coded keypad and asked, "Am I
supposed to follow you?"
Grumpily, he told her to have a seat with the rest of us.
She glanced our way and stated, "He’s weird."
While we waited, I surveyed our surroundings, noting additional partitioned
window areas on the walls to our left and our right. Right now, I can’t
remember any security cameras, but I’m confident they had our movements
covered, and could tell me how many times I crossed my legs in a fifteen
minute period.
Shortly after 9:00 a.m., a window in front of us opened and the woman seated
behind the Plexiglas or similar material called out "S5" and looked toward
the waiting area. A moment later, someone moved from the waiting area and
took a seat in front of her. A question was asked and the SSA representative
typed something into a computer. Shortly afterwards, a second window opened
and a similar procedure followed.
I rechecked my receipt for a number or code. There was none. It wasn’t
long until I heard a window open to our left. The name called wasn’t
mine. A minute or so passed and a male voice called my name with instructions
to report to window 10.
Barbara and I were greeted and told to have a seat by Dann Pair. While he
looked familiar, it was Barbara who first made the connection.
"Are you related to Chris Pair?" she asked.
"I am," he responded, "Chris is my brother.
Barbara proceeded to explain our relationship with the Jerry Bell family,
whose daughter Leah married Chris, Dann’s brother, and she remembered
seeing Dann at Jerry’s retirement reception. Thanks to Dann, our gloomy
morning suddenly began to show promise of improvement.
He kindly explained procedures and options regarding my application for Medicare.
Barbara asked a few questions and made notes on a legal pad. After getting
me enrolled in Medicare, Dann asked whether or not I was interested in receiving
Social Security benefits prior to my full eligibility at sixty-five years
and ten months.
Dann made a few calculations and announced that because of changes in the
amount of money one could earn annually, while drawing Social Security benefits,
that I could start drawing in January of 2008, forfeiting only $40.00 per
month as opposed to that of full eligibility in June, 2008.
Barbara and I agreed that starting benefits in January was the sensible thing
to do. However, like signing up for Medicare, one has to wait until within
a few months of the eligibility date to apply. That, according to Dann, can
be done over the telephone, without a trip to a Social Security office.
Thus far, my experience with the system has been like a rollercoaster ride,
with various ups and downs. I’m thankful that our meeting with Dann
left us on a high, rather than a low, and I’m optimistic that my next
experience with Social Security will go as smoothly.
Gordons' Fortieth
May 28, 2007
Lee and Connie Gordon recently celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary.
Their children, who according to Leigh Ann never remember their parents’
anniversary, solicited stories and pictures from family and friends and complied
a scrapbook of memories, which was then presented to Lee and Connie. The
following is my contribution to the "cause."
Lee Gordon – Faithful Friend, Fisherman
Jim Hess and I were fishing at Jackson Lake a few miles south of Pontotoc
on the day I met Lee Gordon, more than twenty years ago. The owner had the
levee cut several years later, but not before a lot of us had the opportunity
to fish there. In its heyday, Jackson Lake was a lake most bass fishermen
appreciated.
I no longer remember the circumstances that brought Lee out to find us that
afternoon; however, I remember his wife Connie and their children were with
him. To reach the lake, Lee had driven his car over terrain that would have
been best traversed in a pickup truck. I typically have difficulty remembering
names of persons I meet even two minutes after an introduction, but the
children's names, Jason and Leigh Ann, stuck with me, probably because they
were eerily close to those of my children, Jason and Rayanne. Toss in the
fact that in both families the daughters were born first, their ages were
approximately the same as were our respective sons, that our wedding
anniversaries were only three months apart, and right off the bat it was
easy to recognize our families had a lot in common.
Oddly, neither Lee nor Jim can remember anything particular about the day
I met Lee and his family, but that day would mark, at least for me, the beginning
of a lasting friendship founded in our mutual enjoyment of fishing.
A few years later Jim left Pontotoc to serve as Minister of Music in Vicksburg,
but he and I kept in touch. A couple of times or more each year we'd put
together a fishing trip and more often than not Lee Gordon would fish with
us. Another mutual friend, Gordon Sansing, also made a great effort to go
with us whenever possible.
Through the years, our foursome has
had some fabulous fun on our fishing trips. While on a few occasions we have
ventured into Alabama and Louisiana to fish, we hardly ever travel more than
a few miles from where one of the four of us lives in order to find a great
spot to fish.
