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RECENT LETTERS, REVIEWS AND PRESS
SUDDENLY SENIOR'S
LETTER OF THE MONTH
SEPTEMBER 2007
“REPLACE MEDICARE D WITH UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE"
CLICK HERE TO READ IT
FALLING DOWN THE DONUT HOLE?
NOW WHAT?
Two, no three actions you can take to help your pocketbook. While Congress and AARP have you between a rock and a sick place, this could save you both money and health. READ FULL STORY
You and I are diametrically opposed politically, and I have nearly stopped reading anything you have to say, because of that. But, I am a SHIBA volunteer, a volunteer who helps people who have health insurance problems, in Washington State.
First, if any of your readers are veterans, and have not already done so, they should sign up for VA coverage (.http://www.va.gov/ )
Secondly, some Part D insurer's, like Humana, are way overcharging for meds, which, of course, causes you to reach the doughnut hole far too soon. I believe seniors should point that out to Medicare, as it is up to Medicare to put a stop to that practice.
Costco has the best United States pricing, as far as I know, but you can go online and find sources for specific meds at a much lower rates, from around the world. I'm not sure that I would advise people to drop out of their Medicare D plans, unless they can be assured of being able to rejoin a plan of their choice at a later date. There are several plans available to lower income seniors, some in which the total premium is waived.
The key is for the senior to do their homework. Do not choose to buy meds for 90 days at a time unless they are comparably priced. I found that Humana charged one of my mother’s meds at $49.73 for a 90 day supply which was $7.67 for a thirty day supply at Costco ($23.01 for a 90 day supply) I have pointed this our to both Humana and Medicare, to no avail, so far. Also, if you are getting close to the doughnut hole, you may want to order some of your most overpriced meds without using your part D coverage.
I recently did that on some meds and the cost to me was very close to the price I would have paid with the coverage. Some Canadian pharmacies have world wide contacts, and even import meds from other countries, like India. Seniors have many options, and must not let minor roadblocks intimidate them.
Lastly you and your physician are in charge. Not the part D insurer. The insurer is employed by you, and can be fired by you.. You must exercise your power with them. If your physician says you should have a 90 day supply of meds, the insurer does not have the power or right to question that. They must be corrected if they attempt to control that. You are in charge of your own destiny, not some insurance company.
Exercise your authority. Dick Moser
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ABOUT SUDDENLY
SENIOR COLUMNS AND OTHER ISSUES
Had a recent experience every person on Medicare should know about. The other morning between four and five o'clock, my wife discovered I was wet with perspiration, a symptom of low blood sugar as she was aware. She attempted to wake me and I was totally unresponsive and throwing myself across the bed and mumbling. She could get no liquid or solid into me so she called an ambulance.
When the ambulance arrived, with the help of two firemen holding me down they were able to get a blood test which showed my blood sugar at 29 mdl. Still holding me down they inserted a needle into my arm and administered glucose. In less than two minutes I was awake and normal. They offered to take me to the hospital but I declined as it was aparent what had caused the problem.
Here is the kicker, because they did not transport, Medicare won't pay a thing! If this should occur again I will say fine, take me to the hospital. Once there, there is nothing for them to do but this will cause an emergency room charge to be levied and if they feel duty bound to take any further tests, which they may well do, that will be added on. So instead of paying a $341.00 they will pay the ambulance, the hospital and any and all tests which I'm sure will be over a thousand dollars put together.
