I went to the doctor this morning and she insisted that I needed to get the shingles vaccine even though I've never had chickenpox. If it takes the chickenpox virus to give you shingles and you never had the virus why would you need the vaccine? Probably a mute point since I gave in a let them give me the shot but I'm curious if anyone knows anything about whether or not I really needed it.

As most of the regulars know I had quite a time with my health last year. Among the various problems was one doctor that insisted I go on a CPAP before he would allow me to have my kidney stone removed under general anesthesia. Anyway, I called the company that had supplied the CPAP machine to find out when they were going to stop billing me for its rental. The agent that supplied it told me that my private insurance at the time would pay the entire cost (less my deductible) and that after four months the machine would be mine. When I called I was told that the machine I had was NOT on a purchase contract but a month-by-month rental. I asked if that meant I could return the silly thing and was told yes. To properly set the stage, I was issued this CPAP last January (2015) and used it pretty regularly until I had the operation. Afterwards I used it intermittently but never thinking it was all that much help. In June (2015) I lost my private insurance and went on Medicare. I procrastinated until August at which time I called as referenced above. This call was made on a Friday and I returned the machine the following Monday or Tuesday to their store. While there I asked to be given a final billing but the receiving clerk stated the home office would send me a bill. I also gave her my Medicare card, which she copied, in case Medicare would pick up the tab for the months I didn't have private insurance coverage. Well, they sent me a final billing but made no mention of any Medicare payment or rejection. I sat on it until the end of November when I sent them a letter stating that I had received no statement from Medicare, either a payment or rejection notice and therefore assumed they had not yet billed Medicare. I asked why and added my Medicare insurance card information. Then I did something extremely stupid, I sent them a check for the full amount and asked to be reimbursed the amount Medicare did pay. I never received any response to this letter. However, I DID receive a notice from Medicare dated December 24 in which they stated they paid the company and the maximum I could be billed was $10.49. Not wanting to make a fool out of myself for transit time in the mails I waited until January (this year) 25 and sent them another letter asking where was my refund? I never received any response to this letter either. Finally, I called their local office on April first and requested to speak to someone in billing with enough "horsepower" to resolve this matter. The woman I spoke with looked up my account and found no letters. I told her what had taken place over the months and she said she would have to verify the information and then get back to me. It is now over two weeks and still no call, letter or refund. The amount is not trivial, being in excess of $200.00. As I see it I have four options: 1) Chalk it up to experience and never, ever make a final payment on a disputed billing. 2) Turn it over to my lawyer, which will cost me money to pursue. 3) Turn it over to the Consumer Affairs reporter at one of the local television stations. 4) Report it to Medicare as a case of fraud. I've looked into the last and it seems to be rather intensive on my part, something I don't particularly want to do, but darn it, the company has for all intents and purposes stolen either my money or Medicare funds. Any suggestions?