I experienced a Medicare cut back

[asta]

I am convinced that the only people who think the present situation with private insurance companies actualy works well are those who are young and healthy. When you have an illness and need to rely on them, they have anything but your best interest in mind.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

OK.
Pay the co-pay. Sounds like a very reasonable co-pay to me.

NOT if you are on a fixed income.

 

[Christine]

I see that the OP has not come back and elaborated.

As far as I can tell, Medicare has not changed their payout on insulin supplies. There are very specific instructions on Medicare's site on how to get "free" test strips. If the OP has been doing that all along and the all of a sudden there is a change to the copay, then I would think that Walgreen's has done something incorrectly. Or, I would look at the test strips to see if they are the allowed brand or that you haven't exceeded your allotment of strips.

Not sure why the OP assumes that this is some cutback without checking all of those things first.

 

[Bilberry]

Different than what is being discussed, but was reading this morning about the large effects Walmart is having on our healthcare system. Overall, it seems they have been a leader in lowering health care costs.

"The Wal-Mart Effect Comes To Health Care"

http://news.investors.com/article/623534/201208241904/walmart-effect-comes-to-health-care.htm

snippet from the article:

Health Care: Giant discounter Wal-Mart says it will soon offer vaccinations for a wide variety of ailments. Can the "Wal-Mart Effect," which has helped slash U.S. inflation, do the same thing for soaring health care costs?

Everyone knows Wal-Mart has been a positive influence on inflation. A few years back, the highly respected National Bureau of Economic Research even estimated that the government's consumer inflation data were overstated by about 15%, due largely to the unrecognized impact of Wal-Mart's everyday low prices on the economy.

A separate 2007 study by the investment advisory and forecasting firm Global Insight estimated that in 2006, Wal-Mart's low prices saved consumers roughly $287 billion — or about $2,501 per household. The impact — especially on low-income consumers — has been enormous.

John Tierney, a New York Times columnist, even suggested that Wal-Mart receive a Nobel prize for helping to pull so many people out of poverty.

Well, the retail giant may be at it again —this time in health care. As reported last week, it's expanding customer offerings into vaccines. That's right, vaccines.

The Benton, Ark.-based company has been moving into health care since 2006, when it started selling generic drugs at a flat $4 fee. Now, in addition to the low-cost vaccines for influenza and pneumonia it offers at 2,700 stores, it's expanding into 10 other common vaccines, including shingles, meningitis, hepatitis and the human papillomavirus. This will give millions of Wal-Mart customers who never see a doctor the chance to get cheap preventive care.

Quietly, Wal-Mart's changing the face of health care. Last year, it played down the leak of a 14-page internal document that outlined its plans to "build a national, integrated, low-cost primary health care platform."...

 

[sookie]

NOT if you are on a fixed income.

Please read post number 10 where I already addressed this. Like I said, there are programs for indigent patients if the OP cannot afford the 15 dollar copay.

 

[LargoLori]

A lot of people on medicare are on very very tight budget. A lot of senior citizens that can't afford 15 dollars.

If their budget is that tight they would probably qualify for Medicaid.

 

[manning]

oh brother. I guess the true colors come out of some. Don't have time for snobs

 

[Christine]

oh brother. I guess the true colors come out of some. Don't have time for snobs

Thank you for your well thought out explanation to the thread you started. Who is being a "snob"? People who said you should be able to afford the $15 copay? I get that those comments added nothing to the discussion.

You came here and started a thread that you have experienced a Medicare cutback. Several people told you a few different reasons why this is *probably* not a Medicare cutback because, so far, Medicare has yet to change how it handles diabetic supplies.

So, did you find out it was a Medicare cutback or did something else go wrong? Or are you just mad at the government these days and want to make a statement? When you make a claim that you suffered a cutback or a change, people want to know if it's true. Many people are on Medicare or have family members on Medicare and are truly interested in how insurees are treated and problems in the system. It would be nice if you'd come back and actually clarify.

