Re: Health Ins. Update (Medicare Advantage)

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:51:53 -0500, High Miles <2Blues17@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

noname wrote:
On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:35:48 -0400, "Evelyn Ruut"
<evelyn.ruut@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:



Health care has gone downhill for years. It really was better years ago and
I don't know why. Many people see a profit motive in health care as an
unethical thing. Many others blame the burden of illegals for wrecking our
health care situation. I remember when the doctor came to the house when
you were sick. I remember when nobody would even DREAM of suing the family
doctor. He was a dear friend.

Now you go into the doctors office and are subject to long waits and an
assembly line approach. You sit in an office with people sick with
contagious colds and such, and the doctor has a whole line of other patients
waiting both before and after you. Nothing is done in his office, and
everything he does or says is backed up with extensive, and expensive tests.
Specialists do everything and they are all in cahoots with one another about
the testing and the referrals. You don't get a call from the doctors nurse
if you owe money, they send a collection agency after you. It's the whole
scene that has taken an adversarial sort of turn for the worse, not just one
or two little angles.

People are pissed off about it all, not just a little of it, all of it.

What do you think needs to be done?

Evelyn, perhaps I've been very lucky. But I don't experience long
waits in my doctors' offices. They operate pretty much on schedule,
give or take 20 minutes. Whether it is my primary doc or the many
specialists he refers me to. I am happy to be referred to specialists
by the way. I pay $30 a visit rather than $15 to see my primary and
appreciate their expertise. I am covered by a Medicare Advantage
plan, plans that often are much maligned by some, and couldn't be
happier with the quality and service of my medical care. I just
wish all could have the same benefits.

I can remember in my youth waits of an hour or two hours in a doctor's
office.

I do recognize if a doctor can't see me, say precisely at 2 p.m. it
is probably because some patients required more time. And I get that
same time when I am seen.

And it is better for the doctor to order tests than to fly blind or
to treat without knowing exactly where the problem is. They can be
a nuisance but are part of the protocol a good doctor follows.

I am aware that the quality of medical care is uneven and in smaller
cities patients have less choice.

My position is different from yours and Evelyn's.
I never even make my annual deductible.
I've kept the insurance I had while working - BCBS - because the
prescription and dental plans are excellent, and since it is the
secondary to Medicare, it only costs about seven hundred dollars
a year.
When my parts start to fail, it will be nice to have two places to help
cover all those big bills.

Dorothy

With my Medicare Advantage Plan, I don't have a deductible. I
really get the benefit of a supplemental plan to regular Medicare
for free with the plan I have.

Folks do need to look around and see what is available to them.

But you are wise to retain the plan from your employer. For one
thing dental is not covered by Medicare and it can get very
expensive. Those on Medicare who have similar coverage from
their former employers don't do much complaining I've noticed.
Most who do seem to feel they are reasonably well off or even
very well off. You probably get prescriptions far cheaper than
under any of the Medicare Part D plans as well.+
.

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