[Ouch!]

Wow, thanks for some new insite.

I have been away for awhile & I am still catching up on all the new information & posts.

Insurance companies in the US have us all hostage. They now dictate what doctors can & can't do and for how much money. I remember that 25-30 years ago, doctors could call many of the shots. If the doctor said you needed a week in the hospital for a proceedure then that was what happened; now the insurance companies tell doctors how long a patient can stay in the hospital. Period. It doesn't matter about the patient's condition, age or any other factors.

I was afraid of insurance "fall out" from the Medicare decision. I don't care what they said about studies in "older" patients, the bottom line was the money. They just don't want to spend it. My insurance is Tri-Care, the military option to pay for civilian health care. I have dealt with the ups & downs of this system for many years. There is always a yearly struggle to keep insurance benefits. Many benefits have been reduced, or eliminated, and co-payments have been raised. Many doctors will not accept this insurance. A woman I know was told by her doctor that Tri-Care is worse than welfare & people on welfare have better coverage. Her husband is active duty, so the doctor has really given a slap in the face to a family whose husband & father is off serving our country. But, I digress.

Medicare for the elderly has many problems too. They actually have to pay to have this coverage. Plus, they usually have to have a costly supplement to really have adequate coverage. (My parents had to pay about $800+ per month for their supplement in addition to what they had to pay for their Medicare enrollment.)

A note about government health care in Germany. Our friends in Germany tell us that because of rising health care costs their government insurance has eliminated coverage for many “elective” procedures. They also must wait for availability & approvals. They told us that they must pay for private insurance if they want to have adequate coverage for health costs.

Jane