Unless you want a bill you thought you were insuring against, let them take you to the hospital if the come to your home for any reason! My being unconscious was aparently insufficient reason to call for medical help! Is this incredible or what? Jim Collins
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FROM ASHES TO ASHES
 We answer the ever-pressing question, “What do I do with my cremains?“ How about making a tiny La-Z-Boy recliner? Perhaps a clicker captures your spirit. Or a diamond. Hey, your husband could pass it on to his next wife! READ FULL STORY
Wonderful! Maybe you could collect ideas and send them back to us some Friday. My "urn and place" has already been bought, but I don't know how I feel about it. I live in a house with a septic tank. If I were on sewer, I certainly wouldn't ask to be flushed. But the remains enriching the soil behind my shed, well, that's a thought, anyway. And yet, I should hope that none of my relatives would want to push that lever, no matter where I'd go! Mieke Tazelaary
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When I mentioned this to a lady, who I started dating a few months ago, who's husband died a few years back, she told me she thought about putting his ashes in an hour glass. I asked her why. She told me he always had her running and doing things and she couldn't get any rest. She said besides putting his ashes in an hour glass, she'd put them on the mantel to keep him going. I have decided to stop dating this lady. Dennis Armstrong
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Save 'em for a good ice storm. Nothing like a little granny traction assist. Bob Dales
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You outdid yourself on this one! I always said I wanted to be cremated and my daughter says she will put me in her house. I told her, NO. She wasn't going to put me where she could blame me for anything that goes wrong in her life. Thanks for the heads-up on the variety of ways to dispose (?) of my remains. Delores Jones
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If you were fortunate enough to live here in Minnesota, you wouldn't have so much trouble figuring out what to do with your "cremains." Have them put in a sack and stowed in the trunk of your favorite family member's car. Then, when snow and ice strike, they've got a supply of grit to give traction to the wheels. Is that a beautiful way to show your love or what? Wayne AdamsWayne Adams
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My parents, my husband, one of my sons and I have chosen to donate our bodies to the local medical school where they will be studied and used to perfect surgical procedures for approximately two years before the school does the cremation.
Then my husband's wishes are the most bizarre -- just like his sense of humor -- he says he wants us to put the ashes in a Mason jar and hang it from a tree limb over a deer trail and let all the people who have ever wanted to shoot at him while he was alive have a shot at him then. He gets scattered in the wind and they finally get to act on their frustration at dealing with him!
I use this quip to lighten the mood about the body donation "I didn't make it to college while I was alive, so I'll finally get there after I die." But as far as cremains, sprinkle them over the ground and let Mother Nature benefit from any remaining minerals. Phyllis
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Disposal of cremains is no big deal for us in India. Here most of us are routinely disposed off by cremation, especially those who are Hindus, or belong to its fraternal clans: say the Sikhs, the Jains, the Buddhists and many more. The Parsees and the Muslims have a separate schedule of their own to pursue as dictated by their faith and belief.
The logic, or the justification, in support of this procedure emanates from caducity of life and indeed of the whole creation at large. So there is no sense in preserving any thing once the 'show is over'.
What we do with the remains? The traditional cremation entailed that the body be burnt on a pyre. The traditional pyre is now slowly getting replaced by electric crematoriums, especially in the urban regions. The former is discouraged since it requires almost half a ton of firewood, and the forests must be saved. Besides, it creates a lot of smoke and other gasses leading to pollution of the environment. Many people, unless very orthodox in their viewpoint, consciously opt for an electric cremation when alive.
A plus point of electric cremation is that comparatively the amount of residual cremains is far less than in the former case. Traditionally the cremains, or the ashes, are then collected (at a suitable time) by the son or the relatives of the deceased and ceremoniously disposed off in a river, or a large water-body.
There are a few exceptions too, whence the dead is NOT cremated. A child (pre-teen, or pre-puberty) is buried. If the death was caused due to snakebite, then too the person is not cremated; but the body is disposed off in a river on a floating bier. In such cases, it is hoped that the person may revive after all, later; or even brought to life by some ascetic or a person having such power. No, it is not yet another heresy!! There is indeed one person out there whose parents having recognized him are reportedly anxious to claim him back in the family. Naturally, this made a good copy on TV. Greetings from India, Avadhesh Prasad
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Haul your ashes? I think my kids did it best. Their dad enjoyed hunting in a lovely forest, mainly because he enjoyed having an excuse to just be outdoors. His ashes were sprinkled in a swift creek, in those woods, that empties into a large river. He would have approved! I've told them to just flush me down the toilet.........no point hauling ashes around. Trust me, I won't be anywhere around there! Elva Thompson
My father's still under my bed! He's moved with me from Coral Gables in 2002 to Vero Beach. Must give him a nice Viking send-off some day soon, hopefully when the temps & humidity are less daunting and I can walk to the river or ocean at sunset. If another hurricane doesn't come first. EEEEK! This is not a request to Mother Nature to do the ash scattering for me!
