Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I took both of them…

I was sitting around in my workout clothes, pretending to think about going to the gym. But I thought a tougher work out would really build my stamina.

I decided to try and tackle Medicare and the VA on the same day.  See tackling is a form of exercise.

First stop, the VA. Truthfully, after examining my own guns, I knew it was time to call in the big guns and went right to my U.S. Representative in Congress to get help. I was done pussy-footing around. I called my Rep’s local office and was met with immediate efficiency and comprehension.

Like an innocent child, who has a learning curve the size of the Earth’s parabola (I don’t even know if that’s a ‘thing’ but it sounded really big to me) I believed that help was on the way quickly, and all my problems would be solved post-haste. And by using Ye Olde English terms like ‘post-haste,’ I would surely be drinking celebratory sherry in the drawing room at the end of the day!

But before these kind people could step in, they asked me to call the local VA office. See, the Rep had friends in high places. He is actually on the Congressional committee that deals with the VA. I was instructed to call the VA office in town, speak to the director there and immediately call back the Congressional Aide to let her know the result.  This was the result.

“Oh, dear, I’m so sorry your mother is having a problem with her medical insurance. That’s terrible,” said the kind woman who answered the VA phone. “I will have the director call you as soon as he is available.”

I must admit, not 10 minutes later, the kind woman who answered the phone called back.

“The ( cowardly, okay she didn’t say that but the tremor in her voice said it all)director says he wouldn’t know where to begin to help you. This problem is too complicated and he’s never seen it before. So you need to call your Congressman right back to help you.”

This from the director of the local Veteran’s Administration Office. My workout was quickly becoming the use of one finger……the dialing finger. Why, which finger were you thinking?

Meanwhile back at the ranch, thinking it would take a while for the VA to return my call, I hopped on another line (hopping is also exercise) and landed on infinite ‘hold’ for Medicare.

After following their instructions three weeks ago by filing Executor papers at the Social Security Office, and calling each week to see if they ‘received’ the papers that were scanned into the computer right before my eyes, I am now told that I must follow a completely different procedure before they will talk to me about unpaid medical claims for my deceased brother-in-law.

By the way, not one person I spoke to at Medicare or Social Security both on the phone and in person….and there were dozens of these people………..actually knows what an Executor is or does. So that was fun to explain. Explaining can cause sweating and does require mental exercise.

There were more phone calls and more paperwork created as you can see:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood (yellow..for cowards?)

….and I took both the difficult ones….. ’cause, you know, that’s where all the fun and cardio begins!

“You Just Have to  Laugh………….”

©2016 Cathy Sikorski