It’s Good Friday today, which makes this Friday even better than most. This weekend used to be a lot of fun when the kids were small. We loved hiding the eggs and the baskets all over the place. Now that they’re older there isn’t as much magic. Nonetheless, I look forward to having Goalielocks home for another weekend. I wish Jake and Melly were coming home, but their schedule won’t allow it.
I have to work tomorrow, which is a total buzzkill. Sunday we’ll be celebrating Easter with Melly’s family. We’re quite blessed that our son is marrying into such a loving and fun family. We’ll be heading to church in the morning following by a nice post church lunch. Melly’s parents have quickly become good friends and confidants of ours. More than that, they love my boy so completely it makes my heart burst.
Our first Easter with Melly and Family
It’s been a Good Friday at work too. Despite being slow, I’ve been quite productive. Additionally, I found a few shows on Prime that I quite enjoy. The first one was The Other, which is funny and both well-written and acted. The second one was Sisters. There were only six episodes of that one. I’m hoping more episodes will come out soon. Now I’m watching Jane Seymour in Harry Wild. The verdict is still out on this.
What makes you laugh?
I have a mercurial sense of humor. I love Monty Python, the Office, Arrested Development, and Fawlty Towers. That’s just a few examples, but I love to laugh and I love comedies.
The saga continues. I finally got an alternative med approved for the one Cigna denied. As a reminder, I’ve been on the medication since 2021 and was paying $25 a month. You can imagine my shock and I logged it to Express Scripts and noted a co-pay of $1385.85. I’m so glad I’m paying an arm and a leg for this insurance every month. It is coming in handy over here!
I’m so tired of Cigna and other insurance companies being the alpha and omega of medical decisions. Despite Cigna’s unwillingness to cover antibiotics, the Mayor’s finger is finally healing well. Honestly, this broken-finger business has been quite the saga. And by saga, I don’t mean fun adventures like the Vinland Sagas. Once my big event pops off at the end of April, I’m going to focus my energy on making Cigna and Express Script’s life miserable.
When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was five, I wanted to be a doctor. Fortunately or unfortunately, I decided to go another path. I cannot imagine the frustration doctors must feel trying to provide care while wrestling with insurance companies.
Now here’s a song to bring out your inner dancer. Now back to the saga.
Boredom has been a constant fixture of my weekday since last Wednesday. I don’t like being idle. I prefer a fast-paced, busy day that moves quickly. Now on this pilot program, boredom is the name of the game. The only silver lining to the situation is that I’ve enjoyed getting caught up on documentaries and British comedies. I’ve definitely learned a lot in the last week.
Whoops, got sidetracked harassing Cigna on X again. They finally approved a comparable drug to the one I’ve been taking the last two years. Those crafty bastards at Cigna approved something they don’t cover, so my co-pay is $1385.85. Last time I filled the script, it was $75 for a 3-month supply. Since going down the rabbit hole, I’m more convinced than ever that nothing will change. Given the amount of money these companies donate, really blackmail, to our politicians’ campaigns is sickening.
Our system is so irrevocably broken, it’s sad. The insurers and big hospital systems are dictating care to the detriment of their patients. We’re caught in between dishonest insurers that gate-keep coverage. Additionally, the corporate or private equity run health systems would rather you die than give you adequate care. Lastly, if I see another humble brag on X about more people having access to health insurance, I’m going to vomit. Access to health insurance is no longer synonymous with access to care.
What’s something most people don’t understand?
I think people struggle to understand autoimmune disease and how impactful they are to people’s lives. It’s hard for people to square a seemingly healthy looking person, who’s struggling with serious illness. Anyway, autoimmune diseases suck just as much as Cigna.
More coffee, please… There doesn’t seem to be enough coffee onboard to get me through this tedious Monday. My boss moved me to a pilot team last week, which has resulted in my absolute boredom and no sales. If there is an upside, it’s that I’ve been able to watch some great documentaries over the past few work days. I just finished one on the sophisticated Queen Elizabeth I.
