Obligatory Year-End Post

Goodbye 2013! Good riddance!

Not quite fair. I got all new equipment and started to learn to ski. My Dear Wife got a new instrument and started to learn to play–and is doing quite well after only one lesson! We became much closer friends with someone we'd had a passing acquaintance with, and that has had multiple benefits. 

But on the whole, I won't be upset to see 2013 go the way of 1941 or 1978. 

Here's to a happy and profitable 2014! May Harry Reid retire while Gov. Sandoval is still in office; may the IRS blow its enforcement of the PPACA by focusing on people who actually make money; and may the GOP not shoot itself in the foot with Senate candidates.

Happy New Year, y'all.

“You may need to talk with your doctor about your prescriptions.”

I recently received a letter from my prescription drug insurance administrator with that sentence in bold above the body. The letter explains that as of 01/01/2014, the plan’s coverage of this particular (name-brand) medication will change. The administrator and doctor together must review the prescription to ensure it falls within the plan’s rules.

There is nothing in the letter specifically mentioning the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), although one sentence does mention information that is “FDA-approved”. The FDA is, according to Wikipedia, part of Secretary Sebelius’s DHHS. Nevertheless, the effective date of the new policy is, I am certain, no coincidence.

Fortunately for me–and I am a fortunate person–this medication was for a specific short-term purpose, and I am no longer using it. I empathize with those who may not be so lucky.