 

[Carl]

I've had two different suppliers and they both told me that Medicare part B pays 80 percent of the cost and I would be responsible for the balance.
However, Medicare has ceased paying for any Chiropractic care as of last year. So, they are cutting back.

 

[tar heel]

If their budget is that tight they would probably qualify for Medicaid.

I don't believe you can get Medicare and Medicaid at the same time . . .

+1 for Christine!

 

[mjc05]

I don't believe you can get Medicare and Medicaid at the same time . . .

+1 for Christine!

My brother was disabled in 2010 and lost his job due to catastrophic illness. He received Medicaid in 2010 and starts Medicare next month. Due to the amount of disability he collects (just above national poverty level), he is able to have Medicare as his primary and Medicaid as his secondary insurance. It is possible to have both, in my experience.

 

[Christine]

I've had two different suppliers and they both told me that Medicare part B pays 80 percent of the cost and I would be responsible for the balance.
However, Medicare has ceased paying for any Chiropractic care as of last year. So, they are cutting back.

There probably are cutbacks going on; however, to date, there has not been a change in how diabetic supplies are handled. At least with my parents, they have been very good at sending out correspondence when there will be a change in how their supplies are handled. I'm more concerned that the pharmacy has made a mistake or that some different type of strip was ordered or it was misfiled.

 

[tar heel]

My brother was disabled in 2010 and lost his job due to catastrophic illness. He received Medicaid in 2010 and starts Medicare next month. Due to the amount of disability he collects (just above national poverty level), he is able to have Medicare as his primary and Medicaid as his secondary insurance. It is possible to have both, in my experience.

That's why I read the Disboards -- so I can learn stuff! I'm pretty sure his situation is unusual. Doesn't he lose the disability when his social security payments start or is it from a source other than SS?

 

[mjc05]

That's why I read the Disboards -- so I can learn stuff! I'm pretty sure his situation is unusual. Doesn't he lose the disability when his social security payments start or is it from a source other than SS?

He started out on SSI from June to October 2010, I believe. Then in October 2010 he was switched over to SSD. He is listed as totally and permanently disabled as of June 2010 when the FMLA from his employer ran out and they terminated him. The Medicaid backdated to the date he was hospitalized as a secondary insurance to his United Healthcare, which dropped off in July 2010.
Now, he has the Disability income and Medicare/Medicaid.

 

[Princess Dolly]

NOT if you are on a fixed income.

We're all on a fixed income.

I would inquire as to the change. I've had my provider get my copays wrong.

 

[LargoLori]

I don't believe you can get Medicare and Medicaid at the same time . . .

+1 for Christine!

In Florida you can. My elderly FIL has both.

 

[duffy]

Yes, you can have both Medicare and Medicaid.

By the time you get Medicare A, you've EARNED it. You've worked enough in your lifetime to get Part A with no cost.

Most people of Medicare age PAY for Part B, usually by having it deducted from a Social Security check.

Medicare is federal. Medicaid is state assistance. It's based on income. You can have both. It may be tougher to qualify for Medicaid in other states, or easier. States set their own rules for getting Medicaid.

 

[tvguy]

Well, no expert here, but Googling this seems to show you should have been paying a co-pay all along. Sounds like the Pharmacy messed up by not charging it in the first place.

 

[Beezle2]

Yes, you can have both Medicare and Medicaid.

By the time you get Medicare A, you've EARNED it. You've worked enough in your lifetime to get Part A with no cost. Most people of Medicare age PAY for Part B, usually by having it deducted from a Social Security check.

Medicare is federal. Medicaid is state assistance. It's based on income. You can have both. It may be tougher to qualify for Medicaid in other states, or easier. States set their own rules for getting Medicaid.

>>>

The bolding is mine. I don't think most people ever could pay in enough in their lifetime to cover what it costs for Medicare over their old age. I'm glad we have Medicare but people on it get out way more then ever gets put in by that person. It's going to be interesting to see what happens with the program.

 

[Sadie22]

http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11022.pdf