More or Less
Apr. 24th, 2026 10:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
billroperI am getting more things moving, but less things have been moved than I might have hoped. On the other hand, there's that annoying problem of needing to do your research.
I have one form left to fill out before I can go apply to get Gretchen and me on Medicare A and B. Then I need to handle the D and G parts, but I have someone helping with that -- but before I can do that, I need to figure out the exact rules for getting the kids on COBRA, preferably without me. This will require a call to the COBRA administrators. Apparently, there is some possibility that the kids could get 36 months of COBRA coverage -- or maybe even until they are 26! -- but the rules around this are all maddeningly complex. I suspect deliberately so. :)
There's also the possibility of signing them up for a marketplace plan, which *looks* like it might be cheaper, but there's the question of whether you've actually got anything better than a catastrophic plan in that case, given some of the deductibles. I need to pick some brains on this. And check and see which doctors the kids are currently using and whether I would have any coverage in that case.
On the other hand, I have managed to use GoodRx to get a prescription that Gretchen needed refilled at a substantially better rate than I would have if I'd taken it to Walgreens, even with the coupon that the pharmacist was ready to apply. That's a good thing.
And my computer has been returned to Oracle, so they have released my severance. About a third of it got bitten off for taxes, which is not a great surprise. I was already going to make estimated tax payments to land in a safe harbor for next year, but all of that will have to be adjusted in some way that is not yet obvious.
I need to apply to start my Social Security in May, but the website is being a bit stubborn about that, or at least it was when I was trying last week. Maybe it will be different this week since I've been officially terminated. It's hard to say, but I can go back at that. The worst case is that I'll drop the application in on May 1st.
Meanwhile, Gretchen has arranged a dog sitter for the day that we're running down to pick up K from school, so that's good. She's also set us up with a quote to get the asphalt driveway replaced when the neighbors are doing it, which will result in a small discount. They also quoted fixing the front step, but that is not going to happen, because it is way too expensive to fix a relatively small problem.
Things are getting done. I'm just getting tired of spending all of my time sorting these messes out when I *should* be not working. :)
I have one form left to fill out before I can go apply to get Gretchen and me on Medicare A and B. Then I need to handle the D and G parts, but I have someone helping with that -- but before I can do that, I need to figure out the exact rules for getting the kids on COBRA, preferably without me. This will require a call to the COBRA administrators. Apparently, there is some possibility that the kids could get 36 months of COBRA coverage -- or maybe even until they are 26! -- but the rules around this are all maddeningly complex. I suspect deliberately so. :)
There's also the possibility of signing them up for a marketplace plan, which *looks* like it might be cheaper, but there's the question of whether you've actually got anything better than a catastrophic plan in that case, given some of the deductibles. I need to pick some brains on this. And check and see which doctors the kids are currently using and whether I would have any coverage in that case.
On the other hand, I have managed to use GoodRx to get a prescription that Gretchen needed refilled at a substantially better rate than I would have if I'd taken it to Walgreens, even with the coupon that the pharmacist was ready to apply. That's a good thing.
And my computer has been returned to Oracle, so they have released my severance. About a third of it got bitten off for taxes, which is not a great surprise. I was already going to make estimated tax payments to land in a safe harbor for next year, but all of that will have to be adjusted in some way that is not yet obvious.
I need to apply to start my Social Security in May, but the website is being a bit stubborn about that, or at least it was when I was trying last week. Maybe it will be different this week since I've been officially terminated. It's hard to say, but I can go back at that. The worst case is that I'll drop the application in on May 1st.
Meanwhile, Gretchen has arranged a dog sitter for the day that we're running down to pick up K from school, so that's good. She's also set us up with a quote to get the asphalt driveway replaced when the neighbors are doing it, which will result in a small discount. They also quoted fixing the front step, but that is not going to happen, because it is way too expensive to fix a relatively small problem.
Things are getting done. I'm just getting tired of spending all of my time sorting these messes out when I *should* be not working. :)