Who is eligible for the vaccine

[micky]

Here is a list including every state of Who is eligible for the vaccine.

It's dated Version 26: January 27, 2021, and doesn't indicate who was eligible last week or next week, but it's probably accurate wrt the date issued. (26 versions in only 2 or 3 months. I think the version changes even when only one state changes who's eligible, and they update it more than once a week.)

Walgreens say "The COVID-19 vaccine is on the way. As pharmacy experts, this is what we train for. We're ready to deliver vaccinations safely in accordance with state-specific eligibility requirements."

And I'm sure they are since they gave me a flu shot. I had to ask her her name though, it wasn't on her jacket. Of course i want to know her name.

But this is the same message for the whole country, and maybe Canada ;-) .

It doesn't say when they'll start, and I doubt they know when they will start. They're 4 blocks away so it would be very convenient. They're usually quiet but if they make it first come, first served, they won't be. Maryland knows how to make appointments, but will drugstores? Maybe.

And btw, Illinois is the only state that lists prisoners as being eligible. Eventually that will change, at last at the very end. Someone who really cares can use Find at the link above.

[micky]

And if you search on the word years you see that some states say over 65, some 75, some 70 and North Dakota for example only says Long-term care facility residents and staff First responders Health workers in direct contact with COVID-19

Either ND has not updated Walgreens, or some central source that Walgreens uses, or they are behind some other states. Who knows!

I could look on a ND site and find out, but no time now.

[trader_4]

The huge mistakes here were the feds lowering the age to 65 and leaving it at the discretion of the states as to what to do. Most governors, eg Cuomo, Murphy, DeSantis were stupid and just lowered it right to 65, plus they included people under 65 that had pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, or just being overweight. In other words they pretty much opened it up to everybody. That lead to a totally predictable cluster f***, compounded by the fact that despite having 9 months to get systems in place, few locations were prepared with websites, phone banks, etc. The predictable results are crashed websites, phone banks that have people on hold for 4 hours, then disconnect, old people in long lines at 3AM.

Now the morons like Cuomo and deBlasio are whining, that there isn't enough vaccine. Yet everyone knew that the ramp up would be slow and it was their job to successfully manage it. The ramp up has been about what was forecast two months ago. What they should have done was slowly work their way down in age and the feds should have suggested it. It just shows the incompetence of govt, yet the libs want the govt to do more. Next they are going to create a new, wonderful green energy economy, while killing off the existing one and it's jobs, eg XL pipeline.

[trader_4]

Some would say that everyone should be able to get good insurance at a reasonable cost, whether they are working or not.

[trader_4]

From Ed's article:

Ambulance?$300 Hospital stay?$175 per day for the first 10 days Diabetes supplies?up to 20% copay Diagnostic radiology?up to $125 copay Lab Services?up to $100 copay Outpatient x-rays?up to $100 copay Therapeutic radiology?$35 or up to 20% copay depending on the service Renal dialysis?20% of the cost

Given that with Advantage there is typically no charge beyond your normal Part B payment and that in some cases you can actually get maybe $50 a month back, the above doesn't sound bad, unless like you say, you have ongoing health problems that run it up. The alternative is Medigap and a drug plan, which you have to pay for. I started looking at it and when I sign up I'm thinking like you are, that it makes more sense to get an Advantage plan. Also factor in that they include some dental coverage, eyeglasses, hearing aids. I need two of those. The typical plan only covers $500 to $2000 of dental a year, an eye exam plus glasses once a year, etc, but still it's money saved.

The bad thing is that we don't know what happens if you get to the point that you want to switch to Part B plus Medigap and D. In that article it says that when you do, you may have to pay higher rates than someone who had it from when they first became eligible. What that means, who knows. I know if you don't take Part B when first eligible, there is a 10% per year penalty, so this could be similar. Also, suppose you decide to switch Advantage companies? What happens then? Does the new company only price based on age so there is no jump or can they price based on the fact that you haven't been with them, conditions, etc?

For something that's supposed to be an example of a great govt program, there sure is a lot of complexity and a lot of unknowns.