If you’re 35 years old or younger, you might not be paying
much attention to the Medicare debate. You probably should tune-in because it
is you who may stand to lose the most.
Under Paul Ryan’s plan, supported by Governor Romney and Congresswoman
Lummis, the current Medicare health insurance program ends in 10 years. If you
are anywhere near 35 today, it will be your parents’ Medicare that will first
be replaced with a voucher. You’ll be left to deal with their confusion and be
expected to step up to pay for whatever medical care the voucher doesn’t.
Interested now?
Despite the phony claim that Obamacare was a government
takeover of health insurance, many felt its biggest shortcoming is that it
wasn’t. Instead, the compromise included keeping the private insurance companies
as the vendors of health insurance policies. As a result, we still have
innumerable companies selling policies that are all different in one form or
another, all with little to no effective regulation. Just try buying health insurance.
See what the elderly will soon experience, encountering a range of different
co-pays, deductibles, coverage limits, preferred providers, networks and
penalties for using a doc who is not a member.
That is the lion’s den into which seniors will be thrown
ten short years from now if Ryan-Romney Medicare reform plan becomes law.
Do you remember 2005 and 2006 when Part D, the drug
prescription plan was implemented? The
program was fraught with problems and apocalyptic predictions. Confused seniors
enrolled in plans that didn't cover all their medications or missed deadlines
to enroll at all. Medicare was inundated with phone calls. Patients waited on
hold for hours without getting answers. Pharmacists were filling prescriptions without knowing whether they would be
paid.
Imagine the day
Medicare closes its offices and millions of seniors, including your elderly
parents, receive that voucher in the mail. Now what? Undoubtedly it will include
lengthy instructions and a website. Seniors will be given a list of insurance
company agents, their addresses and phone numbers. Of course, most of these
companies will be initially ill equipped to deal with the numbers of new,
elderly clients and their questions.
But they’ll sit
down with the elderly and ask all the questions they should ask. The agent may
even have some of the answers. What co-pay and deductible would you prefer? Do you have a physician that
you would like to keep seeing? Oh I’m sorry, she’s not in our network. What
specialists do you anticipate you’ll need? Let me explain prior authorization,
deductibles, co-pays and exclusions. This policy covers x, y, and z. This one
covers a, b, and c. If you don’t need x but would like b or c, we have another
policy. Sorry, we can’t include z and b but you can buy a, b, c, and y. Oh, and
each has its own list of exclusions.
The
senior will also want to know if deductibles need to be met before any services
can be used. What percent will be paid after deductibles, what percent they’ll
pay if a doctor, hospital, or specialist out of network is consulted, and what
co-payments are for visiting doctors, hospitals, or emergency rooms?
Mom
and dad are looking at you now.
When
those questions and others have been answered, your elderly parent will proudly
present the agent with the voucher. “Oh,” says the agent, “that will cover only
part of the premium.” Your elderly parent may say, “I don’t understand.
Medicaid paid for these things. Why do I have to pay so much more?” The agent
will say, “I’m sure your congressman explained that Medicare was replaced with
a voucher to save money. How could they save money if they provided the dame
health care under this voucher that you had under Medicare?”
Now
mom and dad are looking at you again. You may be 30 years away from being
eligible for Medicare but you may stand to lose the most.
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