Thursday’s Frugal Things

We got 8 inches of snow yesterday so I did not go out today. Fortunately, our snowplow guy came last night and plowed the driveway. He is very reliable! Hubby and I are very pleased! Hubby snowblowed the sidewalk which is small and I shoveled the porch off. It is easy since I can just whisk it onto the seating area.

We finished up the portion of ham that I thawed for breakfast along with some scrambled eggs. One of the stores in my area has advertised that eggs are coming down in price to $ 3.59 a dozen. Not great but better than they have been. But I bet they will go quickly. I don’t need any right now plus I am not going out in the snow, ice, and cold to get them.

I spent my morning making a few telephone calls. One was a return that Amazon wouldn’t let me do online. So I called them and they told me not to return it. They said they can’t take this type of product back even though it was still sealed. So they said to donate it or throw it away. Since we couldn’t use it, I was happy to get an e-mail just 2 hours later from them stating that they had already processed the refund to my credit card.

I have been getting a bill every other day from a doctor’s office asking me to pay the balance which they say is a copay that I owe of $ 17.78. I don’t owe it and I let my doctor’s billing office know it. They were rude and told me they would have to investigate it. I said you will get back to me right? The rudest customer service rep. said, “No, you have to call us back. I said you guys make an error and I have to call you for the resolution. She said to me “It’s protocol.” Mind you I waited on hold when I called them for 35 minutes just to talk to them and I was not relishing having to do the same again. Two days later I get another bill telling me to pay it asap.

They rebilled an office appointment and EKG from 2019. Yup, over 3 years later! They say they didn’t charge enough for the bill so they re-billed it which they did in December 2022 and received more money from Medicare the beginning of January 2023. However, I had received no statement from Medicare or my secondary insurance on the rebilling. Bottom line is I don’t owe it because I paid the co-pay of the original bill 2 days after I received it in November of 2019 and I have a copy of the check and the next bill after I paid showing the payment. They don’t get to collect a second co-pay on the same claim. So I was curious, if my secondary insurance company had gotten the claim. I called them and they were not happy that the doctor’s office billing rep was so rude. They said they have not gotten any information on it yet from Medicare of the claim or their payment on it. So as soon as they get it, they will investigate the claim and decide whether they will pay it or not. They told me to set aside every bill from the doctor’s office because they agree I do not owe a second co-pay on a rebilled claim. They can’t charge me one and when the claim is resolved, they will let the doctor’s office know that and will send me the paperwork showing I owe nothing. I believe the billing office knows that and I’m being harassed. I am in my mid seventies and they think I will just not notice and pay it before the claim is complete! I am not that stupid. They can send me bills everyday. I will use them for scrap pads. UGH! I get so tired of incompetent billing offices. So moral of this story: Scrutinize your medical bills and know your benefits and how they work. Don’t pay what you don’t owe. I know it is a pain to get them straightened out but I am not paying them one penny that I don’t owe. To do this you need to keep good records also.

This afternoon, Hubby and I watched a favorite video that we both love. It’s called Lumnah Acres. It’s relaxing.

We finally got our last 1099 today so that I can make out our 2022 taxes. I may have to disappear for a couple of days soon to concentrate on doing them. They are very complicated this year.

Hubby found a Keto macaroni recipe that he wants to make to see if we like it. I checked the ingredients and we had them all.

Dinner tonight was lean cheeseburgers in lettuce wraps with sauteed in butter onions and dried mushrooms that I soaked and then sauteed in butter. I get my dried mushrooms at the Amish store. They have the cheapest prices on them. Snack tonight will again be strawberries with Zero sugar whipped topping.

What did you do today to save some money? We got exercise, cooked all our meals from scratch, got a refund, verified what I thought to save money on a billing, relaxed watching a free video on You tube.

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