Walmart’s idea is pure genius! Telling people that they have unused benefits just as they are walking by the items that they can grab for “free” ( for the time being as the insurance carriers will undoubtedly have to factor this change into 2026 open enrollment pricing) will result in a run on band aids, Tylenol and other household items!
It is genius. On the other hand, for those of us who do use their OTC benefits, it probably implies these benefits will soon be reduced. I use mine every quarter, and the net benefit roughly comes out to one third of my premium. It was obvious that any benefit this huge had to be unused by the vast majority, and my discussions with other Medicare recipients reflected their ignorance of the feature.
Any affordable OTC benefit that most people use is a much smaller benefit. I will continue to enjoy it while I can…
Happy June 19th to all!!! I hope all the federal, banking, Wall Street, USPS and other entities that enjoy a federal holiday have an enjoyable day off. Should we call it happy DEI DAY?
Only in America could someone take a day celebrating the end of slavery and turn it into a sarcastic swipe at inclusion. That’s not edgy—it’s just sad.
My comment was the furthest thing from sarcasm. I abhor what the current administration is doing attempting to remove diversity from our country. But I think you are projecting.
educating the uneducated is not the same as a narcissist (pointing at you, who will most likely get in the last word)
DEI looks at a person's traits, not merits & has proven to leave out Asians, males & more qualified females for jobs, scholarships, school admissions... That IS racist.
Bill - you have landed on a pet peeve of our household. How many extra Over the Counter items do I need? My wife and I have each $40 per quarter to spend from our United Health Care Medicare Advantage plan on OTC items. We are blessed with good health, so we don't need these things. However, it is "money Lost" if we don't use it. Who is making money on this? The insurance companies in unclaimed benefits and Walmart and other vendors in collecting the "found money." We wish they would just lower the premium by that much each quarter. We have started using the benefit to buy items like toothpaste, toothbrushes, and other items to donate to local homeless shelters.
love your answer! husband said about the same thing - a pet peeve of his was when he saw ads saying 'you can get 'free walkers/canes, etc, just for signing up'... well, there's nothing free.
when I was Pres of the parent org of my kids K-12 school, the sec of the org called me to ask if we could provide 'free' housing for a visiting speaker. I told her we could provide lodging, however, it's not "FREE" it would come out of our organization's budget.
Similar thing happened when I owned a franchise, when my employees came to my house for training. I told them I would be away the next week for a business trip. One employee said "Oh, wow, free food & hotel!!" Jeepers. How do people get these ideas?? SOMEONE is paying.
Regarding Ed the Zebra: I can picture it in my mind. Fella walking down a back road in rural Tennessee. He hears hoofbeats and remembers what he was taught in a college class -- "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." He turns to look. "Holy crap, it's a zebra!" The fella now questions everything he was ever taught in college...
Several years ago, I bought a ski jacket at a garage sale. When I got home, I found $80 in the pocket. I took it back to the people running the garage sale because it was just the right thing to do. Got paid back last year when I donated a purse, u aware that my passport was in one of the zipped up pockets. The person who bought the purse turned my passport into the local police.
Love the zebra story, wonder what he thought about his trip. And does Trump ever know what he is going to do? Too much violence on the world, to what end?
Walmart’s idea is pure genius! Telling people that they have unused benefits just as they are walking by the items that they can grab for “free” ( for the time being as the insurance carriers will undoubtedly have to factor this change into 2026 open enrollment pricing) will result in a run on band aids, Tylenol and other household items!
It is genius. On the other hand, for those of us who do use their OTC benefits, it probably implies these benefits will soon be reduced. I use mine every quarter, and the net benefit roughly comes out to one third of my premium. It was obvious that any benefit this huge had to be unused by the vast majority, and my discussions with other Medicare recipients reflected their ignorance of the feature.
Any affordable OTC benefit that most people use is a much smaller benefit. I will continue to enjoy it while I can…
Happy June 19th to all!!! I hope all the federal, banking, Wall Street, USPS and other entities that enjoy a federal holiday have an enjoyable day off. Should we call it happy DEI DAY?
Only in America could someone take a day celebrating the end of slavery and turn it into a sarcastic swipe at inclusion. That’s not edgy—it’s just sad.
My comment was the furthest thing from sarcasm. I abhor what the current administration is doing attempting to remove diversity from our country. But I think you are projecting.
Hahaha. Be careful thinking...as projecting is the furthest thing from my thoughts.
Well, you are a troll so there is that. But I also predict you will have something to say for the last word and you will prove me right.
Danny, you’re absolutely right. Celebrating the end of slavery has nothing to do with the racist DEI.
Diversity is racist? Well, I predict yet again that you will have something to say so you can get in your last word. Prove me right.
educating the uneducated is not the same as a narcissist (pointing at you, who will most likely get in the last word)
DEI looks at a person's traits, not merits & has proven to leave out Asians, males & more qualified females for jobs, scholarships, school admissions... That IS racist.
Bill - you have landed on a pet peeve of our household. How many extra Over the Counter items do I need? My wife and I have each $40 per quarter to spend from our United Health Care Medicare Advantage plan on OTC items. We are blessed with good health, so we don't need these things. However, it is "money Lost" if we don't use it. Who is making money on this? The insurance companies in unclaimed benefits and Walmart and other vendors in collecting the "found money." We wish they would just lower the premium by that much each quarter. We have started using the benefit to buy items like toothpaste, toothbrushes, and other items to donate to local homeless shelters.
love your answer! husband said about the same thing - a pet peeve of his was when he saw ads saying 'you can get 'free walkers/canes, etc, just for signing up'... well, there's nothing free.
when I was Pres of the parent org of my kids K-12 school, the sec of the org called me to ask if we could provide 'free' housing for a visiting speaker. I told her we could provide lodging, however, it's not "FREE" it would come out of our organization's budget.
Similar thing happened when I owned a franchise, when my employees came to my house for training. I told them I would be away the next week for a business trip. One employee said "Oh, wow, free food & hotel!!" Jeepers. How do people get these ideas?? SOMEONE is paying.
Nothing is free.
Regarding Ed the Zebra: I can picture it in my mind. Fella walking down a back road in rural Tennessee. He hears hoofbeats and remembers what he was taught in a college class -- "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." He turns to look. "Holy crap, it's a zebra!" The fella now questions everything he was ever taught in college...
Several years ago, I bought a ski jacket at a garage sale. When I got home, I found $80 in the pocket. I took it back to the people running the garage sale because it was just the right thing to do. Got paid back last year when I donated a purse, u aware that my passport was in one of the zipped up pockets. The person who bought the purse turned my passport into the local police.
Love the zebra story, wonder what he thought about his trip. And does Trump ever know what he is going to do? Too much violence on the world, to what end?
Ed the zebra was and is today the best news reported today.