When your doctor prescribes a medication but your insurance company refuses to pay for it.

Does Medicare cover routine skin examinations?

Raise your hand if you are PLANNING on getting sick.

A Lincoln woman battling stage four kidney cancer suffers another setback, but this one is not due to the aggressive disease but her insurance.

Cathy Martinez recently found out her insurance will no longer cover one of her expensive drugs despite her doctor's recommendations she continue the medications.

Three years ago, Martinez didn't think she'd be around for the birth of her first granddaughter, her son with autism graduate from high school, or run her home day care. An aggressive form of cancer was trying to kill her.

But through prayers, help from family and friends and a Nebraska Cancer Specialist doctor in Omaha, who put her on a drug called Keytruda, Martinez got better.

"It's taken a lot to get me to the point where I'm stable, and I can lead a productive life and be a contributing member of society," Martinez said.

But she's not cancer free yet. And that's why the 52-year-old was devastated when she got a notice on June 12 from her insurance provider Medica that it would no longer cover the medication. Martinez said it costs about $28,000 every three weeks.

https://www.ketv.com/article/lincoln-woman-stage-4-cancer-insurance-life-saving-drug/44285208#

Medicare does not pay for routine screening, but it does cover a visit to a doctor’s office if a person notices a suspicious change to their skin.

Medicare also covers the destruction of precancerous skin lesions, or actinic keratoses.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/does-medicare-provide-skin-cancer

Recently I published a video on my YouTube channel titled, No One Plans on Getting Sick. Within a few hours I had comments, including two from  existing clients . . .

My precious brother died unexpectedly two years ago because of a congenital heart condition. He knew he had it but never went to a doctor his entire adult life (he died at the age of 68). He felt fine, he said--until he didn't, and then it was too late. He too took just the "free" Medicare Part A part when he qualified for Medicare, though I tried to talk him into at least an Advantage plan, which I don't ever recommend, but for him, this was better than just Part A. He didn't do it. He certainly didn't want to pay for a supplemental plan, the only real way to go for all of us. He died. It broke our hearts. I had a mess to clean up afterwards with hospital and doctors' bills. Had to tell all of them my brother only had Part A and they wrote it all off because my brother had no money when he died and I wasn't responsible. How foolish of him because he was stubborn. Please listen to Bob Vineyard.

Just for fun

Indiana Jones Looks at 80

Hard to believe it has been 40 years since a mild mannered college professor shed his tweed jacket and spectacles for a brown fedora, military style jacket, bull whip and a .45 caliber pistol as he sets out to find the lost Ark of the Covenant and fight the Nazi’s.

Harrison Ford has come a long way since Han Solo piloted the Millenium Falcon to save Princess Leia while battling the forces of evil led by Darth Vader. Now he returns for the 5th and final Indian Jones movie, The Dial of Destiny.

https://mymodernmet.com/harrison-ford-interviewer-thanks-for-indiana-jones

Update

Summer is finally here accompanied by humid days and nights, 90 degree weather and pop up thunderstorms. Weed-free yards are transformed in a matter of days to a mixture of alien life forms including pokeweed that sprouts where there was none the last time I mowed.

On another note, Rachel’s eyelid surgery (functional, not cosmetic) was completed without complications and she is on the road to recovery. On Friday, June 30 it will be 3 weeks post-op. The bruising and swelling has mostly subsided but she is still reluctant to go out in public. We will most likely celebrate our 48th anniversary with dinner and a movie at home.

Feel free to share this newsletter with others. Call or email if you have questions.

bob