My experience with medicare

[loyalkydem]

I haven't seen anyone who has medicare post their experience with medicare so I thought i share mine. I'm 35 years old and I initially got medicare back in 2002. As I continue to listen to all the hype that the right wing is spewing about what's going to happen when your on a government run program, let me share with you my experiences.

I have received excellent care since getting approved on medicare. I have had three doctors in the past six years. Now, before you jump down my throat, the reason I switched doctors was due to distance. Jefferson County (Louisville, KY) is a big city and I live in what is called the Fern Valley area of town. My first doctor was downtown, which was about 30 to 40 miles away.

To complicate matters for me, I have limited transportation which means I have to wait until the roommate gets home and hope and prey that he's in a good mood to take me somewhere. Then thanks to WAVE 3, I learned about MDU which is Doctors who make house calls. Excellent program and excellent service. They take medicare just fine.

The doctor I had before was located on Taylorsville Road. Nice lady, but again, I had to time it just right so that transpiration was available.

Every time I needed something, my doctor always made the determination of what I need. The doctor was always honest with me, told me up front medicare will cover this, medicare will cover that. The doctor would not offer me a service if they felt I did not need it.

The only time Medicare has let me down was when I tried to go to a chiropractor. Medicare apparently is very picky about those types of services. As I would discover later, I'm actually glad that medicare never made a decision on that because I would have caused more harm than good going to a chiropractor.

Also, there is this silly notion going around that a doctor will talk to you about end of life consultations. Also totally bogus, since being on medicare, not once have I ever been sat aside by my doctor and told that i need to make a decision about what I want to do by the end of my life. I mean, I'm only 35 years old for crying out loud. Now, some of my doctors have asked me do I have a living will and some have suggested and the key word here is suggested that I consider getting one.

Each month, I get a statement from medicare stating what they have been billed and each item is detailed.

I think it would be wise if the media were to put people like myself on and explain to the confused masses out there this is what medicare (a government run program) does.

[angstlessk]

1. for crap sake..you were 35 at the begining of your statement and 25 at the end

SHIT..I WANT MEDICARE!!!!

[loyalkydem]

6. You want it

Loose your vision. You'll get approved well at least if your in Kentucky. I can't speak for other states.

[Obamanaut]

2. Does your very last line have a typo? ruined? nt

[panader0]

3. Okay, I'm confused. Are you 25 or 35? And how do you get Medicare

at either of those ages? I thought you had to be 65. Plus the end of life consultation thing has not been passed yet.

[AuntPatsy]

5. My daughter is 27 and she has had it for a year...disability as well..

[loyalkydem]

7. did

they make it hard for her to get approved? Some states (North Carolina) where I'm origionally from seem to take pleasure in making you jump through hoops.

[AuntPatsy]

21. Not at all, to be honest I was a bit suprised how quickly she was put through...

though to be honest if she had to take care of herself she would be more than likely homeless, its really such a small amount..

[M0rpheus]

8. Medicare

There are really only two conditions you need to meet to qualify for Medicare benefits:

1. You must have paid money (taxes) into the Medicare system for at least ten years.
2. You must be age 65 or older, unless you have a disability or permanent kidney failure.

[elleng]

12. The so-called end of life thing has been law for a number of years;

its the 'encourage a living will' thing.

[loyalkydem]

4. I did

correct the typo, give a guy a break. This is why I hate coming here now because of stuff like this. I got medicare because I'm blind in one eye. In Kentucky your automatically approved if you have a disability like that.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

11. Excuse me, but in case you don't know, there are Republicans in Democratic Underground

They're here pretending to be Dems, but you can pick them out instantly with tweezers. So if some people surprise you with their attitudes, you'll now know why.

Just wanted to make sure you knew why a handful of people in here sound like Republicans.

[loyalkydem]

14. Thanks

I'm starting to see that now and there ususally the ones who don't know what they are talking about.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

18. You're welcome! And yes, GOPers are always the ones who have no idea but persist in...

pretending that they do.

[scarletwoman]

9. Are you sure you mean MediCARE and not MedicAID? I thought Medicare was strictly for people over 65.

Just wondering.

[loyalkydem]

10. Medicare

I have part A and B coverage according to my card.

[scarletwoman]

16. Thanks. Like I said, I was just wondering. (nt)

[REP]

13. MediCARE is for those on SSDisability and SS (retired); MedicAID is income-based

[loyalkydem]

15. and to answer you REP

I have medicare and I also have Social Security Disability. You got some other things you want throw my way?

[REP]

23. Your post is in the wrong place; I merely answered questions about Medicare/caid

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

24. What exactly did he throw your way?

[scarletwoman]

17. Thank you. I did not know that about Medicare. (nt)

[loyalkydem]

19. Here's something interesting

My uncle is a diabetic. He's tried three times to get medicare. I beleive he's 62, have to ask my Aunt. He got hurt on the job and is trying hard to get disability, North Carolina won't approve him for it. Situations like his is why I'm for a public option. He would benefit from it.

[postulater]

20. Medicare allows direct access to a chiropractor

unless you have purchased a Medicare replacement policy in which case you may have to select one from a network. There is no referral needed and no prior approval.

Chiropractic care is extremely safe, malpractice premium rates are very low. It would be very rare for you to have a condition that a chiropractor would be unable to safely help you with in some way.

And if you do have such a severe problem the chiropractor would be able to determine the risk and discuss it with you.

You might be pleasantly surprised if you check into it a bit further.

[Mudoria]

22. My mother in the last 5 years has had..

a triple bypass and cataract surgery on both eyes while on Medicare. It's cost her a grand total of $150 and that was for the eye surgery. She seems pretty happy with Medicare and I can't blame her. I wish my private insurance paid that well and with less paperwork.