Glad I'm not alone in my procrastination! Like Scarlet, whatever I can't deal with today, I'll think about tomorrow — or stash under the bed for safe keeping! Peggy Fisher [Get Peggy’s delight newsletter, Seaside Scoop, by writing her at writingbyfisher@bellsouth.net]
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My wife and I have been considering Living Environmental Memorials with Eternal Reefs. The cremated remains are mixed into concrete as the Memorial Reef is cast. You can pre-plan the occurrence and choose a location. Once it is placed on the ocean floor new life starts developing. A bronze plaque with raised lettering is placed on the Memorial Reef. More information can be obtained at http://www.eternalreefs.com/. We really enjoy your newsletter. Don and Nancy Boyd
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My mother had her second husband cremated, the ashes placed in a rather attractive brass urn, then built a small memorial to him on the living room mantle centered around the urn. That way she always felt that he was in the vicinity (I don't know if she felt she had captured his essence in so doing, but as long as she felt good about it we always felt that was her choice). If she had been given any choice in the matter, I'm sure she would have had my father cremated, too, and to reside deposited in the nearest outhouse! Mitch Borden
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Well for me, Frank, I'm going to be dumped in the Colorado River just above Glenwood Canyon and make my way to the Gulf of Mexico. Probably won't get past Yuma, but who cares. Wayne Schultz
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Keeping It Simple
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,
Going to be cremated, no muss nor fuss.
No tombstone needed for one to tend,
When my ashes simply glide with the wind.
That way I will always be with you or until
The wind stops, and becomes permanently still.
Carol Ann Davey
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Your article about Ashes is extremely apropos. To me, what is done with our remains once we pass on should be based on the times. My kids know how I feel. Eulogies and fancy caskets etc. are strictly for the living. Once you're dead, who cares. I want to be buried the least expensive way with the least amount of difficulty. Must admit that I do have two burial plots that I purchased back in 1998. My wife insisted that I do so. That was right after a bad time she had. She didn't actually pass away until 2002. Therefore, if possible, would probably like to be buried next to her.
As for suggestions about your burial, hum ..... I don't know! Who now's, maybe by that time we will have run out of land for cemeteries and out of necessity will be forced to do something else. However, that's something you and your wife don't have to be concerned about for many years. Maurie Herman
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We have dedicated our bodies to science. This way the medicine people may find out what caused my wife's dementia. She is 83 and had a bad stroke after a heart operation, in March 2005. Her memory has gone (Short term) and she is getting increasingly feeble. She sleeps most of the day & night. No cure in sight. I am 85 and in fair health, considering I have had three knee replacements and an artificial aortic heart valve. After the med schools are through they send the remains to a crematorium and the ashes are given to the surviving family. I must state however that my children are not too pleased with our wishes, but will probably go along with our request. Andy Fraser
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My good friend is to go to my daughter-in-law's house with my ashes in a sack. She is super-compulsive, no one ever walks on her carpet with shoes on or sits on her furniture. My friend will trip, spilling my ashes into the carpet! Crematorium is two blocks south of her house so I only want to be cremated on a day when the wind is out of the south! Cece
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I heard recently that there's an artist that mixes your loved ones cremains with paint and paints a picture with it. You could have a portrait done and it would really be you! LeAnn
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Back in the 70's, I was working in a middle management position and, of course, had a secretary. She was a nice redhead, but very naive. I did my best to cure her from that, and since I was traveling more and starting to go international a lot, I called her in one day and told her very seriously that since I was spending a lot of time flying around the world, that I was very likely to die in a plane crash, and wanted her to know my wishes for disposition of my remains. Naturally, she was quite serious, and I told her that I wanted to be cremated, and my ashes spread all over Raquel Welsh's nude body, with heavy concentration in the navel area!! She turned beet red and got so mad at me. But, I found out later, she told all the other girls and they all got quite a laugh over it!! Little did they know how serious I was!! Bob Weiser
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You can be put in your parents' grave. My mom asked me to put her ashes in her mom's grave. I did, and put a new stone on it with both names. The best times of my life were spent with those old gals, so I have asked my daughters to do the same with me. I will forever with my best friends. Pat
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I'm having my cremations thrown into the Mediterranean Sea so I can float around forever towards the distant shores of places I have loved all my life. Fortunately, I have family in Italy so they will be able to do that for me.
