Thank God, yes. I took an early special retirement package at DEC after 22 years there. DEC was bought by Compaq, which was bought in turn by HP. HP is a fine company. So I am blessed with the same benefits I had at DEC - medical, drug coverage, dental, eye glasses, and major medical. They picked up the whole tab when I was nailed, including an air ambulance to take me from western NY to NH. I've been on Medicare for the last few years, so they don't seriously kick in until I hit the out-of-pocket limit; last year was the first year I didn't hit the limit. The real blessing is the drug coverage. Not counting the baclofen pump refills, in 2005 my mail-order Rx drugs cost $8500, and my copay was a little over 2K. I keep praying that HP thrives. Alton, echoing a Roman slave, "He, whose bread I eat, his song I sing." |
