Dec 25
TWD (“The Walking Dead”) T-Shirt & Pop Up Book
Since neither Jan nor I have any willpower when it comes to opening gifts . . . we opened our gifts to each other early.
I’m wearing my Walking Dead T-shirt to the Crazy Horse Christmas party. Jan’s listening to Pentatonix on her new iPad. I’m asking for a Ferrari next year.
Merry Christmas!
Dec 19
Today we had our dog Ellie put down.
She was 14 and 4 months and full of cancer. We had known this was coming for months. When we were in Bishop, CA, we had a cancerous tumor removed from Ellie’s mouth. The vet told us it was only a matter of time before the cancer spread throughout her body.
We will miss her.
We rescued Ellie from our Green Bay Vet. Because of a divorce, Ellie had been wasting away at the vet’s office for several months. We used to take Jack, our former Golden Retreiver, to the Doggie Day Care at the vet, and we’d pass by Ellie each time we brought Jack. Ellie looked very sad.
We inquired about adopting her and on September 28, 2008 we took her home. Both Ellie and Jack were standoffish at first, but quickly became fast friends. Soon they watched out for each other when we took them to Doggie Day Care.
I didn’t like Ellie at first. She wasn’t as pretty as our show dog Jack and was not as overtly friendly as Jack either.
And then one night she sat on the couch right next to me — just like a person would. I started teasing her and she responded in kind. That was that.
This is our fourth pet that we’ve had to put down. It doesn’t get any easier, and I think that’s good.
Let us share way too many photos . . .
ELLIE
ELLIE & FLIRT
ELLIE & JACK
Dec 18
Post Updated: 6/1/2016
Essentially, a DISH Wally is a VIP211z receiver with a Hopper 3 interface.
The Wally is 4th Generation 211 Receiver
DISH Wally
Dec 13
DISH just released new “hybrid” equipment that simplifies its satellite TV networking for DISH’s Hopper DVR receiver.
The hybrid equipment (called “DISH Hybrid Pro” or “DHP” for short) is only for use in the Continental US and only for the Hopper, Joey, and Super Joey. For example, DISH VIP receivers like the 211, 622, 722, and so on cannot use DHP equipment.
DHP is a boon for RVers because now you only need to run one cable into your RV (instead of two) in order to use a Hopper.
Also, to wire a Hopper + Super Joey or two Hoppers you only have to run two cables, instead of three, into your RV.
In order to use DHP, a 1000.2 dish must be equipped with either a Western Arc or an Eastern Arc DHP LNBF. Current 1000.2 Western and Eastern Arc LNBs cannot be used with DHP.
The big question is whether the Western Arc DHP LNBF can be used on the rooftop Winegard Travler. Myself and another DISH user plan to swap our existing Travler LNBFs with the new DHP LNBF. Stay tuned.
You can purchase DISH DHP equipment at SolidSignal.com:
NOTE: There is also a “Hybrid Tap”.
Here are some preliminary diagrams comparing the current & the new DHP networking . . .
Nov 28
FOR PRE-MEDICARE RVers ONLY
If you’re a full-time RVer under 65, selecting a domicile state became more complicated with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or “Obamacare”.
Traditionally, popular domicile states like South Dakota, Texas, and Florida were chosen primarily because these states have no state income taxes. Other factors, like mail forwarding services, vehicle registration, vehicle insurance, and so on also played a part in the decision.
However, the health care plans available or not available in a state may now be the most important factor in choosing a domicile.
For health care plans offered on the ACA exchange, an RVer’s domicile county, not the state, determines the number, type (NOTE 1), and cost of health plans.
Choosing the “wrong” domicile county could result in inferior coverage or increased cost — or both (NOTE 2).
– In Florida, Seminole county offers 96 ACA plans — 24 POS, 18 EPO, and 54 HMO plans. By contrast, Florida’s Jefferson county (and a number of others) only offers 15 plans — 9 EPOs and 6 HMOs.
— In Texas, Polk county just offers HMO plans on the ACA exchange. On the other hand, Robertson county (and 57 other Texas counties) offers 9 PPO plans. (For a larger image of “Texas PPO Health Plans”, click here.)
PPO Plans — the Heart of Texas
– In Arizona, the most basic PPO plan costs almost twice as much in Mohave county than it does in Pima county.
HOW DO YOU PICK THE “RIGHT” COUNTY FOR A DOMICILE?
In short, select the “healthiest” county.
