I am 78 years old and enjoying life. Before I retired, I worked in sales for Pepsi-Cola and Standard Coffee. After I retired, I used to drive restored cars, and I've seen 48 of the 50 United States. These days, I spend my time doing the things I love, like fishing. Part of the reason I'm able to keep enjoying life the way I used to is because I'm covered by a Medicare Advantage health plan.
My Medicare Advantage plan has made sure my late wife and I received excellent care. I have a few minor health conditions-I suffer from acid reflux and I have issues with my heart-and my Medicare Advantage plan helps me afford my medications and any doctor's visits I need. It may not seem like it does much, but it's meant a lot to me.
My wife has passed on, but before she died, she experienced a series of serious health issues that left her hospitalized (and later in need of nursing care) for several months. She had a stroke, and then a heart attack (and she was diabetic, which complicated things even further). She was in the hospital for three months and in a nursing home for three more months after that.
Then she had a second heart attack, and things really went downhill. Unfortunately, she died not too long after the surgery. We had 48 wonderful years together-we raised three children and now I have eight grandchildren.
I am grateful for everything our Medicare Advantage plan did for me and my wife in her last few years. The bills for her care must've been enormous, but I only ever had to pay a small part of them. Our benefits were very important to us then-we didn't have to worry about finding the money for medical bills-and they are still important to me now. I want to be sure that they're still around when I need them.
Congress needs to stand up for seniors. We've worked hard, and we shouldn't be left without medical care in our later years, especially as many seniors' health becomes more fragile. We need our Medicare Advantage benefits. Please don't take them away.
Charles Haltom - TX
My family has a history of health problems and I'm no exception. I am 76 years old and have lived with chronic pain ever since I was a child. I have out-of-control diabetes and arthritis, I have kidney problems (I have to check my blood pressure and keep track of various other vitals fifteen times a day!), and I have been hospitalized more times than I can remember. I'm grateful that I have Medicare Advantage coverage-I don't know how I'd handle all the bills for my health care without it. For all the care I receive, my costs are very low.
For pancreatitis alone, I've been hospitalized four times for a total of 23 days! My total cost for all of those hospitalizations was $800. I know that my Medicare Advantage plan covered thousands of dollars more in medical costs. I also recently had eye surgery to address some ongoing problems (I haven't gotten the statement yet and don't know what, if anything, I have to pay).
I pay $15 for visits with my primary physician and $30 to see specialists-and lately I've needed to see my eye specialist a lot. I also take 4 medications every day (down from 8!) and my costs for my medications are very affordable. I usually get my medications from the VA, but sometimes I can't get all the way out there to pick them up. I recently filled a 90-day prescription for two of my medications for just $30.
I am very satisfied with my Medicare Advantage plan and the coverage it provides. I can't believe Congress is trying to cut funding for the program-they should be trying to increase funding instead! I would be extremely hard for me to afford my medical care on my own, or even with less coverage. Too many seniors have the same problem. Many of us have very little, or even nothing at all. Congress needs to stop taking things away from the poor; it's just wrong! Please help protect our Medicare Advantage coverage. For many of us, it's all we've got.
Alfredia Kenney - WA
My husband and I receive Medicare Advantage health care benefits. I've been enrolled in the program for four years, and I am impressed with the cost and convenience of the program. During the four years I've been enrolled, my husband and I have used the coverage for basic medical care, such as preventive visits with our physicians, my semiannual optometrist visits (I have poor eyesight) and coverage of our prescription drugs. These cost us barely anything at all-I have no out-of-pocket costs for my optometrist visits, and our costs for preventive care and medication are very low.We both worry about cuts to the Medicare Advantage program. If Medicare Advantage did not share the cost of our medical care, even at this basic level, we would have to forgo our preventive care, and might not be as healthy are we currently are. If we have to forgo basic medical care because of higher out-of-pocket costs, imagine the impact on other seniors with chronic or care-intensive medical conditions.
Annie Holmes
I am a widow, and I am the caregiver for my mother, who is diabetic and suffers from dementia. My mother needs medications and constant care, and I have to cover the costs of both on my own because the state has frozen her assets. My own savings are very limited to begin with, and it is financially trying for me to provide all of my mother's care.
