A few years ago I signed up for regular Medicare with a supplemental. It has worked very well. In contrast, I’ve watched as many of my relatives and friends signed up for the Medicare Advantage plans and now go through the agonizing hassle with private insurance companies to get treatment for the same ailments I do with my regular Medicare. I go through none of the hassles. I can select the doctors and physicians I want. I’m not dependent on getting approval for necessary treatments when I get sick or have a medical condition.
When I hear my friends on an Advantage program tell me about the problems they had getting some treatment approved I just shake my head and say, “Why? Why did you sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan that puts you right back in the same old situation you had with private insurance companies?” Having Medicare, straight Medicare, is one of the great blessings of a retirement. Gone are the days of denials, hassles, spending time arguing with your insurance company on the phone, having to select ‘in network’ doctors, and all the other inconveniences of our ridiculous inefficient costly health insurance system. If you’re close to retirement, ignore the promotional Medicare Advantage advertisements that arrive in the mail daily or My Turn pieces appearing in the Concord Monitor. Choose straight Medicare with a supplemental. You won’t regret it.
Wayne Fuller
Concord