Grumble Grumble...

I just paid my monthly health insurance premium: $495. That's a lot for just one person with a $1200 deductible! Last year the rate went up to $412, and that was after I dropped the dental coverage. (It was fairly useless anyway because no dentist within an hour's drive participates in Anthem's network.)

We used to have joint coverage but now my spouse is on Medicare. Well, I'll be eligible for that before too long... actually all too soon considering that it means I'm getting old!

Meanwhile, I've stopped going to the gastroenterologist in Winchester because his office gives such poor service. This is the same reason I stopped going there two years ago. Their phone system reminds callers that they are unimportant by having a frustrating automated service, and then if you finally get someone (instead of a full voice mailbox), it's a support person who promises to call back and then takes 4 or 5 days to do so. My final call there was to report that the prescription medication gave me chest pain and it took a full week to get a call back!

So now I'm relying on one of my other doctors to handle my heartburn issues. He's farther away but his office staff is pleasant and helpful. And he's extremely knowledgeable and pays attention to what I say and important things like what drugs I'm allergic to.