My neighbors here in NY are having their ashes thrown in the Hudson River for the same reason. Ocean waters travel everywhere. Diane Moro
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I AM going for cremation but have not decided where to go with the ashes. My brother said he would spread them over the waters off the coast of California. I told him if he put me in the water.... I would come back to haunt him. I mentioned to him to just find the highest hill he could find and let me loose in the breeze ... just so it doesn't go in the ocean (find another hill)!!!! Or in one of the better neighborhoods... that will teach the snobs that I can live in their area forever and it won't cost a cent... ha!! I think our going rate her is $450 ... not bad. I need to get that booked. You never know... May as well get it in writing. Jack Royce Smithson
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My mother in law saved the ashes of her husband. In the summer she took the ashes to the cottage with her, sometimes even to the grocery store. When she was mad she would yell at that black box that contained his ashes. When she was happy she would tell him of her day. When she died, we mixed their ashes together and spread them on the ground at the lake where they had a cottage. We all said something and that was that. There was closure, they were together, and they loved the cottage. Forgot to tell you the cremation was $1396 in 2004 in Michigan. That included picking up the body. We had to pick up the ashes. The ashes were in a black cardboard box. I really do not care what happens to my ashes. My children can throw them wherever they would like to. Rosie Shay Frank, here's an idea. A guy from Missouri who came to South Dakota pheasant hunting a lot had his cremains loaded into shotgun shells and fired over the field he used to hunt. Dale Carstens
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As a chef, and you probably know, where this is going: Have my ashes baked in a cake, to be served at my wake, and as the guests are departing, each takes a piece of me with them, if for only until the next bowel movement. I wonder if I can selectively give heartburn, indigestion, and diarrhea to my enemies?
Great essays you have here. Keep up the good work. J. Mike Winfrey CCC, AAC Culinary Partners LLC
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Here in Michigan we could use them for traction on icy roads and sidewalks. Hugh Whiting
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So, Frank, if I were you, I would have someone take your ashes out on the ocean on a yacht (wish I had one!) and let your ashes blow in the wind over that ocean forever. My preference is to have my ashes spread along the Pacific coast or a river bank close by where my 2 sons could go and remember me" ..... since I am a Pisces you see, the water is where I always want to be!! Carol Davey
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My parents said that I could even put my name on their stone if I wanted. So, while my soul went one place, my cremated ashes are back with those who created me. Patsy Baker
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You should have your ashes spread over Washington DC so you can continue to haunt "Big Pharma" and our sorry ass politicians forever. Keep up the good work. Art
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I loved this one...FYI, I am going into the ocean cause I came out of it a loooooooong time ago.... A small amt. Will be saved to mix with my husband's cause he wanted his tossed from a small mountain near where we live ...at the moment, he is residing in my bedroom...as I am not willing to toss him yet.... I will save this Senior edition...it it priceless!!!
I think both of the above may be illegal but who cares??? We took out prepaid cremation with a local funeral home about five or six years ago....885 bucks...for the same thing, the funeral home up on the corner wanted $2400. Ruth Holland
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Our family seems to have gone the more expensive way and have all purchased a small plot to have them interred in. You can put two people in one plot so that saves a little. Cec and I thought we would just get scattered but some of the family wanted a place were they knew was our last resting place.
OK, who cares?
My Mom, bless her sweet soul, did buy a plot next to her sister and brother-in-law, but she particularly liked the idea of some of her ashes scattered in places she loved to visit, so after the great celebration to her life and before her box of remains were placed in the ground, I filled up many of those little film canisters (which are getting harder to find with the advent of digital) and we had lots of fun sprinkling parts of her in favorite places, down by the duck pond, along the street in Edgemont Village where there were benches for the old folks to sit and rest by plots of flowers or some folks to eat their bag lunches or the kiddies to play on.
One of her grandchildren come up from Utah and we had fun with several of these little sprinklings in her favorite places. She loved to visit her grandchildren and as she had over 30 of them, when my husband and I would go on a visit we would take a few canisters and there GG would be deposited, GG being, as she loved to say 'not a horse, but Great Gramma'. We still have a half dozen of these little black containers which will make the trip states side this November to deposit them in the gardens of other favorite grandchildren and great grandchildren whom we have not seen for several years.