The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (NOTE 3) ranks the health of each state county. A number of factors are used in the ranking, but the end result is a listing of each state’s counties from the most to the least healthy.
I’m not privy to the criteria used by health insurance companies to set their rates and plans. However, I think it’s reasonable to assume that in general the healthier a county, the better the insurance plans and rates.
This appears to be true for the 2016 ACA health plans offered in Texas, South Dakota, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona . . .
The Top 25% healthiest counties in these states offer ACA health plans that are less expensive and that have more options than those counties in the Bottom 25% of each of these five states.
Though there is no guarantee, I think it’s reasonable to assume that the same will be true next year.
STATE-BY-STATE ACA HEALTH PLAN SUMMARIES
TEXAS
— 58 of 254 Texas counties offer PPO ACA plans from Scott & White Health Plans and Allegiant Health Plans.
— Most Texas PPO plans are in the “healthiest” counties: The Top 25% healthiest counties have 41% of PPO plans. The Bottom 25% counties only offer 9% of the total PPO plans.
— 55 of 58 Texas counties offer PPO plans by Scott & White Health Plans.
— 3 of the 58 Texas counties offer PPO plans by Allegian Health Plans (El Paso, Nacogdoches, and Bexar counties).
— Scott & White Health Plans has a 2015 NCQA (NOTE 4) overall rating of 3.5 (Good).
— Allegiant Health Plans has a 2015 NCQA overall rating of 1.0 (Poor).
SOUTH DAKOTA
— All 60 South Dakota counties offer PPO ACA plans by Avera Health Plans.
— Almost half of the most expensive PPO plans are in the “least healthy” (Bottom 25%) counties.
— Avera Health Plans is unrated by the NCQA.
FLORIDA
— None of the 67 Florida counties offer PPO ACA plans.
— The “most healthy” Florida counties (Top 25%) have the most number of health plan options (total HMOs + POSs + EPOs).
— On average, the healthiest Florida counties (Top 25%) pay less for a plan than the unhealthiest counties (Bottom 25%).
— BCBS of Florida (Florida Blue) has an NCQA average rating of 3.0 (Good).
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NEVADA
— All 17 Nevada counties offer PPO ACA plans by Anthem BCBS.
— The Top 25% healthiest Nevada counties offer more plans than the Bottom 25%.
— The Top 25% healthiest Nevada counties offer less exensive plans than the Bottom 25%.
— Anthem BCBS in Nevada is unrated by the NCQA.
ARIZONA
— All 15 Arizona counties offer PPO ACA plans by United Healthcare.
— The Top 25% healthiest Arizona counties offer more plans than the Bottom 25%.
— The Top 25% healthiest Arizona counties offer less exensive plans than the Bottom 25%.
— United Healthcare has a 2015 NCQA rating of 3.0 (Good).
WE’RE MOBILE
Full-time RVers greatest strength is the ability to move much easier than people who live in houses.
But moving to a different county — even in the same state — may be problematic because it involves a new mail forwarding address, possible tax and vehicle insurance issues, and so on.
Keep in mind that while PPO plans are the Holy Grail of RVer health plans because of out-of-network coverage, it looks like most of the current non-BCBS PPO plans do not have much, if any, nationwide doctors, hospitals, and clinics.
Only Nevada has nationwide 2016 ACA PPO plans offered by Anthem BCBS.
Nevertheless, if changing a domicile county could save you a lot of money or get you a quality health plan . . . move!
NOTES:
(1) Types of health plans:
PPO – You can choose your own specialists. Covers out-of-network providers, though less that in-network.
EPO – You can choose your own specialists, but does not cover out-of-network providers.
HMO – You are required to see a primary-care doctor and get referrels to see specialists. Does not cover out-of-network providers.
POS – You are required to see a primary-care doctor and get referrals to see specialists. There is limited coverage for out-of-network providers.
(2) Methodology: I used HealthSherpa to determine the health plans and plan cost for each county in Texas (254 counties), South Dakota (66 counties), Florida (67 counties), Nevada (17 counties), and Arizona (15 counties). A 63-year-old female with a $75,000 income was used for each HealthSherpa query. A single Zip code was used for each county’s data. A health ranking was assigned to each county using County Health Rankings & Roadmaps.
Data Collection Sample
(3) Healthiest counties — The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. See www.countyhealthrankings.org. I used their “Health Factors Overall Rank”.
(4) NCQA Rating — the National Committee for Quality Assurance rates health care plans for each state.
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