short visit to say hi and some recommendations

Hey-ho (as Kermit the Frog would say),

I've been mulling over this and that the last few weeks, plus I still have a cold, which was really hellacious at first, ten days ago, and now just irritating. I tried breaking up with it earlier today (imagine me yelling at it: "It's OVER! Get out of my body, NOW, and take all your snot rags with you!", kicking the waste paper basket across the room for emphasis). We'll see if that has the desired affect.

Meanwhile, I've been visiting some more web sites.

Here's a few I particularly like:

TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

Bizarroblog

Byron Katie's "The Work"

Have fun with these. I'll be back after I change the locks (if I can ever get this darn cold to leave the house).

Full On Spring

It's for real - no turning back; Spring's Here.

West and east views over the Winooski River, respectively.

And a pot of brown rice, because I like the pattern it makes when it's cooked.

Curiosity is keeping this cat alive

I called the doctor's office to find out what would happen to my blood once it was drawn (see previous post on tests below), and how much it would cost.

My blood will be tested for vitamin D levels, and for cholesteral (the good and the bad kinds). It will cost $76.88. $25 for drawing the blood, $51.88 for the lab work.

Stay tuned. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Tests I didn't know I was taking and other health related costs

So I got my statement from BlueCross BlueShield this morning. Turns out the information I posted recently about the cost of a mammogram is more than twice as high at $312 than the higher end of $150.

Insurance only covers $249.23 of it, but unlike other statements I've received recently the difference is not passed on to me. I guess the radiologist and my doctor eat the difference. Or maybe the $249.23 is how much it really costs and the $312 is what they ask for just in case the insurance company is feeling generous???

Meanwhile, I got a bill from my doctor's office for $14.27, for the lab work on a pregnancy test. (Clearing my throat) I didn't ask for or need a pregnancy test, and this is what I told the doctor, after speaking with the receptionist, who told me to call the insurance company to find out why this wasn't covered with all the other lab work, and the insurance company told me to call the doctor to discuss the (apparent) need for the test by the doctor. Following me so far?

I got a physical examination in January from the nurse practitioner. She included the pregnancy test with all the other lab work, but didn't mention it at the time of the examination.

So I was really surprised when it came up on the bill. I was just lucky when the doctor answered the phone the second time I called the office, after speaking with the insurance company. He said he didn't know why it had been included, and said he could do one of two things; speak with the nurse practitioner about it's inclusion or take the $14.27 off my bill. I said it would be great if he could do both, and he said he would.

Hopefully, case closed. Although I have more lab work scheduled for later this month, with this doctor's office. They want to find out if the vitamin D3 I'm taking is showing up in my blood. Apparently when they tested for this in January my D levels were at 9 (parts per million?). "Normal" is 25-50, so I guess I needed some assistance in the vitamin D department. I've been taking 2000 iu (international units) of Vit. D3 every day since mid January, and made an appointment back then for mid April to find out how things were going.

Now I'm going to call the doctor's office and find out if there's anything else they're going to test for while they're drawing blood. Just, you know, out of curiosity.