Now I’m watching one on the London of Tudor England. Unsurprisingly, it goes along well with my obsession for reading all things Tudor or Tudor adjacent. Nevertheless, I hate being bored and unproductive at work. Especially when I’ve been having a spectacular month thus far. Hopefully, they move me off this pilot and back into a space where I can be successful.
While Monday is definitely calling for more coffee and patience, the weekend was pretty good. Goalielocks was here through late Saturday afternoon. I love having him home and wish Jake could have been home too. Having the boys in the house makes my heart full. It’s a different dynamic when your kid is visiting versus when they live under your roof. I did make some homemade sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal for him to take home.
Aside from the fact I had to work Saturday, I did have a fun weekend. Friday night we had dinner with John and Hanh at Batch, which was tasty and fun. Afterward, we went back to their house to hang out while the Mayor got his occupational therapy. After work Saturday, we went back to their house to watch the Panther’s game. When we left their house just after 11:00, we got to see the rocket launch. From the road, we had a different view than what we can see from our house. For the first time, we could see the fireball streaking through the sky behind the rocket.
Sunday morning I headed to our Coffee & Collateral event for PanCan. We have the best affiliate group in the business. The morning was so much fun and time well spent. As a group, we were able to get our fliers and postcards into a lot of local businesses. Importantly, we were also able to cultivate some promising partnerships with a few businesses. One of the most powerful parts of this experience is hearing stories of how pancreatic cancer or cancer has impacted their life. While we raise funds for pancreatic cancer, cancer research can impact several other types of cancers.
Afterward, I got to baking. I whipped up two quick sourdough loaves. I intended to make the 24 sourdough loaf but forgot to start it Friday night. Once the loaves came out of the oven, I started on the fresh pasta we’d be having for dinner. I was a bit intimidated at first, but it proved to be easier than I expected. To be clear, it is a time-intensive exercise, but you could easily make the pasta on the weekend for use during the week. Truly, the effort was worthwhile. The difference between fresh and store-bought pasta is stark. I’ll try to post the recipe this week.
How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?
I say “no” to things that interfere with my goals or routines often. Unfortunately, I’ve found that maintaining my routine is important when managing an autoimmune disease. Before I was diagnosed with Graves, I had a routine but could be flexible in making changes to the routine. Now if I change up the routine, the wheels fall off. I don’t like feeling like an outsider in my own body.
The third park on our journey through Utah’s Mighty Five was Capitol Reef National Park. The drive from Cannondale, Utah where we stayed near Bryce Canyon to Capitol Reef National Park is a straight shot on Utah’s Scenic Route 12. Few drives on this earth are as spectacular as this one. It was surreal. You will drive Grand Staircase Escalante and its dramatic landscape and Canyons before taking you up an incredible mountain road. As we traveled the winding road through the blazing, colorful foliage at the higher altitudes we were sharing the road with free-range cattle.
The drive is slow, but you’ll want to spend time taking in the amazing views. Plus there are portions of the road with s-curves featuring no shoulders and steep drops on either side into the canyon below. The drive is stunning, but scary at times too. The mountain road takes you to over 10,000 feet above sea level and offers spectacular views of the valley and canyons below. Before you leave for the park, be sure you have enough gas to make it to the national park. There are very few places to stop on the way.
When we got to Capital Reef, we were shocked to see there wasn’t a gate at the entrance. You just drive into the park. It was immediately obvious that this park was significantly less busy and popular than Bryce or Zion. Consequently, you’ll need to prepare your trip around the visitor centers’s hours, which are 9-4:00 pm. I highly recommend stopping into the visitor center, and checking out what they have to offer. More importantly, however, you’ll need to ensure you take advantage of their WiFi to download and access your trail maps. There is no cell service in the park.
