it sounds like he's gotten his old spirit back, but that doesn't help with the blood pressure!

Seriously! He's so very proud of himself, too. Purring his head off and looking smug.

Oh, good! Byron, don't do that to your mom!

He's home! Covered in dirt and still smelling of skunk, but home. I'm going to start breathing again now. Thanks, everyone.

Huzzah for the return of Skunkmaster Flex!

Yay, Dread Pirate Byron. Well, yay for coming home, you mom-scaring doof. Also, yay for you having so much "disability, what disability" that you can scare your humans.

what's the current coverage for the doctor visits and such, WindSparrow?

I think he currently pays $40 for a doctor visit, but I am unclear if that is a standard co-pay or if that is supposed to reflect coverage at 50/50, or some such. Considering that he will have fairly hefty labwork 2-4 times a year, and that what he has already paid toward the deductible on this plan will not transfer over to the other plan, and then it will start over again come the first of the year, I'm not sure he will gain anything by switching.

Yay, Byron! But, seriously, don't scare your mama like that anymore.

WindSparrow - reluctant to give advice without many more specifics. But in general HSAs make sense for high income healthy people. You would know whether the two of you fit that profile. They go sold a lot to others, but in the long run if you are not high income and healthy you don't come out ahead.

I know when my former company started offering HSAs, I looked into for me. But, as someone with a chronic condition that needs to be looked after regularly, as well as being on daily meds, I came out much better staying on my HMO. (see Typo's above "high income healthy" which I am not.)

Of course, I also firmly believe that an HMO is only going to be as successful as your PCP. I love mine to no end and if I didn't have a good one, I'd reconsider the HMO.

This is, of course, my experience only. I'm sure others have different ones.

Thanks, TypoBoy, ChiKat, and meara.

Using an expired inhaler is better than not using any inhaler when having an asthma attack, right? I should qualify this by saying I already used it. I'm going to call my doctor and get a new prescription in the morning.

IOannoyingN, there were certain toll roads when we were in Dallas that only had the easy pass option, with no actual toll booths to pay at, so we were told we would just get billed for those tolls. Instead, we were charged a $5 fee for every toll we didn't pay. We're disputing it with the rental company and the credit card company.

Byron! Silly boy. Glad you came home.

sj, I don't think it will *hurt* you. I just think it won't be as effective. It also depends on *how* expired it is -- my BiL the pharmacist says the dates listed are usually incredibly early for CYA reasons.