Fortunately, I have a Medicare Advantage plan. I've been with my health care insurer for nearly 40 years, and I signed up for their Medicare Advantage coverage because I have always been impressed with how well they've treated me. Any problems that I've had with things like with prescription drug coverage or hospital visits I've been able to clear up quickly through their customer care service. My Medicare Advantage coverage is extremely important to me: It covers the care I need and leaves me financially able to care for my mother, as well.
This became especially clear to me when I experienced a series of costly problems with my health. I was recently hospitalized for meningitis for a month. While in the hospital, my meningitis led to a hepatitis infection that devastated my immune system. I was on high doses of multiple antibiotics. On top of that, I needed surgeries to try to remove what the doctors thought was the source of the infection. It was only after I was on the operating table that the doctors discovered that the source of my infection was not what they had thought.
Weakened from the infections and the surgery, I went through an extended recovery period during which a visiting nurse attended to me. My daughter also helped take care of me after the nurse showed her how to administer my medications and see to my needs. Both my month-long hospitalization and the cost of the visiting nurse were covered entirely by my Medicare Advantage plan. I am now fully recovered and am very grateful for my medical coverage. That's why it makes me so upset that the House of Representatives wants to strip $50 billion out of the Medicare Advantage program. Congress needs to know how much seniors like me value and rely on Medicare Advantage, and how much it will hurt us if the program does not receive proper funding.
Dianna Carriger - CA
My wife and I receive Medicare Advantage coverage. We both take multiple medications for high blood pressure and a couple of other minor conditions. Our medications cost us $150 every 90 days, which is much more affordable than paying for them out of pocket.
Thanks to our prescription drug coverage, regular preventive care, and regular exercise, my wife and I remain quite healthy. We have not needed any major surgeries or hospital visits. Even under these conditions, the Medicare Advantage plan has been very important to me and my wife-and to our budget. I can't understand why Congress would cut funding for a plan that is so important to people like me-let alone cut funding for one that many other seniors depend on so much more than we do.
Richard Wiechman - KS
Before I was eligible for Medicare Advantage, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. I didn't have any insurance. There was no financial safety net when I was undergoing treatments. I had no coverage when I had my kidney removed. If it hadn't been for the generosity of the local hospital and some of my doctors, my husband and I would have had to sell our house to pay my medical bills. I don't know what we would've done. As it was, I only had to pay about $10,000 for all of the services I received.
After that, I didn't want to take any chances. I signed up with a Medicare Advantage plan before I even turned 65, so that the coverage would take effect on my birthday. It's a good thing I did. Within the first year, I needed hip surgery. My medical bills for the surgery and for the physical therapy totaled well over $87,000-but I only had to pay $1,600, thanks to my Medicare Advantage plan.
My husband is a diabetic, and I am on several prescription medications. While my husband does receive some benefits through the VA, we both use our Medicare Advantage coverage to help pay for our medications and supplies. We live on our Social Security checks, and we're on a tight budget, but we get by. The reduced costs we receive through Medicare Advantage really help us out financially.
I'm healthy now, and my husband and I have just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. I am so happy with my Medicare Advantage coverage, and so grateful that I have it. If it weren't for my coverage, we would've had to sell our house, and we would be in serious financial trouble. It's amazing how little we have to pay to get so much. There's really nothing like it.
I can't stress enough how important it is for us all to fight for people who can't fight for themselves. This is an important program for millions of people, and it needs to be protected. Seniors like me and my husband can't save the Medicare Advantage program alone.
Gwyen Kurth - TN
I am 70 years old, and I still make my own money. I have two children, and it is very important to me that they don't feel that I'm a financial burden in my old age. The challenge is that I have cancer. My medications are very expensive, but thanks to my Medicare Advantage plan, I can still afford them on my own.
Even though I don't live on a fixed income, I see how other seniors who have very tight budgets struggle with the cost of health care. Seniors depend on their insurance to live. How would our legislators feel if they were in our shoes and their benefits were cut? Maybe then they'd understand how important it is for Congress not to cut funding from the Medicare Advantage program.
Renee Sweedler - AZ