I highly recommend getting there early in the morning, so you can enjoy one of the famous cinnamon rolls at the Gifford House and Museum. The homestead also sells fresh pies made from the fruit picked from the parks orchards. We also bought an apple pie that we enjoyed after dinner that night. The cinnamon roll was as good as it looks and was enjoyed in a beautiful picnic area next to the house. There were gardens with flowers and tomato plants
After enjoying our authentic Capitol Reef breakfast, we went to see the petroglyphs found just off the park’s main road. The petroglyphs were so cool to see. Something is humbling about seeing them and walking the same path as the ancients. Afterward, we headed to the trailhead for the Hickman Bridge Trial. You can access several trailheads from the main road making the park easy to navigate. Again given the complete lack of cell service, make sure you have the trail maps downloaded.
Before you go, here are some things to consider.
Capitol Reef National Park is very remote and has no reliable cellphone service, so plan accordingly.
The busy season runs from April to Early October. And while Capitol Reef isn’t as busy as Zion or Bryce, you’ll want to get there early enough to get a cinnamon roll at the homestead.
We only had one full day at Capitol Reef and I would recommend trying to plan at least 2 days here. Given our limited time, we didn’t venture too far off the main road.
The Capitol Reef National Park map is a good resource for planning your visit.
Watch the weather carefully. The weather will impact your ability to complete certain hikes safely.
Prepare to be flexible. Your planned hikes may need to change depending on the weather conditions or rock falls.
There are no restaurants in the park, so you’ll need to pack a lunch or eat at the Subway outside the park. The Gifford Homestead sells cinnamon rolls and pies, but no lunch food. There are also orchards where you can and should pick fresh fruit. After a long day of hiking, I enjoyed eating the apple I picked right off the tree.
Some of our favorite hikes:
Hickman Bridge is a moderate 1.7-mile out-and-back hike that will take you to the Hickman Bridge. This is the most popular trail in the park and is fairly well-marked. It’s also the one where you’re most likely to see other people. The bridge is stunning as is the surrounding landscape.
The Grand Wash Trail is an easy 6.9-mile hike that is an out-and-back trail that takes you on a dried-up river bed through deep canyons and narrows. We took the Wash to access the Cassidy Arch Trailhead instead of driving to the trailhead.
Cassidy Arch Trail is a strenuous (and they do mean strenuous) 1.7 out-and-back hike to the arch. There is little to no shade on this trail, so prepare accordingly. Also, the trail isn’t well-marked once you make it up the cliff. They have placed some Cairns along the way, but it’s still easy to find yourself off the path.
Animals you may see while visiting Bryce Canyon (not an exhaustive list):
Desert Bighorn sheep
Mule deer
Ringtail
Golden eagles
Peregrine falcons
White-tailed antelope squirrel
Rock Squirrel
Great basin rattlesnake
Yellow-bellied Marmots
Cougars
The park has a beautiful visitor center and numerous nice restroom facilities throughout the park. The park doesn’t have a shuttle system, so you can drive up and down the canyon. If you’ve never been to Capitol Reef National Park, I’d recommend adding it to your list of places to visit.
What is your favorite type of weather?
My favorite type of weather is the perfect winter day here in Florida. The sky is clear of clouds and is a brilliant shade of blue. The temperature is in the mid-70s and the dewpoint is low.
People suck! The last two weeks of love had been dominated by fighting with Cigna over coverage and prior with denials. I have to say that I think Dr. Chirag Shah, Dr. Karen Weinstein, and Alexis R from Cigna were at the top of my list of people who suck untimely yesterday (more on that later.) The two doctors are medical directors at Cigna or Evernorth (a Cigna subsidiary) whose job is to review and deny prior authorizations. Given the speed with which my requests were denied, I’m skeptical that they reviewed the records.
Cigna uses PXDX, a computer program, to deny claims in seconds. The doctor signs off on the computer program’s decision without the patient’s record being reviewed. At this time, Cigna is fighting two separate class action lawsuits for denying claims without proper review. One based in California arose from a patient whose vitamin D lab test was denied coverage despite a diagnosed deficiency. Funny enough, they denied my vitamin D lab tests three times last year despite the diagnosis being on my records from three different doctors. I will also be fighting to have those expenses reimbursed.
