Yes Julie, I have learned similar lessons. As a young and healthy retiree @62, I paid nothing for Medicare Advantage, in addition to Part A and B. But that was then and this is now. I have grown older, so I bought Medi-gap and pay a fee every month. It is not easy to get off of the private insurer, Medicare Advantage. I successfully moved to Medi-Gap at age 67, don't give up. I moved to Medi-Gap because I was warned more than once, that the Advantage program does not cover hospitaliszations or longstanding illness.
Yes Julie, we need 100% coverage including dental, eyeglasses, and hearing aids!
I find the ad showng Martha,as an abrasive old woman, Offensive. On the contrary, I am kinder and gentler as an older person, and see that in my peers, too.
Congrats too, on that progressive new mayor in Dearborn, MI. The Muslim community has reinvested and reinvented Dearborn! Great restaurants,;clean and loaded with excellent food from the Levant. Great train station, too.
For-profit medical insurance companies always seeks to do what any for-profit business does - maximize revenues and minimize costs. When Medicare - an government entitlement program that anyone 65 or over is entitled to benefit from - contracts itself out to private-sector insurers, a conflict of interest arises: Not only do revenues have to go for good access to good-quality medical care, they also have to go to the owners and stockholders of the company. You can't maximize both. That said there is great variability in the quality of Medicare Advantage Plans. I participate in one which my former employer, a large Michigan county, provides to me as a retirement benefit. The county ensures many people (employees as well as retirees), and as a result have a lot of purchasing power. That turns out to be quite advantageous to me and to other retirees. I pay no premiums, have reasonable co-pays, and a deductible which is capped at $480.00 per year. But my county paid me - and continues to pay its employees - salaries which are not competitive with those of surrounding counties. So I paid many thousands of dollars "up front" for many years in order to get the good deal I now enjoy. Abdul, you have correctly noted some of the significant benefits which MA plans have, in particular, getting medical, drug, and other benefits all in one package from one entity. It is MUCH simpler to have only one insurance company to deal with rather than two or three! And if the money our government allocates to an absurdly bloated Defense Department budget were cut by a few hundred billion dollars per year, we would still outspend most of the rest of the world and could afford Medicare for All, as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and many progressive Representatives in Congress have tried to get for us. The other source of cash to support Medicare for All is to take back the huge tax breaks we give to wealthy individuals and wealthy corporations, who often pay no Federal tax at all due to loopholes their minions in Congress have passed for them. In Franklin Delano Roosevelt's time the very rich paid a top marginal rate of more than 90%; today, those who will never miss a meal or give up their vacation home in Aspen whine at paying less than half that much, when they pay at all. We could have the best medical care in the world if we succeeded in taking back our government that gives money that should go for human needs to defense contractors and other corporate capitalists. I'll stop here, and not go on to the connection between capitalism and racism, but the connection is a profound one. Abdul, I hope you'll continue to use this space to clarifying these important matters further.
I have a “medigap” plan in addition to Medicare. It’s expensive. I already have a healthy amount of cash automatically withdrawn from my social security check. Since Medicare only pays 80% of costs, I really have no choice. I can’t afford it. And since there is no dental coverage at all, I’ll pay about $3500.00 out of pocket for an upcoming visit. I can’t afford any of this. We need 100% coverage for all healthcare needs, including dental.
When Medicare was founded the eighty percent was to pay for much of the elderly care, but today prices are so high the remaining 20% is out-of-reach for a lot of Seniors. Our health care has become very expensive for me, and this is accomplished by spreading the cost out in things like deductibles, co-payments, etc. (What will they think of next?) Noy only that there is the inflated cost of Medicare, and the costs of co-insurance! It does not sound like anyone is trying to hold down cost at all for us anymore. Thank you, Abdul, for your thoughtful article.
You are so knowledgeable and practical with your on point solutions. We need your voice in the National debate. Thank you for what you are doing to educate and enlighten us all!
I'm so glad I read this. For some years now, I've been debating enrolling my parents in a Medicare HMO because they provide dental, drug, and hearing...or at least say they do. But not having read all their fine print (who can??), and always having g had a healthy suspicion of for profit insurance companies, I've deferred the decision. So they've remained with traditional Medicare. I'm so glad because they have had a few hospitalizations in the last decade which would have been impossible to pay for out of pocket!