My Mom died on 27th of Dec in 2005 and if she had lived for two more months, she would have been 96. She had a great sense of humor and loved to travel and was able to go to the theatre and enjoyed it two weeks before her final demise. She achieved her greatest desire and that was not to die as a vegetable, and even though she had slowed down somewhat, she still knew everybody and loved to laugh.
A horror story about cremated remains I read in the paper several years ago and this did happen in the good old USA but could happen anywhere that shysters exist. Some people want their ashes scattered at sea and there was a small aviation company that, for a price (I forget what) would take the ashes and sprinkle them into the Pacific Ocean somewhere.
Loved ones gratefully paid for this service. Somewhere along the line, these pilots and their company ran into the law for other reasons and the whole company folded and was taken over by the government (perhaps drug running). The biggest surprise though of this police raid, was to find a big warehouse filled with hundreds of small cardboard boxes filled with, no, not drugs, but all (and they had to examine them all)filled with cremated remains from years back. the unscrupulous fly boys had given these unsuspecting people a fictitious date that the ashes had been scattered into the ocean and simply pocketed the money and kept stacking up the boxes in the old warehouse.
I think that's enough cremation stories for now. Have fun with this one. I'm looking forward to seeing how different people deal with this. If you like pictures I could send you some pictures of grandchildren scattering their grammas remains over a snow covered garden in Calgary AB.
Our prayers are with you folks in your latest crisis. Joni Bund
My mother is 89 years young. AT&T sent her a new phone, told her the older one, bigger one, one she can read will no longer work for her. AT&T has no sympathy for my mother's dilemma. My mother likes to have a phone when she is in the car. Just in case she needs some help. The phone has to be big enough to read the numbers and easy enough for her to press. Does not a camera or games. These people, just told her to take it or buy something for $100.00 that would not serve her needs. Is there a solution? I know you will have the answer. Diana Larrabee
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I am still young enough to calculate and old enough to be in Part D. I ended up in the doughnut hole this year, and decided to go through a Canadian mail order pharmacy for the rest of the year at less than half of the US cost of the drug. Every year I figure the cost/benefit ratio for all the drugs I am likely to take and make a decision about getting/staying in Part D and going to Canada. Why shouldn't I do that - THEY (the insurance companies and drug makers) DO EXACTLY THAT - so they can make a profit by the end of the year. Thanks for a great newsletter. I have been a subscriber for over 18 months now and appreciate every issue. Mike Develle
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I have been receiving a monthly billing of $18.20 per month from a company calling itself "WellCare" P.O. Box: 69330 in Harrisburg Pa. 17106 for nothing that I know of. I am unable to get them to leave me alone. I have always used the Veterans Service only.
Notice at no time do they supply a physical address they want and expect a person to send them money to a 'blind' Post Office Box!.OMG!!! and for doing absolutely NOTHING but trying to steal money from unsuspecting seniors !!!
All of my medical needs are covered by the Veterans Administration and I have never heard of this bunch of crooks nor have I ever used thei 'services' ( I use that term loosely).
I now owe these crooks $109.20 and tho I have writteen them each and every month telling them I do not owe them for services never used or received and that all of my medical services are thru the Veterans administration they continue trying to steal this money from me and I will NOT ever pay these crooks for something I have never asked for have never used and yet am unable to get them to stop harassing me.
This is the biggest rip-off of we seniors I have ever experienced.
I always thought a company could not bill ypou unless yopu used their services but this has now changed.
Here is a company that has never ever done anything for me, I have never, ever requested their services and have never ever wanted their services ands have absolutley no use for them or whatever it is they are supposed to be supplying.
Yet they continue to charge me this $18,20 a month for doing absolutleuy nothing and have never been asked by me to ever do anything. Hell, I never heard of them until they started sending me these bills saying I owe for them doing nothing.!!!amazing what hese theives can do and expect to be paid for never being solicited to do anything. How can they get away wiyh this?
I imagine there are some poor innocent Seniors that are actually paying these crooks and getting nothing for their money and these crooks are raking in the dough and doing absolutley nothing for the money. This in my books is theft, pure and simple stealing.