It's a good thing the LORD called Lee to
be a fisher of men, otherwise Lee might have been called into the ranks of
professional bass fishermen. I've fished with a lot of guys through the years,
but I've never seen anyone catch as many fish as Lee catches on any given
trip. I may occasionally catch a bigger fish than he does, but I rarely out-fish
him.
Among members of the fairer sex there are some whose shopping habits are
described as "shop ‘til you drop." If there is a counterpart to this
phenomenon among fishermen, it would be, "fish ‘til you drop." I’ve
always been amazed at Lee’s endurance when he’s fishing. It’s
as though stopping to eat lunch is an inconvenience for him, and he’s
apt to be found eating and fishing at the same time. I’ve never seen
Lee "fished-out," probably because the rest of us find all the fishing fun
we need long before Lee’s energy level has waned.
My friend, Lee Gordon, like many men, likes to be in control of a given
situation, so when he’s frying fish, we allow him full control. However,
I once saw Lee lose control, and it remains my most humorous memory of him.
Five of us were fishing the shallows of the Gulf of Mexico near Chauvin,
Louisiana. The cabin where we spent the night was only a few yards from the
bayou where our boats had been secured inside a boathouse. As we prepared
to leave for another day of fishing, Lee attempted to open the door of the
boat slip for one of the boats before any of us got in the boat. As he leaned
against a dilapidated rail, it gave way and he was thrust forward into mid-air
for a moment. His legs were still churning when his sky-walking ended with
him in water past his waist. I’d truly love to have a picture of that
moment in time, but it’s lost forever except in the memory of those
of us who witnessed Lee losing control.
Though my wife and I seldom have the opportunity to visit Lee and Connie,
we’ve always felt a special bond of friendship and love for them. Connie
is a fabulous cook and her conversation is a welcome respite from that of
her better half, in that her thoughts are often along a different vein than
Lee’s.
For a number of years, Lee, along with our mutual friend Jim Hess, has
volunteered his fish frying talents to help my family feed a horde of friends
in our backyard each summer. I credit the success of these parties as much
to their efforts as to any other single aspect of the galas. Lee says if
I want to see how many friends I really have, I should feed them hot dogs
instead of catfish. He may be right about that, but as long as my family
can number Lee Gordon and his family as friends, we’ll continue to give
thanks for the friends we have.
Bodock Beau For
Our Friends
The editor is right about friends and being thankful for them. We've not
taken time in recent weeks to say thank you to our friends. Please indulge
us to do so at this time.
For Our Catholic Friends
The elderly priest, speaking to the younger priest, said, "It was a good
idea to replace the first four rows of pews with plush bucket theater seats.
It worked like a charm. The front of the church always fills first now."
The young priest nodded, and the old priest continued, "And you told me a
little more beat to the music would bring young people back to the church,
so I supported you when you brought in that rock 'n roll gospel choir. We
are packed to the balcony!"
"Thank you, Father", answered the young priest. "I am pleased that you are
open to the new ideas of youth."
"However,' said the elderly priest, 'I'm afraid you've gone too far with
the drive-thru confessional."
"But, Father", protested the young priest, "my confessions and the donations
have nearly doubled since I began that!"
"I know, son, but that flashing neon sign, ‘Toot 'n Tell or Go to
Hell’ just can’t stay on the church roof."
Shared by Vickey Murphree
For Our Gay-Rights Friends
"During last night’s Democratic debate, all the candidates said if they
were elected, they would get rid of the military’s ‘Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy for gay soldiers. ‘Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell’ will be replaced by the new policy, ‘Don’t
Tell Me You’re Wearing Those Boots With That Gun’."—Conan
O’Brien
For Our Late Night Friends
Jay Leno: There are three new books out now about Hillary Clinton. One on
each of her positions on the Iraq war. ... The FDA has approved a pill that
stops a woman’s cycle and prevents PMS. This could [be the] end of "The
View" as we know it. ... Paris Hilton got a new cellmate today: Scooter Libby.
Prison is not the place to be when your nickname is Scooter. ... Republican
presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani is paying his wife $125,000 a year to
help him write his speeches. She’s writing his speeches for him—and
you can tell. Like last week, he gave a speech about what awful [women] the
first two wives were.
Home
Copyright © 2000 - 2007 RRN
Online.
