My wife qualifies for Medicare now. I have been trying to take it all in and understand it all. It is not easy. While I know most of you here are not for Medicare for all because of the $52T price tag, I have a little different take due to having to deal with the Feds and private insurance.

The idea behind Medicare for all is to eliminate private insurance and put everyone on Medicare run by the government. I know most of you who work also get your private insurance through your employer. So if you get yours through your employer you will lose it. Most decent private insurance plans pays 90% of most costs and has around $15 copays plus dental, eyecare and prescriptions. Better private plans will pay 100% and $5-$10 copays plus all the rest. But did you know you have to PAY for Medicare? With few exceptions the price is $135.50/month. Plus Medicare only covers 60%-80% of your doctor and hospital costs. Plus there is no prescriptions, eye or dental. All of that is extra. In order to get Medicare up to private insurance quality one must obtain an Advantage plan or a Supplement plan. Advantage plans cost little to nothing but also don’t add a whole lot to Medicare. Supplement plans cost. The plan I picked out for my wife is the “F” plan that I pay an additional $141/month for. That’s almost $3,600/year for complete Medicare. But this still doesn’t cover anything else. Prescriptions are another story. My wife takes 10 different prescriptions. As it turns out 4 or 5 of them are terribly expensive. Most prescription plans I found covered her prescriptions only for $11k-$12k per year and as much as $16K/year. After some research the best plan I could find covers her at $4,211/year just for copays. Just for prescriptions. Add that does not include the $72.70/month plan fee. So add another almost $900 for plan fees. That comes out to around $8,700 a year and that still does not include dental and eyecare. If your employer chooses to be cheap and not pay for your medical after Medicare for all kicks in, this is an example of what you could pay. Most people don’t have a lot of expensive prescriptions. So your costs could be around $50-$100 for prescriptions.

So this is an example of what you may encounter if we ever get Medicare for all. Just my personal experience.

My mother in law is diabetic, she has medicare, however, she cannot retire even though she has the age and time to do so, because medicare will not cover the cost of the insulin she needs to live.  Which is ludicrously expensive, even generic brands. She has to continue working so that the private insurance can cover the cost of insulin. 

Medicare for all would kill her, and bankrupt her, all at the same time.

F*ck government run anything.

My mother in law is diabetic, she has medicare, however, she cannot retire even though she has the age and time to do so, because medicare will not cover the cost of the insulin she needs to live.  Which is ludicrously expensive, even generic brands. She has to continue working so that the private insurance can cover the cost of insulin. 

Medicare for all would kill her, and bankrupt her, all at the same time.

F*ck government run anything.

My wife has to inject 3 different types of insulin which as you stated is quite expensive. It costs me more to have her on Medicare than it does to have her on my company insurance. The problem is you have only about a 6 week period to sign up and get started on Medicare or wait a year before you can sign up again. So I have to take her off my company insurance to get her on Medicare now or I have to work for another year before I can get her on Medicare. So I have to pay more now for her if I want to retire the beginning of next year. After I retire I have to pay for private insurance for myself until Medicare kicks in, in 3 years. And AZ is a Obamacare state. Only one company provides insurance thru Obamacare. And AZ was one of those states where costs on Obamacare rose 100% or more last year. For the Bronze Plan it is about $900/month, Silver Plan is $1,200/month for me. They recommend the Silver plan as it comes close to company provided medical insurance. So for me, since I don’t inject insulin yet, my prescriptions are fairly inexpensive. Medicare for me would be cheaper than Obamacare but still far more than what I have now which my company pays for.

I have a backup plan that involves going back to work. I hope it doesn’t come to that.

I have Medicare because the government forces you to take it at age 65 unless you have private insurance from your employer.
I am retired and Medicare hardly covers anything.  The only good thing is I currently am in good health and do not have to take any medication.
I did buy a supplement plan for which I pay $94 a month just in case I got sick or in a bad accident.  Medicare sucks.

