I got a call from a bill collector a few days ago concerning one of my many past due medical bills. I am retired (35 years as an RN, BSN), have Medicare and pay for a Medicare Supplement (hap). With this one might assume that I am pretty much "covered", that is not the case. Medicare itself has a 20% hole that usually sucks out thousands of dollars from those such as myself on a fixed income. The Supplements offered do little to cover the gaps , and weight us down with high deductibles and co-pays. So I pick up the phone and on the other end is this not-so-nice somewhat self-righteous young man telling me (little Miss "Fixed" income) I owe the local hospital $15,000. I responded, "excuse me young man, there must be some mistake, I have both Medicare and a Medicare Supplement?" The young man responded, "this is your "out of pocket" cost after Medicare and your supplement have paid their part. "Out of pocket cost", doesn't that sound like something Frank Luntz pulled out of his rear end on a bad day? Anyway as we spoke the young man began
to grow impatient and at times down right rude! He declares, "What kind of person does not pay their bills"! Obviously, he had switched from being a bully and tried to used the established Jewish Mother tactic of "guilt". I being a "Jewish Mother" counters with, " well, young man when it comes to medical bills, most of the industrial world"! I went on to inform him that most Western countries subscribe to some form of "socialized" health care system and hounding people for unpaid medical cost would be unthinkable. I went on to tell this Libertarian sounding young man that I have payed into the system for 30 years (medicare and Social Security), payed extra for a supplement, and still they hire his company to "hound" me to the grave? Before I hung up, I informed the young man that my only regret was that I was not born into a country that valued Single Payer or a Public Option as much as Pacifying Wall Street or maintaining an "Shock and Awesome" Military.
2:46 PM PT: Am I the only one upset about Max Baucus little side deal that gave all the citizens of Libby Montana Medicare for life?
http://my.firedoglake.com/...