Back to people suck. The person that sucks the most this week is Sidney from Jackson, MS. She was kind enough to avail herself of my credit card to purchase nearly $750 in goodies. Unfortunately, Sidney is not the brightest bulb on the tree. She updated all of her contact information on the file before changing the email address, so I have her home address and phone number. Dear lord the area between her ears is as empty as a liminal space.
Fortunately, my credit card company shut down and blocked the orders immediately. Nonetheless, I was still on the phone for twenty minutes making sure the account was now secured. The representative I spoke with was wonderful and professional. She took care of everything expeditiously. Of course, the dilemma now is to if I should file a police report. Kohl’s canceled the order immediately, so there are no monetary damages. Yet Sidney from Jackson, MS still committed fraud. I’m not sure I’m willing to waste my time. Anyway, people suck and I hope I never see any of these folks in a crowd or otherwise.
Who was your most influential teacher? Why?
I had so many incredible teachers over the years, but one stands out. If you had told me the first day I sat in this class that this teacher would change my life, I would have laughed at you. The grade was tenth, the class was speech and the teacher was Mr. Quinlan. In that class, he saw something in me and invited me to join the speech team. At first, I was reticent to join, but ultimately decided it would look good on college applications so I joined.
I joined the team to compete in the extemporaneous speaking category. In this category, speakers had to draw three questions and then pick which one they were going to give a speech on in 30 minutes. It was baptism by fire, but it gave me the ability to speak confidently in front of rooms of people as well as synthesize information quickly and succinctly. These skills have served me well as an adult and I’m forever grateful to Q for that gift.
I’m taking a break from the rabbit hole that is Cigna and health insurance in this country. The truth of the matter is both Presidential candidates happily took money from Cigna for their campaigns. This means both potential Presidents will allow Cigna to continue defrauding Medicare while abusing its insured. Shoot even the anti-business Bernie Sanders has no problem taking money from big business. The billionaire politicians, along with the insurance companies bear responsibility for the clusterfuck that is our healthcare.
Anyway, so much for taking a break. Am I right?!? Goalielocks is home for spring break and that makes my mamma’s heart so happy. If Jake was here, life (even with Cigna in it) would be perfect. I’m privileged to have three amazing boys and two perfect puppies. As I take a break from the insanity, I’m trying to focus on the bright side of life. I also had to grocery shop for the third time this week. With both younger boys home, the amount of food and milk we go through grows exponentially. Fortunately, I have the best Shipt shopper in Eric who always takes good care of us.
What do you wish you could do more every day?
I wish I had more time to exercise during the day. Moreover, I’d love more time to sleep, read, and play with my puppies. Of course, I can’t forget baking. I’d love a lot of additional time to bake.
I went down the X rabbit hole last night reading posts on Cigna, pharmacy benefit managers, and health insurance in general. The fact that the Federal government allows these companies to operate unchecked, even after being caught defrauding the Federal Government, is appalling. It’s unbelievable the number of people who pay for insurance that find themselves fighting to get care. It’s morally and ethically wrong.
In the ongoing saga of prior authorization hell, they did ultimately approve my hubby’s knee MRI. Alexis R, from Cigna, emailed me yesterday stating, “The mayor’s medication, cephalexin, is considered a non-preferred covered medicine. This would require prior authorization and we have not received it at this time.” According to her email today, the problem wasn’t the Cephalexin itself, but the dosage. These folks can’t even get their facts straight.
This whole thing feels like a plot out of a bad sitcom only nobody is laughing. The fact of the matter is delaying care leads to poor healthcare outcomes. Ultimately, the poor outcomes lead to greater expense and death. Dealing with these issues is not an anodyne experience. Dealing with insurance companies is quite a pernicious ordeal.
What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?
I’m not into tattoos or putting anything permanently on my body. For one, I seem to be allergic to absolutely everything. Two, I don’t know where I’d put it. Three, it’s not something I’d ever spend money on. If I had to do it, I would tattoo my kids’ initials on a heart or something on my ankle. Anyway, I have to get back to my rabbit hole.
Last night, while the hubby was grilling up some of his famous potatoes and steaks, I made dog food for the puppies. I bought a duck breast at Wild Fork a few months ago and defrosted yesterday. Obviously, it’s not something I’ll do all the time, but thought it might be a nice change of pace for the boys.