My mother suffered a stroke in February quite a few years ago while working.  After that, she was unable to work.  It took over a year for her to get Social Security disability payments approved.

About 6-7 years later, she experienced another series of strokes, which landed her in a nursing home.  She was unable to speak, was paralyzed on her left side, and required a feeding tube. 

The Medicare reps said they would pay the first 3 months of care in a nursing facility -- or for costs of caring for her at home.  Then, if she remained in the home/on home care due to the same health event, she'd have to pay herself.  Once her assets dwindled to $2,000 (basically, they look back 5 years and count any assets you owned, even if you sold them, to keep people from transferring their assets to friends or family in order to not spend them on healthcare), they would pick up the tab again under Medicaid.

Medicare said BEFORE SHE WAS CHECKED INTO THE NURSING FACILITY that the place was approved for Medicare reimbursement.  When it came time for the facility to bill Medicare, they changed their mind.  Medicare claimed the facility was classified a "Professional Nursing Care Facility."  Appeals did nothing, and they let everyone know that pre-approval in no way guarantees approval for reimbursement.      What's puzzling is, she can't be the first person in that facility that tried use Medicare.  Something fishy if she was denied and no one before her was.  I have a feeling it's one of those "Medicare changed the rules" and she was caught up in the transition" situations.

So, Medicare wound up paying zero of the over $21,000 nursing home cost between February and June when she finally passed.

So, yeah.  If you have ANYTHING the gov't can take, they'll take it.  Gotta pay your fair share.  Ain't nothing from the government "free".

This is what Medicare for all will look like.  No matter what they promised, what rules were in place, or what others have received in benefits, it won't take long before the economy, tax revenues or higher costs force them to pull the rug out from under everyone who was counting on it.

https://www.payingforseniorcare.com/medicaid/spend-down.html

SSA also takes back any payments you received in the month you die, even if it is on the last day of the month.
The best time to die as far as SSA is concerned is the first week of a new month.

Thank you for everyone's stories and perspectives. This is the real issue here. Unintended consequences. This is where the politicians are not serving us. The unintended consequences of laws that our politicians don't care how they effect us. They gave us Medicare, we should kiss their feet. I PAID for Medicare and I have no recourse to go somewhere else.

My wife is forced to accept and pay for Medicare since she is no longer working. I don't understand how people think anything from the government comes free and without any hassles. I literally spent numerous hours across numerous days to try and understand Medicare and my wife's particular situation. If it were not for the AMAC people I would not have the understanding that I do. I honestly do not wish this on anyone. I was so frustrated at one time I even considered just buying a private insurance policy for my wife despite violating the rules of Medicare. 

From what I've noticed, every time the government gets involved 100%, it won't last long before major problems happen.  Money eventually runs out. 

I got some buddies who always complain about the VA.  Granted the VA does take care of most of it's people, but the stereotype has to come from somewhere about poor treatment and long wait times.  My friend broke his arm.  I asked him why does he have duct tape on his cast?  He said the nurse set his cast to tight.  So they cut it and used duct tape to redo it.  Instead of re-casting his arm. 

Taiwan as an example, going to the doctor for old people is like renewing your drivers license without an appointment.  You have to go there in the early morning and wait your turn.  They get to you when they get to you. 

When healthcare is no longer insurance/individual responsibility, more and more of the "uninsured of today" will avail themselves of wellness and routine healthcare visits.

That'll put much more demand on the system than the existing system.  Part of the reason for co-pay is reducing demand. It's to make people who can take care of minor issues themselves or with phone advise from a nurse to do it without becoming a clinic visitor.  Rather than paying $25 to have the doctor tell you to buy some cough syrup, stay in bed, and drink lots of liquids, you spend that money on cough syrup and maybe call the advise nurse to make sure you're okay to self-treat.

Another issue is the number of doctors and nurses.  When the workload becomes crushing, and the compensation is based on government scale, professionals who are tops in their fields will find better employment outside of the system.   That'll further put a strain on the gov't system being able to meet ever-increasing demand from the public.

