HAVE I GOT A DEAL FOR YOU!!!

I just received the following message on my personal email:

Dear WILLIAM, Happy Birthday from Medicare! We wish you well in the upcoming year and want to remind you of the preventive services Medicare offers to help you stay healthy. Our records show that you have not taken advantage of some of the preventive services which are available to you now or in the future and listed in the table below. Please talk with your doctor to decide which ones are right for you. Name Eligibility Date ANNUAL WELLNESS VISIT 01/01/2018 PSA 12/01/2016 OBESITY COUNSELING 01/01/2015 ALCOHOL MISUSE SCREENING 05/01/2014 HIGH INTENSITY BEHAVIORAL COUNSELING 05/01/2014 DEPRESSION SCREENING 05/01/2014 CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (BEHAVIORAL THERAPY) 05/01/2014 PPV 05/01/2014 COLORECTAL 05/01/2014 PROSTATE 05/01/2014 ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM 05/01/2014 DIABETES 05/01/2014 CARDIOVASCULAR 05/01/2014 To see more details of the services you are eligible for, visit www.MyMedicare.gov and select "Preventive Services" under the "My Health" tab. Or, talk to your doctor for more information. Remember, Medicare is your partner in health. Sincerely, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. As "Gomer Pyle" used to say, "Well, Shazam!!! I've really been missing out on what's coming to me!!!  I can tell you, my dear Uncle Sam sure is good to me. How can I thank him enough? I mean, he's obviously very concerned about my health, and for this I shall be eternally grateful. However, having taken time to evaluate my medical benefits, two things immediately occur to me. That impressive list of diagnoses scares me spitless. I mean, have you ever walked under a ladder, or in the path of a black cat? (Not that I'm superstitious, mind you). But to find myself in the presence of the characterizations of such maladies, well now, if you aren't superstitious you will be, if you contemplate such medical phraseology for very long. And then there's the inordinate amount of time which would be required were I to add those thirteen medical visits to my schedule. (Oops, did I count 13? I think I did)! Friends, I'm all for good medical care, but I have plenty and enough trouble just remembering my G.P., dentist and dermatology visits throughout the year.  As one of my prospective counseling clients once mused about my professional services, "I think I'll pass!!!" By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 54. Copyright pending If you wish to share, copy or save, please include this credit line.  *********** If you would like to see the titles and access hundreds of my blogs from 2015 and 2016, do the following:   Click on 2015 in the index to the right of this blog. When my December 31st blog, "The Shot Must Choose You" appears, click on the title. All my 2015 blog titles will come up in the right margin Click on 2016 in the index to the right of this blog. When my December 31st blog, "Children of a Lesser God" appears, click on the title. All of my 2016 blog titles will come up in the right margin