Bart Downey
I'd call Medicare 1-800.MEDICARE and/or the Medicare Rights folks 1-800-333-4114. Do it now. It would be just like Well Care and the others to turn it all over to a collection agency and sour your good credit.
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What you don't seem to understand about Bush is that he is a stupid, ignorant entity. I think it is too late for him to "just go to an emergency room", so his prognosis is very bleak. He does not care about the cost of the schip program - he must does not want to help the people of this country in this way because it may erode the bottom lines of medical corporations. It is useless to attempt to use logic and reason to explain Bush because he is both irrational and illogical. Trying to decipher his actions/statements to arrive at motive is futile. There is no explaining Bush because he does not do anything from the basis rationality - he has no philosophy, he has no theology, no rationale. He has plenty of people who pull his strings and that is all. There is no point in going on and on about this, so I will stop here. I am sure I have not said anything that you don't already know. Jim Cain
WHEN “ADVANTAGE” ISN’T
Frank and Carolyn’s experience with a Medicare Advantage HMO left us reeling. Millions of you are in the same boat. The private Medicare Advantage program is costly and unfair. And finally, now we can do something about it. READ WHAT HERE
I'm angry as hell about this. I'll call my congresspersons on Monday. Thanks for your indignant tone and righteous anger. I'm motivated by your fury and want to put a stop to this pervasive dishonesty. Lee Hogan
Whales survive by purging their blowhole. Those who become better at it are called "Blowhards". Luv it, Frank, keep 'em coming! Someone needs to rise above the ambient noise and yell "The Emperor has no clothes.“ Sam & Deborah Brough
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My husband just joined last month and we are trying to disenroll but havent been able to as of yet. We are in citrus county and very few drs take the advantage insurance. We feel kind of tricked by our insurance salesman for selling this to us, he convinced us it was a good thing and well worth it. What do we do, how can we disinroll immediatly? The Swaseys
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I am a Canadian, but I travel into the wonderful USA about 5-8 times a month and I just can not understand how the American people will allow this so called medical situation you have down there, to go on. You are the most powerful and advanced country in the world and yet, you allow these money grabbing doctors and drug companys to rape your people time after time.
I truly love the American people and it disturbs me with all the misinformation being distributed in your country as to why universal health care won't work. These lies are all perpetrated by the very people that gain the most from your antiquated health system. Believe me, I know our system is not perfect but it is a lot better system than yours.
My wife just got a knee replacement. Yes, she had to wait about five months,but she was not incapacitated nor in terrible pain. No charge. Her drugs cost us a total of $18.00 after the private health plan through work paid their share (80%). Had we already reached (our) deduct able of $1600, based on annual income, for the year the Provincial Pharamacare system would have paid the whole amount.
Yes, we have problems but our governments are working hard to improve these because of pressure from the voters not doctors or the drug companys and it's about time the voters down there made your elected officials fix your problems. Don't be misled by all the false information being spread by the high-paid lobbyists and get the people to decide the type of medical system they want when they have the correct information. Ron Muir
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We know you are an Anti-President Bush, Anti-Republican, Anti-Conservative, Anti-adnauseam.... but how about writing with a broader pen. One of the biggest lobbyist groups in Washington, the retiree's friend, AARP has their hand in this cookie jar, probably with one of the largest handful of cookies. You might want to read Saul Friedman's article at this link: http://www.newsday.com/business/custom/retirement/ny-bzsaul5273738jun30,0,6986160.column?coll=ny-retirement-headlines
It really gets to me that so many of us old duffers, after taking the responsibility during our careers to work hard for what we got, now (with AARP's encouragement) want all our country's citizens to support their retirement needs. I personally think the best medical program would be to start down a path to phase out both taxpayer funded and actuarial funded insurance programs, and encouraging everyone to make their own medical choices and pay their own way, with insurance only to be available for catastrophic illness. The poor who will always be with us might require a citizen funded safety net, but remember they used to be cared for by charity hospital wards and physician community charity hours. I think with patients and doctors making and paying their own way, both would come out on the winning side, with the only casualty being the insurance and Big Pharma profits.