I wonder how many of the politicians in Congress will be happy with their healthcare?  Who wants to bet they won't have an option the rest of us will not have -- and at tax payer expense?

Another issue is the number of doctors and nurses.  When the workload becomes crushing, and the compensation is based on government scale, professionals who are tops in their fields will find better employment outside of the system.   That'll further put a strain on the gov't system being able to meet ever-increasing demand from the public.

I saw Sicko.  Moore interviewed a doctor in England or somewhere around there.  He only has 1 home and 1 Audi.  Mentioned that's the norm for doctors there.  Compared to doctors in the US who have multiple homes and cars.  I do know that Moore's movies can be 1 sided.  But IDK any doctors in the UK to confirm what the norm is.  They have free health care.

I have heard from multiple people who live in the UK and have free health care and they don't like it.  Takes 6 months to see your doctor, surgeries being cancelled or a waiting list of just as long, sometimes longer.  Last guy was the guy I met in Vegas from England.  Unless he was faking his accent.

I saw Sicko.  Moore interviewed a doctor in England or somewhere around there.  He only has 1 home and 1 Audi.  Mentioned that's the norm for doctors there.  Compared to doctors in the US who have multiple homes and cars.  I do know that Moore's movies can be 1 sided.  But IDK any doctors in the UK to confirm what the norm is.  They have free health care.

I have heard from multiple people who live in the UK and have free health care and they don't like it.  Takes 6 months to see your doctor, surgeries being cancelled or a waiting list of just as long, sometimes longer.  Last guy was the guy I met in Vegas from England.  Unless he was faking his accent.

I have friends in the UK and Canada. None of them like the free healthcare they have in their country. Yet my Canadian friends keep telling me it is better than our healthcare system. 

Read 2 years ago the UK system was completely overwhelmed by a massive flu outbreak.  When there are huge increases in those kinds of cases, all other cases (cancer, kidney failure, heart surgeries, etc.) take a hit as well.  People are prioritized based on how long they "can wait" versus the ones who "can't wait".  So, if you're not bad enough to warrant a hospital bed this month, maybe in another 3 months when you get much worse, you will be.  In the meantime, that bed will be used for people who already waited to get worse.

Yeah, that's a much better system than we have here.   

Read 2 years ago the UK system was completely overwhelmed by a massive flu outbreak.  When there are huge increases in those kinds of cases, all other cases (cancer, kidney failure, heart surgeries, etc.) take a hit as well.  People are prioritized based on how long they "can wait" versus the ones who "can't wait".  So, if you're not bad enough to warrant a hospital bed this month, maybe in another 3 months when you get much worse, you will be.  In the meantime, that bed will be used for people who already waited to get worse.

Yeah, that's a much better system than we have here.   

I believe I read something similar some time back. I have also read that the conditions in the hospitals in Canada are abhorrent.

I do know that when the labor market is in the way it currently is, that some employers I have worked for in the past for have paid for better insurance plans, added insurance plans like an HMO to an already existing PPO. One had choices between United, HMSA and Kaiser. I have, in the past, decided on an employer based on the benefits over the pay.

I don't believe our healthcare system is perfect. Far from it. I just don't know what I would do to make it better? All I know is that throwing money we don't have at it to give mediocre Medicare to those who already qualify for Medicaid is not the solution.

Let's also not forget how Norwegian is also used as an example of free health care.  But they tax their people 51%.

Let's also not forget how Norwegian is also used as an example of free health care.  But they tax their people 51%.

And they aren't giving free care to millions of illegal immigrants.

The Scandinavian countries being held up as models for Socialism have a mostly homogenous population with little ethnic diversity.

That makes for a workforce that holds similar values, went through similar education institutions, speak the same language and have a unity formed by growing up around people sharing a border, language and culture.

They aren't spending their days trying to accommodate every race, made-up gender and culturally diverse belief the way the US is pushing us to do.

