Na Na pinches her pennies
Shh… don't tell anyone I'm poor. They all think I'm living frugal and green just like everyone these days. This is a blog about a senior citizen living a frugal life, on a fixed income, in a low income food desert, and passing along knowledge from lessons learned. Some she learned from her Grandma Mama many years ago and some learned only a few days ago.
I can’t win
The toilet sink replacement arrived and is the exact same size as the one it was supposed to replace. Bummer! I’m sad about it but not giving up. I’ll figure out a way to make this work, somehow. I’m returning the replacement but keeping the original. I’m also sending an outline tracing of my actual toilet tank shape so he can see for himself just how small mine is compared to the sink. It may become a design change for the future.
I went to the November foodbank truck. I usually get there early but when I arrived I saw about 35 cars ahead me. I’m guessing that about 175 cars went through the line when normally there are only about 50 or 60. That’s not a good sign for our economy. Although I do think it’s great so much food was saved from going to a landfill. Not shown is 20 pounds of red potatoes and 2 large heads of cabbage I left in the car. The weather is cold enough that they should stay good in the car. My small refrigerator is full. I plan to dehydrate the cabbage, and onions. I’ll put the peppers in the freezer.
My brother used to bring me fresh caught catfish or bluegills whenever he went fishing. When my SIL became ill a couple years ago he stopped fishing to care for her. After her passing he’s still not ready to go fishing or anything yet. I really like fish and don’t always have some in the freezer so I would buy from a nearby restraunt. Well the restraunt has permanently closed due to a fire. They were in the process of remodeling. The owner says they may not open again. This was the 4th business to have a major fire in the Shively area in the last five or six months. Not only that but several places have simply closed without explanation. This puts me right back into a food desert kind of situation with few choices.
A couple weeks ago I went to have a mold made of my feet hoping to have orthotics made to help me walk straight and without pain. I have very crooked feet due to surgeries. Some of the bones in my feet are made from my hip bones. Currently I walk a little sideways to prevent pain. The mold involves stepping into what feels like sand to make a plaster cast of the feet.
No costs quotes are given over the phone. Appointments only. I believed the phone person when she said they had a payment plan. Sigh, they don’t. $250 down to start making the orthotics and $250 in two weeks when they are finished is NOT a payment plan. I got my hopes up for nothing. I’ve lived without them for several years so more years won’t matter. I’ll continue to check with other prosthetic makers. I did check a company online that makes them too. If it’s too good to be true – it is. I checked out the reviews by a couple of independent review websites. That online orthotics company, being advertised all over the internet has really bad AI generated customer service. So, I’ll not be going that route.
I’ve been getting a lot of those AI generated “Hello” “Hello” phone calls lately. Have you? It’s very un-nerving to have a robot hold a conversation while trying to sell me a new Medicare plan or to buy my house. Uh, if I sell my house then where am I going to live? No reply. What is our world coming to?
Anita
Na Na pinches her pennies 
this is what I found: https://www.prolaborthotics.com/blog/does-medicare-cover-foot-orthotics/#:~:text=Medicare%20does%20not%20pay%20for,absolutely%20never%20a%20covered%20service.
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Thank you for the link. It helped.
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Hi Anita. I have very deformed feet due to Charcot Arthropathy, a diabetic foot condition, and the last specialist I saw told me just keep doing what I’m doing, because I’m getting around fine as possible and not developing ulceration. I use shoes called ‘KWUKOTY Men’s Diabetic Shoes | Adjustable Sneakers | Lace-Free | Plantar Fasciitis/Edema/Swollen Feet/Bunions | Wide Size 7-12’ on Amazon, currently $48. An insert called ‘Memory Comfort’ by Airplus, @$10. And gel pads to build up on one side of my right foot where it has a tendency to turn over.
I have silicon sleeves for my toes because deformed toes do rub on shoes…I’ve thought about having the toenails permanently removed like some of the baseball players with foot deformities do.
You should be able to get a prescription for a molded-to-your-foot insert, I think they heat it at the pharmacy, one of the nurses told me it goes in boiling water then in the patient’s shoe where the patient stands in it and it cools and forms the shape of the foot. Ask your gp next time you go. https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/therapeutic-shoes-inserts
I do find I have to have several pairs of shoes on the go so they don’t wear on one side, and only one pair would be covered on Medicare, but it’s worth it to me about three hundred or so dollars a year. There was a period of time I was using a wheelchair to offload my feet and wondering if I would be able to walk long term. I still use the mobility cart in the grocery store and I still elevate my feet 2 hours a day every day. My diabetes goes out of control sometimes, so that has to be managed too. There are great medications for it now (and for my asthma) but they either aren’t covered on insurance or are expensive, so I haven’t tried them yet. Maybe they will get cheaper over time.
