Health Care--Baby Boomers--American Recovery Reinvestment Act--COBRA--Medicare

As a baby boomer with an aging parent, health care, Medicare, and the American Recovery Reinvestment Act are all important to me in many ways.

My mother, now 94, has full Medicare coverage (she worked for 45 years and earned it)--both parts A and B.  She also has the AARP Medicare Supplement Insurance and Aetna as her Medicare D (pharmacy-plan) provider.  She's paying premiums for all of these insurance coverages and, after paying her doctors her 2009 deductible of $135, most of her medical bills are paid for.  The pharmacy bills are different.  Aetna offered a good plan--I've had to change providers every year since they started the Medicare D program).  Mom has been averaging about $165 out of pocket per month since January for her medicines.  We've switched all we can to generics.  Coming up soon (perhaps this month) she will go into the "hole in the donut" of the plan.  The initial coverage will have been used up and she will have to pay for her medicines until she reaches a "catastrophic level" of out of pocket expenses.  When I looked into this last December, this may amount to as much as $450 more per month for September, October, November, and December.
As a baby boomer, I can expect higher costs for health care as I age.

I can certainly see that we do need better systems in place to provide quality healthcare to everyone--without anyone being "ripped-off" in the process (by scamming people, doctors, medical facilities, etc.).  I have also experienced some of the health care providers submitting bills to Medicare, then billing my mother for the same fee.   I have to stay on top of things to make sure that legitimate bills are paid by the appropriate organization or insurance and to remember not to write a check for every bill I receive in the mail from a healthcare provider.

There is much emotion and drama being reported in the media about people and their concerns for health care.  My local congressman wants to have a telephone "town meeting" to talk about health care this evening. It's important!!  (See my post about CCRCs last week.)  Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia have forms of "socialized medicine" that include both public and private doctors.  Various ideas have been proposed in the USA as to what kind of coverage is needed.  Many Senators are advocating the health care package provided to Senators and members of the House of Representatives as the model for everyone.  I don't know what their coverage provides.

I have Aetna's EPO plan with a dental supplement.  I had a marginally effective vision plan and, since I have my eyes examined at Sam's Club and Costco and get my glasses there when I need new ones, the Sam's Club and Costco prices are not so high that I absolutely need a vision plan.  I do need annual check-ups from an internal medicine physician, a dentist (twice a year), and an eye doctor.  These are to keep me in good shape and to make sure I don't have major problems not being tended to in a timely manner.

Individually and for families, getting and affording good health care is essential.  Not having it can cause permanent damage to health, family cohesion, and even death.

Keep working, Congress, to get all of us the best possible health care coverage from now on.  (I'm worried about the ongoing viability of Medicare and Social Security as we baby boomers continue to age and there are fewer workers to contribute to these funds.  Having a workable alternative that will be good for the next generations is important, too.)