Please get off the Hate kick, and write with a broader perspective. Also, some constructive suggestions to stimulate thought and discussion, rather than the hate and fear mongering would be nice. J.M. Oemler
I not only read Friedman's piece, I sent it to the Suddenly Senior New Group the minute it came out. [To get on the list, send a blank e-mail to get-rxnews@suddenlysenior.com] I'm no fan of AARPs either. Please see http://www.suddenlysenior.com/aarpgrowballs.html and http://www.suddenlysenior.com/aarppland.html
I don't hate anyone. I do hate the actions of Congress and the administration, taking our money and gifting it to the drug and insurance companies. And if everyone felt the same, perhaps we wouldn't be in the mess we are today. Frank
Go see Sicko. Or migrate to Australia. Our plans ain't perfect but they sure beat yours. Colin Burt, Australia.
The only solution to this problem is to start a grass roots campaign to publicize the situation especially to the boomers coming of age for retirement. Congress will do nothing unless there position is jeopardized. Calling them will accomplish nothing. We need to understand that Cheney controls the white house and that he considers people fodder (cash cows) for corporations. The other guy is just a lackey. Tak Takabayashi
Tak, I believe that if enough of us write and scream and holler on this bill, it will have wings.
Thank you for all your efforts to expose the thefts from seniors by bribed politicians and bringing "Suddenly Senior" to us. Would like to ask if you have an opinion of Humana gold's med plan. Any feed back from members. I have this plan but have not had an occasion to really test it by use. I plan on contacting my representatives on HR3162 and make them aware of my feelings. Thank both of you again. Gene Smith
Thank YOU, Gene. I can tell you that of all the plans Suddenly Senior readers write me about, Humana seems to get the fewest knocks and the most kudos, for whatever that's worth.
I'm hoping against hope they will straighten things out by the time I get to "far-off" Medicare. Our country couldn't possibly be dumb enough to elect Republicans for five more years, could they? As a freelancer, I can only afford catastrophic insurance until Medicare. I'm sure that translates if I get gravely ill, insurance will only think about paying if I can submit medical proof of a new-death experience in an approved hospital & even then I might have to fight to drag any payment out of them, like FEMA & Citizens in 2004! Thanks so much for always fighting so hard for endangered boomers & seniors! Peggy Fisher
I've have had nothing but a positive experience with my Advantage plan which is Humana. I think a prudent review of what plan that would meet your needs has to be expected by the consumer. I would not join anything touted by AARP. Richard Sams
Thank you so much for this wonderful article on our "Disadvantages us seniors have." I hope you and Carolyn going to be ok with your Medicare now and is she going to get her bone cancer treatment at the hospital that she needs. I am going to send this to a lot of other people about what you have written. Thank you again and god bless both of you. Betty Culp
If you have not already go see "SICKO" and take lots of Kleenex with you. My daughter took me as a treat and we both went home feeling sick over what Michael Moore showed us how Americans are treated and how people in other countries like England, France, Canada and Cuba are when it comes to their health care. Peg JohnsonI'm surprised you didn't mention Michael Moore's movie, SICKO. Moore, I believe, is the "truth teller," of our times and his movie is hitting them all over the head. Go to his website, and tell your readers to, and download his SICKO HEALTHCARE CARD, to present along with your own whenever your told by an HMO that you're not covered.
The present administration is a cancer growing fast in our overall government. We must all take things into our own hands, as you said, and change things. Never mind impeachment, the top guys should be brought up on criminal charges, and jailed, the sooner the better. Thanks for what you do. Anita Shumway
I plan to write an entire column on Sicko soon. Didn't have room in that one even to mention it. I agree, we need to impeach, or a precedent will be set and future administrations will no doubt follow. But the Democrats are spineless.