Many doctor offices won’t take Medicare so you may have to shop for one which does.
I’m really confident managing my feet now, and I pay for things cash mostly as I don’t know how to bypass the insurance-covered doctor office sales techniques; it’s too stressful to deal with them frankly, wanting me to have every test under the sun ‘because it’s covered’ and missing or ignoring things which are not covered…
I could write a book about how to access quality care in my state when your insurance doesn’t give you access to it. I did find a low deductible low premium policy on healthcare.gov for 2024 with the nurse practitioner gp I really like, hopefully she is still good and not turned to the for-profit dark side : ) But I have a $30 doctor at Michoacana (yes, the food store operates clinics too) who is excellent.
We’re a whole sub-economy now, the underinsured!
Food prices have come down here Anita, a few things have stayed high like soda and bread but I don’t buy them anyway. Kroger does some flour tortillas, I eat them in place of bread.
Happy Thanksgiving dear. Thanks for sharing your writing and insights, always look forward to reading!
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Thanks Tracy
I’ve never heard of custom mold shoe inserts from a pharmacy before. Except for Dr Scholl’s I haven’t seen any kind of inserts. When I see my NP this month I’ll ask her about it. She takes Medicare assignment. Are those pharmacy inserts the same stuff as the Dr Scholl’s? Do you know if the memory foam inserts build up one side kind of like a metatarsal bar? The bones of my big toes are about 1/2 inch below the other toes causing me to walk with my ankles twisted sideways. It becomes more painful each year. If I can get something to raise the outside to match the big toe it would be extremely helpful. The cost of custom made orthotics is in the $450 to $600 range. Even though they would work to keep my feet straight paying for them is not something I can do. Hugs
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Hi Anita, navigating the healthcare system can be so frustrating. Trying to find pricing is near impossible. I have Medicare and live in a big west coast city. One podiatrist here advertised custom orthotics costing about $500. Medicare Part B website clearly states it covers foot orthotics (80%) with a diabetes diagnosis and a prescription. But the podiatrist/orthotic maker has to accept Medicare payments. That might be the problem, they don’t accept Medicare. I know how much difference a great pair of orthotics can make in your life. Twice I’ve had custom orthotics and they totally took away my foot pain. Don”t give up. Thinking of you, good luck!
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Thank you Zoe! I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right. Maybe they don’t accept Medicare payment. I thought I had asked but maybe I didn’t. Yes, I remember how they take the pain away. It was just that the place I had them originally made closed years ago and I’ve not found a new place to go. Every foot doctor I’ve gone to is only interested in selling diabetic shoes. Uh-duh! I need an orthotist not a podiatrist Again, thank you for the suggestions. Sometimes another perspective changes things. Hugs, Anita
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I copied this from the Medicare.gov website. “Things to know
The doctor who treats your diabetes must certify your need for therapeutic shoes or inserts.
A podiatrist (foot doctor) or other qualified doctor must prescribe the shoes or inserts, and you must get the shoes or inserts from one of these:
A podiatrist
An orthotist
A prosthetist
A pedorthist
Another qualified individual”
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When I went to a podiatrist all they wanted to do was “sell” me shoes. If I remember right, somewhere in the $100 range and so tight I can’t wear them. Refused to let me have slip on shoes.
The person I saw a few days ago makes things like artificial limbs, leg braces, and shoe inserts. Stuff like that. It was the billing office that told me Medicare wouldn’t pay for orthotics. Maybe she is wrong.
I’m not giving up. My next appointment with my doctor is in December. I’ll see if she will write a prescription. Maybe they will be covered in 2024 but are not covered in 2023?
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I checked my records and the diabetic shoes cost me $75 and said orthotics would cost me an extra $450. I said no thanks.
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Hi Anita, if you have Medicare, I think Medicare will cover 80% of the cost of custom made foot orthotics if you have diabetes or severe foot disease.
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The orthotist office said Medicare would not pay for them. When I called Medicare to ask about it all the person did was read from the book. I’ll check again.
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