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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Katelew who wrote (128924)	1/21/2010 2:09:34 PM
From: JohnM	Respond to of 541992

Excellent point, Kate.

To: Katelew who wrote (128924)	1/21/2010 3:04:51 PM
From: Suma	Respond to of 541992

I had a dear friend opt for one of the alternative plans instead of Medicare. It was hyped with representatives getting together a group of seniors at a restaurant, treating them to lunch and then explaining how their plan would be better than the choice that was coming up.. Medicare. Well she got cancer. AND she was refused admittance to a few hospitals down here. One of her friends from church contacted the governor about the unfairness of what was happening to her. Her experience was terrible as she had to take certain Doctors and finally in the fall of that year when one could switch back to the government plan she did. Private insurers can promise you the world but when the time comes to deliver the reality becomes clear. It's all a hype.

To: Katelew who wrote (128924)	1/21/2010 4:35:31 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 541992

From that, I assume a person could opt out and then just buy their own insurance policy in the open market. You can opt out of participating but you are still subject to some of Medicare's requirements, which apply to any patient over 65 when treated by a provider that accepts Medicare patients. I've only been in Medicare for two years but I've already encountered some. For example, there is a requirement that Medicare patients get an EKG shortly before getting a colonoscopy and can only get get the colonoscopy in a hospital setting, which costs more than the same procedure in the doctor's stand-alone surgery. If you have opted out of Medicare, those requirements still apply to you. And of course the added expense incurred would be yours if your alternate insurance won't pay for such unnecessary expenses. Another example is that a provider who accepts Medicare patients cannot charge you more than the Medicare approved amount unless he is set up to make private contracts, which means he may not make a slot for you if he has higher paying alternatives. (Have you not noticed that new providers always ask you what insurance you have before scheduling that first apt?) My point was that you cannot fully escape from Medicare even if you opt out. Nothing has changed If your providers continue to accept Medicare assignment, then you're OK. Most patients have been unaffected so far. Ten years from now, hard to say. (One reason I got a gerontologist for my PCP was that her specialty meant that she would almost surely stay in Medicare going forward. I did not want to be faced with having to find a new doctor still accepting Medicare patients as they were already starting to become more scarce.) why would I want to pay twice as much for it by maintaining my own policy? I still have my pre-Medicare policy as a secondary to Medicare. The two cost just about the same. I will probably drop the Medicare Part B as soon as the legislative scenario clarifies itself and I have enough info to make a sound decision. It's very difficult to learn the ins and outs of this. Medicare thinks people are only interested in learning about their entitlements. Which is probably the case. Takes a lot of curiosity to not just go along with the flow.