My New Hobby

 So in these times of plague, I guess I do need a hobby -- in addition to the daily 10 mile walks. Thanks to an idiot osteopath and his pit bull collection company -- I have one.

I got a call back in the afternoon from the pain doc's office manager. She had a nearly impenetrable Spanish accent. Now -- the family joke is that Wifey "can't understand accents." I can -- comes from 42 years of living in Miami. But this woman -- I can't even tell you what her name is, though she said it.

Anyway -- she called to say she had figured things out. Wifey was her mother's health care surrogate. Correct, I said. So that means she has to pay for the outstanding balance. Wrong, I said.

This moron wasn't getting it. Wifey was not a GUARANTOR, which is different than the person allowed to make decisions about a person's care. If not, every guardian in the US would become bankrupt whenever their ward went to the hospital. Absurd.

Plus, I asked the woman whether her boss was a Medicare provider. He was. Well, did she understand that balance billing was a Federal crime? In other words, when you agree, as a provider, to accept payment from Medicare, that's all you get -- you can't ask for retail when you've agreed with the US government to accept Medicare discount. That's how the whole system works.

Nope -- I wasn't getting through. She actually said "The doctor is a nice man -- you should pay." I tried to analogize -- I was sure the manager had nice friends -- did she pay their bills? Of course not. Same thing, I said! Nope. Not getting through.

So -- it may well come to pass that for a bill of $246.99, major litigation will be born. I researched the Unfair Debt Collection Act -- it provides a fine for gonif behavior, as well as attorney fees. I have a feeling my litigation lawyer friend attorney fees won't be cheap.

On the car front, Isaac the service manager called -- my girlie sedan was ready -- just a defective battery. I'm a bit skeptical -- I guess I'll see.

I waited out the morning rain, and walked to the dealership to fetch the car. I have to get in more miles before 6 -- Eric and Dana's Zoom shabbat, followed by my Zoom cocktail party. I so look forward to these activities. Structure helps the days pass well.

Wifey gets her 2nd jab Monday am. It'll be nice when she reaches maximum immunity. D2 gave us a small scare -- sore throat the other day - she canceled her visit to us, since she "doesn't want to kill Mom."

Thankfully -- Covid test was negative -- just a cold. Yeah -- I guess we can still get these, too -- even in times of plague.

And stay tuned about the saga of the fraudulent bill. That'll give me something to do, too.