Tag Archive for Medicare

Walgreens, Say it Ain’t So!

July 28, 2014 2 comments

I’ve been happy with my friendly local Walgreens.  It’s near-by, I get some good deals on their sales, and the people there are friendly.  Now I learn that they’re taking their Medicare/Medicaid earnings (masking up 1/4 of their income) and my dollars and fleeing the scene.  They’re one of the latest companies to take advantage of “tax inversion.”  That is, they’ll not touch our familiar Walgreens stores but move their corporate headquarters to a tax-haven, a place that allows them to avoid paying U.S. tax on the U.S. money we gave them. It’s a nice little loophole for them and other corporations, but it cheats our economy out of funds that pay for our government, military, health, safety, and safety nets.

Read more in the Chicago Sun-Times article “Walgreens: The tax-dodger on the corner.”

If this bothers you, inform Walgreens CEO and President Gregory Wassen.  Sign the petition at the Credo Mobilize site.  If enough Walgreens custormers let him know of our disapproval, he may very well calculate how many customers–and how much financial loss–he’ll face and decide to do the right thing.

 

 

Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

A Government Shut-Down is a Good Thing

September 27, 2013 Comments Off on A Government Shut-Down is a Good Thing

Let the government shut down. It would be a good thing. It will show the silly majority of lawmakers that, just because they pass a law or program, that doesn’t mean we’ll let them put it into action. It would be good, too, for people on welfare, food stamps, Medicare, and other government entitlement programs so they’d learn that they shouldn’t always depend on staying on the Gimme Track—then they’ll all go out and get jobs, food, housing, health care, and anything else they need, on their own—because they could do it if they really made an effort.  Yes, it might affect those brave veterans who’ve defended our country, but only for awhile, and their families were paid well while they were off to war, so they should have saved enough to get them by.  Besides, it’s not as though we’d be setting a precedent for the U.S. defaulting on our debt; it happened on George Washington’s watch.  Yes, a lot of good would come out of this.  So it’s time that we show those guys what happens when a vocal, stubborn group like us doesn’t get our way.

 [P.S. Vote for me when I run for Congress soon on the Coffee Party ticket, where our motto is, “We’re the caffeine to wake up America.”]

Salute flag

Uncategorized , , , , ,

Medicare Care & Cost for 2013

January 14, 2013 2 comments

Medicare will be more user-friendly this year.  The Affordable Care Act addressed several problems the older generation was having with the program.  In 2013, these provisions kick in.

One is free preventative services (including help to stop smoking) to make us healthier.  Also, we’ll get a much clearer summary of benefits (larger print, understandable language, definitions of terms used). It will contain other useful information, as well, like how to read it and report what we feel is fraud.  Next, the “donut hole” that people who use the prescription drug plan have been facing shrinks.  It will take another seven years to close, but at least it’s getting smaller.  In addition, mental health coverage is increasing.  If you go to a psychiatrist, for example, your co-pay will be less, and many of the prescriptions he writes for you to treat your mental disorder will now be covered.

Of course, with all the improvements to the program, we’ll have to pay a little more this year.  Our premiums will increase by a few dollars per month.  However, I think those few dollars added up for a year will be a small amount compared to what I would have had to pay for the added services, meaning I’ll save money and get better care.  I like that idea.

Uncategorized , , , , , , , , ,