Publisher's Note

As Billy Crystal might say (while channeling the late Ricardo Montalban), “I look mahvelous, darling!” Carol just took her favorite little Ken doll (me) shopping and the trouser tag read – Size 34! (I guess now an alert is in order to those who don’t want to hear about my annual battle of the bulge … read no further.)

 

But seriously, for several reasons I’ve spent the last 60 days becoming a Medifast aficionado and for me, it’s worked great. I won’t lie and say each meal is a gourmet treat. It’s quite a leap of faith to call a package of powder a beef stew entrée, but I’ve never been hungry and my world-famous addiction to greasy fried food appears under control. So what precipitated this dive off the “gravy” train? Three compelling reasons: 1. perpetual heartburn; 2. perpetually expanding waistbands; and 3. perpetually increasing Health Insurance premiums.

 

Since Carol and I both entered a new phase of our lives (how tactfully the insurance actuary put it), we also entered a new age bracket in health insurance costs. It was a real wake-up call and made us both carefully revisit our true insurance needs. So, we basically decided to forego our previous “bells and whistles” benefits and journey back to the days of “major medical.” (And somehow I think we have lots of company.) For example, we figured out our past doctor visits are usually limited to 3 or 4 a year — so we will now shoulder the visit costs as opposed to enjoying our previous $15 co-pays. But even more radical for us is the elimination of our prescription coverage. In the past several years, I’ve had intermittent bouts with asthma, for which I was prescribed some pretty pricey drugs. Of course, when you only have a $15 co-pay you don’t think too much about it. But now, paying $162 a month for one prescription really makes you pay attention. So another positive result of my losing 20 pounds … my breathing is great with no wheezing.

 

Now I fully understand that to a certain extent we are playing “Russian Roulette” with future healthcare costs. But after figuring out the dollars we could save monthly by decreasing our benefits and focusing on preventive medicine, we’ve decided on this new approach for 2012. We call it FelixCare. We’re eating less, but better, and trying to get more exercise. (And as an incentive or a threat, Carol has dumped my old wardrobe!) I guess only time will tell if it is a wise decision — but in the meantime, I’m wearing a svelte size 34 and “I look mahvelous, darling.”