Yes Julie, I have learned similar lessons. As a young and healthy retiree @62, I paid nothing for Medicare Advantage, in addition to Part A and B. But that was then and this is now. I have grown older, so I bought Medi-gap and pay a fee every month. It is not easy to get off of the private insurer, Medicare Advantage. I successfully moved to Medi-Gap at age 67, don't give up. I moved to Medi-Gap because I was warned more than once, that the Advantage program does not cover hospitaliszations or longstanding illness.
Yes Julie, we need 100% coverage including dental, eyeglasses, and hearing aids!
I find the ad showng Martha,as an abrasive old woman, Offensive. On the contrary, I am kinder and gentler as an older person, and see that in my peers, too.
Congrats too, on that progressive new mayor in Dearborn, MI. The Muslim community has reinvested and reinvented Dearborn! Great restaurants,;clean and loaded with excellent food from the Levant. Great train station, too.
For-profit medical insurance companies always seeks to do what any for-profit business does - maximize revenues and minimize costs. When Medicare - an government entitlement program that anyone 65 or over is entitled to benefit from - contracts itself out to private-sector insurers, a conflict of interest arises: Not only do revenues have to go for good access to good-quality medical care, they also have to go to the owners and stockholders of the company. You can't maximize both. That said there is great variability in the quality of Medicare Advantage Plans. I participate in one which my former employer, a large Michigan county, provides to me as a retirement benefit. The county ensures many people (employees as well as retirees), and as a result have a lot of purchasing power. That turns out to be quite advantageous to me and to other retirees. I pay no premiums, have reasonable co-pays, and a deductible which is capped at $480.00 per year. But my county paid me - and continues to pay its employees - salaries which are not competitive with those of surrounding counties. So I paid many thousands of dollars "up front" for many years in order to get the good deal I now enjoy. Abdul, you have correctly noted some of the significant benefits which MA plans have, in particular, getting medical, drug, and other benefits all in one package from one entity. It is MUCH simpler to have only one insurance company to deal with rather than two or three! And if the money our government allocates to an absurdly bloated Defense Department budget were cut by a few hundred billion dollars per year, we would still outspend most of the rest of the world and could afford Medicare for All, as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and many progressive Representatives in Congress have tried to get for us. The other source of cash to support Medicare for All is to take back the huge tax breaks we give to wealthy individuals and wealthy corporations, who often pay no Federal tax at all due to loopholes their minions in Congress have passed for them. In Franklin Delano Roosevelt's time the very rich paid a top marginal rate of more than 90%; today, those who will never miss a meal or give up their vacation home in Aspen whine at paying less than half that much, when they pay at all. We could have the best medical care in the world if we succeeded in taking back our government that gives money that should go for human needs to defense contractors and other corporate capitalists. I'll stop here, and not go on to the connection between capitalism and racism, but the connection is a profound one. Abdul, I hope you'll continue to use this space to clarifying these important matters further.
I have a “medigap” plan in addition to Medicare. It’s expensive. I already have a healthy amount of cash automatically withdrawn from my social security check. Since Medicare only pays 80% of costs, I really have no choice. I can’t afford it. And since there is no dental coverage at all, I’ll pay about $3500.00 out of pocket for an upcoming visit. I can’t afford any of this. We need 100% coverage for all healthcare needs, including dental.
That’s exactly right. Medicare itself needs to be better.
When Medicare was founded the eighty percent was to pay for much of the elderly care, but today prices are so high the remaining 20% is out-of-reach for a lot of Seniors. Our health care has become very expensive for me, and this is accomplished by spreading the cost out in things like deductibles, co-payments, etc. (What will they think of next?) Noy only that there is the inflated cost of Medicare, and the costs of co-insurance! It does not sound like anyone is trying to hold down cost at all for us anymore. Thank you, Abdul, for your thoughtful article.
You are so knowledgeable and practical with your on point solutions. We need your voice in the National debate. Thank you for what you are doing to educate and enlighten us all!
MA costs taxpayers more than traditional Medicare--that rarely is mentioned.
I'm so glad I read this. For some years now, I've been debating enrolling my parents in a Medicare HMO because they provide dental, drug, and hearing...or at least say they do. But not having read all their fine print (who can??), and always having g had a healthy suspicion of for profit insurance companies, I've deferred the decision. So they've remained with traditional Medicare. I'm so glad because they have had a few hospitalizations in the last decade which would have been impossible to pay for out of pocket!