oh, to be on medicaid or medicare and have OTHERS pay for me....
Without the meds I’d be DRT in about 24 hours.
Be careful what you wish for. Medicare isn’t all it’s cracked up to be! I’m a poor widow on Medicare and trying to survive on SS widow’s benefits with multiple medical problems. The government pays ONLY Part A. Last year I paid:
$1199 for Part B
$1197 for Supplemental Insurance to cover everything Medicare doesn’t
$ 540 for Part D (Rx)
$1456 for Rx copays
$ 531 for dentist
$ 456 for glasses & exam (after 5 years)
By October, I was in the donut hole and could no longer afford the copays for my 3 asthma meds. (The rest are on the lower Walmart generic list and the most expensive copays are $24/month so I can usually afford them.) The doctor gave me 2 Advair inhalers but didn’t have samples for the rest, so I had to do without.
This year, my supplemental premiums are going up every month. Who knows what they will be next year?
My medical expenses on WONDERFUL Medicare are almost half of my monthly income, leaving me with a little over $7000 a year for all my other living expenses. What Medicare and the supplemental insurance (you MUST get to cover your other medical expenses) will be less and less as the premiums go up and up. Pretty soon, the poor or almost-poor seniors won’t be able to afford the premiums or their copays and will have no choice but to rollover and die (which is their plan IMO).
Lest you think I’m a ne-er-do-well, I started working a real job part-time when I was in high school, continued through college and all my life until my medical problems became too much. No one wants to hire me anymore, so I’m stuck until I’m old enough to collect my own SS benefits which will be more than widow’s benefits. I’m not on welfare or food stamps or Medicaid because I refuse to do that. Maybe I’m stupid, but I was brought up in a different age.
Don’t wish to be on Medicare! It ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.