Having been an RN for 30+ years should account for something, you two. I do have some knowledge about this topic, both professionally and personally. I don't understand how they could have run tests on material that they didn't have. That is physically impossible. And you should also know that just because one institution says you're negative, another institution may have different results. My girlfriend's Her2 neu came back positive from the Mayo Clinic, but negative from a Minneapolis hospital. Is that irrelevant? Could be very relevant to individuals depending on the results of this test to tailor the appropriate therapy to their condition. Worked in the OR for many years (20+, not always as an RN) -can't tell you how many times pathology and/or the lab screwed up. So do institutions trust each other? No. And this looks like an example. There is no need to respond to this post. This truly is my last. Joann

"if you present plan changes in any way, even if present change by $1, you are then eligible to changes plan without qualifying, therefore I don't see this as an obstacle to going with a lesser plan in the beginning. Doesn't every plan change at least in some form of coverage if not every year at least every two years?" Two points. A Medigap provider cannot, by law, change the extent of the year-to-year coverage of any of the plans it offers because the various plans and the benefit levels they contain are established by Medicare, not by the insurers. That is, the Plan F offered by all insurers must include the exact Plan F benefits Medicare has established, and the same is true for all the other Medigap Plans. Second, I don't think a change in premium cost, alone, would excuse you from the underwriting requirement if you decide to drop a lower benefit plan and instead buy a higher one. However, if the insurer decided not to continue offering that level plan in your state, that would excuse you from underwriting, as would also be the case if the insurer went out of business. But I agree with you that it's wise to run the numbers and buy the plan that makes the best financial sense for you. People who are in good health and have the financial resources to absorb increased health costs in the future should their health worsen, would often be better off saving money now by choosing a lower benefit plan. Being overinsured usually doesn't make financial sense, but a lot of people do it because it gives them peace of mind, which is nice, but be aware that it does come at a cost.

We got one of those for my MIL about 5 or 6 years ago. She started talking about them after my SIL had a stroke and laid on the floor for 8 hours until her DH came home from work. As a result of that stroke she has been in a nursing home and cannot move the right side of her body. Now if she had one of these maybe things would be different, but, she was only in her sixties and in good health didn't think she needed one. So, we got it for my MIL as a birthday gift (it sure makes it easy every year as to what we are going to get her besides sending her flowers) and she just loves it. She and we have piece of mind. We live a little more than hour away so it will take time for us to react in an emergency. It not only works in the house, but, we went outside in the yard and it worked as far as across the street into her neighbors drive way. So this way if she is outside near the house all she has to do is push the button if she needs help. The company is US and their operators are all US based. We did everything online with them including paying them every year. I would highly recommend them. The name of the company is Alert One http://www.alert-1.com/ Here is a link that might be useful: Alert One

You're welcome Nicole, I wouldn't be surprised and hope you'll let me know the results. A few years ago, I had a cat that had ongoing problems and was told it was probably mites, yet they never went away...well I'm almost certain now it was an allergy to something in his food. I've done quite a bit of research on dog foods and have learned that the foods we feed them can be the culprit for several different problems. Unfortunately, the majority of Vets don't seem to care about diet. I've been on the hunt for a good vet for a while and have been to a few as a result. To my surprise, the only one that has had any interest in my dogs diet is the one we're going to now and will be sticking with. The first thing he asks every visit is what are you feeding her? He's also more conservative with medications which is a plus. We have a clinic here in SE Michigan called All About Animals Rescue. It's basically a group of volunteer vets who offer low cost services for cats and dogs and the fees they charge go towards supporting their rescue/adoption center. I go there for her shots, flea/heart worm control and dental cleanings. The care they provide is top notch but at a fraction of the cost. It's a win win for everyone. A good site to research cat food is Chewy.com - I get our animal food from there, they carry everything under the sun, are priced competitively and have good ship/return policies. They list all the ingredients for everything they sell as well as reviews. I switched our cats to Taste of the Wild a couple of months ago. It's made in the US, has no yeast and is grain free; so far our two kitties have done pretty well on it.