Most of the socialized medicine countries flaunted as successful have a very capitalistic economy.

Socialist programs can't survive without the WEALTH generated by well-run capitalism.  Look at Venezuela.  Richest in terms if natural resources, poorest due to the mismanagement of Socialists.

And they aren't giving free care to millions of illegal immigrants.

The Scandinavian countries being held up as models for Socialism have a mostly homogenous population with little ethnic diversity.

That makes for a workforce that holds similar values, went through similar education institutions, speak the same language and have a unity formed by growing up around people sharing a border, language and culture.

They aren't spending their days trying to accommodate every race, made-up gender and culturally diverse belief the way the US is pushing us to do.

Most of the socialized medicine countries flaunted as successful have a very capitalistic economy.

Socialist programs can't survive without the WEALTH generated by well-run capitalism.  Look at Venezuela.  Richest in terms if natural resources, poorest due to the mismanagement of Socialists.

Well said. 

Ben Shapiro philosophy says you can only get 2 out of 3:
1.  Availability
2.  Affordability
3.  Quality

Right now we have the best quality medical care in the world, for those that have insurance or can afford it.  People in other countries come to the US for treatment.  If you have cancer, you want to be in the US.  We have pretty good availability with private coverage and Medicare/Medicaid.  We don't have affordability.

Medicare for all has availability and affordability (for the poor), but quality will go down due to more people getting treatments and low reimbursement rates.  We have a doctor shortage now, and this would make it even worse with doctors getting paid less.  Also reduces r&d for drug and medical equipment businesses to create better treatments

Ben Shapiro philosophy says you can only get 2 out of 3:
1.  Availability
2.  Affordability
3.  Quality

Right now we have the best quality medical care in the world, for those that have insurance or can afford it.  People in other countries come to the US for treatment.  If you have cancer, you want to be in the US.  We have pretty good availability with private coverage and Medicare/Medicaid.  We don't have affordability.

Medicare for all has availability and affordability (for the poor), but quality will go down due to more people getting treatments and low reimbursement rates.  We have a doctor shortage now, and this would make it even worse with doctors getting paid less.  Also reduces r&d for drug and medical equipment businesses to create better treatments

That's similar to what I tell people when it comes to IT programs.

1. Fast
2. Cheap
3. Right

Pick any two.

I'll get burned bad for this but I'd stay with the status  quo,
if we can't get government out of the health care business.
I presently pay for my wife's Kaiser individual coverage,
we all pay for the Obama subsidy she gets.
When she goes on Medicare in 1.5 years I will purchase
Medicare part "C" for her from Kaiser.  It is better coverage than we have now
for roughly the same amount of my out of pocket money as the
BS Obama care coverage and there will be no more subsidy.
Everybody has a unique situation.
Full disclosure; I get my medical from the VA
and I will enroll in Medicare.  I will stay with VA,
I doubt I will ever use Medicare. even though I paid into it for
37 years or so.

I'll get burned bad for this but I'd stay with the status  quo,
if we can't get government out of the health care business.
I presently pay for my wife's Kaiser individual coverage,
we all pay for the Obama subsidy she gets.
When she goes on Medicare in 1.5 years I will purchase
Medicare part "C" for her from Kaiser.  It is better coverage than we have now
for roughly the same amount of my out of pocket money as the
BS Obama care coverage and there will be no more subsidy.
Everybody has a unique situation.
Full disclosure; I get my medical from the VA
and I will enroll in Medicare.  I will stay with VA,
I doubt I will ever use Medicare. even though I paid into it for
37 years or so.

I wish AZ has Kaiser. I am in generally good health and I would use Kaiser until Medicare kicks in. But they are not there. Only one provider (Blue Shield) on Obamacare and they are the only one available to purchase privately. So their price is high. I don't think I qualify for the subsidy next year but the following year I might. So next year I pay dearly but then after that the taxpayer gets to subsidize my medical insurance. I'd rather have multiple providers and pick from competing plans than to have taxpayers subsidize my ass.