I'm on a fairly good HMO - at least I thought I was! I pay -0- for office visits and my co-pay for specialists is $20.00. My doctor is great. I don't know what my last procedure cost (clogged artery in leg now has stent in it) will be, but it was an Outpatient procedure on my AvMed HMO Plan. I am not aware of this "Advantage" Medicare and it seems to have come out of nowhere. I'm going to be a very sick person and die if I can't have decent medical care and medications, especially for breathing! I send away for Zocor and Singulair. I can't afford it here. What happens to me now? Joan Locker
Boy, you write a great newsletter! I'm sure you guys are familiar with HR 676 the Single Payer Health Insurance Program? Have you written about it yet in Suddenly Senior? I'm working with a local group here in Bellingham, WA, trying to get the word out on this bill. I can see that many, many folks know nothing about this and believe that they have no alternatives but to pay through the nose or have no insurance or something in between. From what I've read, HR 676 would bring the US into the 21st century in terms of healthcare. And eliminating the private health insurance companies sounds like an idea that is LONG overdue. May May Gong
Yes, I'm a firm believer that HR 676 and Universal Health Care are the only way to go. Get the greedy insurance companies out of the picture before they kill us all. Hopefully, "Sicko" will help push the bill. Although I've written before about Universal health Care, I've not written about HR 676 specifically yet.
Every time I do that, I lose hundreds of readers who condemn me as a communist, etc. I've come to the conclusion that we're all better off if I can keep these readers, pushing them a bit toward the center with each column. Not that I won't write whatever I feel necessary when the time comes. When I wrote against the war three years ago I lost thousands and thousands of readers. But I felt that it had to be done. Right then and there.
Frank—I'm soooo sorry you and Carolyn are being caught up in this scam of public health care insurance!!!! I've been railing about this for years—from the provider's side. They fight giving me a dime and my clients are paying $500-700/mo for individual insurance if they are under 65. Michael Moore should be president as far as I'm concerned—Sicko is not even slightly outrageous in terms of the emotional trauma this is costing people!!!! I'm ready for a revolution and will be happy to be one of the leaders. So far, have been happy with AARP's supplemental insurance, but I haven't had anything that really tests it yet. I just go for annual physicals. Thanks for publishing this—you are holding up a mirror of what people who don't already know about are eventually going to come up against. Much love to you both, Mimi Akins You've done some good ones in your time but this is the most helpful, informative, truthful, etc, etc, etc, yet, if only all who read it will digest and heed it. Good for you! Faythe Dick
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Sorry you had to join the HMO to find this out. We found this stuff out at least 15 years ago with Advantra and then United Health Care. Since then, we purchased Blue Cross supplements and pay dearly for it and also a Medicare D plan for myself. Husband gets some help with meds from the VA. With the cost of Medicare, BC/BS and my Plan D we pay out $618 per month for the two of us but.... we can go to any doctor we choose, pay no co-payment for anything other than meds and as long as we can scrape it together that is what we will do. It is painful having to change doctors, getting referrals to see a specialist, etc. I am sooo sorry to hear that you and your wife are suffering through this and especially since she is so ill. Carol Best
I wish I could tell you why I didn't go for any of that Advantage "hoopla", I just know something told me not to mess with it and I didn't sign up for anything. Your article validated my feelings. I have always felt that the AMA did not have our best interest at heart. Why would they want us to get well? Some of the people out there would be out of jobs and they couldn't pay those big investors!!
I have been studying about natural cures and using herbs and remedies that have been around since time began and some countries are and have been using them for years, yet this country will not let them in because they haven't been "tested" in this country!!
Don't get me wrong, modern medicine plays a great role in this country and has its place, BUT I think our doctors have been made to wear halters when it comes to anything besides conventional medicine, even though they know of something that work wonders, their hands are tied. Case in point—I went to see my heart doctor yesterday and I have been taking the drug Coumadin for several years now and I wanted to get off it because of the adverse side effects. I heard about a product from another country that they have been using for centuries and it thins the blood just like the drug I take but without the side effects, I ask my doctor about it and his reply was that "he wished he could tell me to take it but his hands were tied as to what he could give me or advise me on".
I could go on and on but I will get off my soapbox for now. I'm almost 76 years old and I appreciate Medicare and want the government to keep their hands off! Keep up the good work! Mary Stevens
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"SUDDENLY I'M A SENIOR"
One trips through life enjoying the good, bad and ugly of growing up.
But when did growing up actually become growing older? One day, the AARP sends you the news that you are considered a senior citizen. The restaurant hostess asks if you prefer the senior menu.
Suddenly, everyone else thinks you are a senior!
Check out Frank Kaiser's Suddenly Senior website to get the real truth of growing up and older in a society that has difficulty acknowledging and respecting older folks. Real stories through real-life experiences will touch your heart and your funny bone! You will gain a sense of humor and reality from these true tales.
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