For their meal, I peeled 3 carrots, cooked 3 cups of rice, bought 1 large duck breast, and hard-boiled seven eggs. Note, I did not use all the eggs for their food. Veterinarians recommend that dogs have no more than one egg per day. To cook the duck, I lined a baking sheet with aluminum foil after preheating the oven to 350 degrees. I placed the peeled carrots on the baking sheet with the duck breast in the middle. The meat and carrots roasted for 20 minutes. Once the duck breast reached an internal temperature of 165, I cut it up into cubes and cut up the carrots.
Once the duck and carrots were cut up, I added them to the cooked rice and mixed them well. Naturally, I poured any of the juices from the duck into the mixture. The last step was to cut up the eggs and add them to the mixture. Ideally, I’d use more vegetables, but I only had carrots on hand. Next time, I’ll use sweet potatoes and peas in addition to the carrots. The recipe is below.
Peel and cut carrots in half and place on the prepared baking sheet
Cut sweet potato into cubes and place on prepared baking sheet
Place duck breasts or desired protein in the middle of the baking sheet
Roast the duck and vegetables for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the duck is 165.
While the duck is roasting, cook up the peas according to package instructions and prepare the hard-boiled eggs
Once the duck and vegetables have cooled, slice the meat into chunks and the carrots into smaller pieces.
Combine all ingredients in one large bowl and serve
I have two large (80-90 lbs) male dogs and split the recipe between the two of them. Going forward, I’ll probably use chicken as it’s much cheaper, but the duck is a nice treat. You could also substitute lamb or beef cuts as well.
What is one word that describes you?
Kind. I love people, animals, and life and want to make the world a better place. Fortunately, I think little acts of kindness go a long way in brightening the world. Consequently, every day I try to be kind to those around me (some days go better than others,)
Yesterday after receiving yet another prior authorization denial, I started rage baking. I figured it was a healthier way to deal with the anger than sitting and ruminating on it. The first thing I baked was sourdough cinnamon and sugar toast cereal. Now Cinnamon Toast Crunch was my favorite cereal growing up, so I had to try it. The recipe was simple and it tasted so good. It’s something I’ll make again.
The next bake was a fast no-knead bread that would pair perfectly with the Osso Bucco the Hubby was making. The second rise was a little suspect, but the bread still cooked up nicely. While I proved the no-knead bread, for three hours, I whipped up some sandwich bread. By the time, the sandwich bread came out of the oven, the no-knead bread was ready for the oven. Both turned out well. The sandwich bread is a bit shorter than I’d like, but I’m not sure if it was the pan size or something with the dough. Fortunately, it tastes really good.
Now back to the issue of prior authorizations. They exist to prevent fraud, reduce costs, and eliminate unnecessary costs. While Cigna would be quick to sue you or put you in jail for insurance fraud, they had no qualms over scamming the Federal Government to increase Medicare payments. That’s right while Cigna gatekeepers and actively denies coverage to paying members, it’s been defrauding the Federal government. And yet our government continues to allow them to have a seat at the gravy train that is Medicare.
In fact, they had a home visit program solely designed to upcharge Medicare. They settled a lawsuit with the federal Government in September to the tune of $37 million. In a separate lawsuit, also settled in September of 2023, Cigna will have to pay the Federal Government $172 million. Cigna, according to the allegations in the suit, employed medical coders to review Medicare patient’s charges and add diagnoses that would be supported by the information therein. Essentially, they were diagnosing their insureds with as many conditions as possible to increase their reimbursement from the Federal Government.
I find it hysterical that Cigna got busted for adding fake diagnoses to bolster their Medicare payments while denying claims for folks with actual diagnoses. They like to have both ways. They’ll diagnose you, and take the reimbursement money, but they’re not going to approve your claims. It’s criminal.
What was the best compliment you’ve received?
The best compliment I’ve ever received was when my son told me I did a great job as a mom and that he’ll always take care of me.
