(Snippets from the frontline)
Deductibles
Before going on Medicare, my health insurance deductible was escalating exponentially. It was $5,000 per year, whereas two decades before it was $250.
Enrolling in Medicare was not a reprieve, as now I have two deductibles in Part A and Part B.
Part A, hospital and inpatient services, is $1,364 per “benefit period.” You need to look this up (Medicare and You 2019 – official handbook), but there is potential to have six for a total of $8,184 per year.
Part B, doctor and outpatient care, is $185 per year.
If I had taken the option for Part D, prescription drugs, I would have three deductibles!
Whether it be private insurance or Medicare, high out-of-pocket costs related to deductibles is a deterrent in seeking health care.
Many healthcare laws are not made to benefit Americans, but instead to reap extra profits for hospitals, pharmaceutic companies, and the insurance industry. Lobbyists line up outside Congressional offices peddling influence to create self-serving legislation.
This line will grow with enactment of new healthcare legislation.
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
Just an information tidbit for your readers; There are Medicare Part D plans available that do not have deductibles. Also, if you don’t enroll in a part D drug plan within 63 days of your Medicare eligibility, you WILL incur a penalty that will be paid by you monthly for as long as you are on medicare.
Sadly, it is true that lobbyists create self serving legislation to convolute what was intended to help seniors manage healthcare.