Headed to camp in an hour or so. But after a few phone calls last night, and some info from my insurance broker, I have a rant.

First, I want to actually give a kudo to a government agency's website. Amazed? So am I. But to be fair the Medicare part D section of their website is very, very good. You can put in the exact medication you take, the frequency for a whole year, even the occasional ones (if you guess right on frequency), and it will spit out the best insurance plan for you. It will detail every month's costs, copays, deductibles, premiums, everything. Very easy to do, very easy to read, very good info.

Note that Medicare does not actually provide Part D insurance. They "allow" it to be sold by private companies, those evil things.

Now the rant.

Talked to two guys that are about to blow a gasket. Remember the famous "Obamacare will not make you change ANY of your current insurance"??? Well, balderdash and poppycock. These two guys are having to change!! They got letters saying that their health insurance was cancelled, due to Obamacare. So they now have to go out on the "exchange" and pay a zillion percent more for less coverage. Bam. What a wonderful idea this is, right?

Me? I said my Part D went up 60%. That was a guess. If I put in my exact medications, my plan is going up in total out of pocket costs, about 82%!!!

Now, I realize some of you lucky ducklings have no change, and are very happy, and are lost as to why folks are upset. Well, goody goody gumdrops for your happy butt. I'm so tickled for you. Honest, I am. But you have to realize you are NOT the norm, and NOT the majority. This stuff is real.

This is NOT political. Political means that you have an agenda and a philosophy and you want those fomented. This is just an observation of reality. This stuff is bad, overall.

Well, it gets worse.

My last three doc visits, the bill comes in and Medicare doesn't pay for X, or Y, or Z. Huh? I check into it, and these are very normal, common things that each doctor has done every time I go in to see that respective doctor. Somehow, Medicare breaks down each component (such as "office visit") into multiple parts, and decides it won't pay anything towards some of those parts.

Oh, well...........I have Medicare Supplement Policy, right? Wrong. I have one, but it will NOT pay anything that Medicare will not pay!!! That's right. I thought it was a 'supplement', meaning it covered what Medicare does not cover. Nope. Medicare Supplement policies only pay for the SAME things Medicare pays for, they just merely cover the cost portion that Medicare doesn't cover. Meaning, the same procedures and office visits that were paid 100% by your old policy, under Medicare AND a Supplement, is maybe covered at about 75%.

It gets worse than that.

The procedures that ARE covered by Medicare AND the Supplement policy, are covered at an amount that Medicare deems appropriate, and not a penny more. Most insurance does similar things, right? Well, in a way, yes. But Medicare is crazy about it. They will take a procedure that the doctor bills at $120 and they will pay $7.31. That's a real example. NO WONDER doctors won't take new patients with Medicare.

I went to doc yesterday. I am now having to sign a form every time I go that is a Medicare form, that says "If Medicare doesn't pay, I will". I said "that's no different than ANY insurance". And they told me that the difference is that in private insurance, the diff between what the doctor bills and the company pays is small. With Medicare it's astronomical, and they can't afford to have too many medicare patients, they'd go broke.

Meanwhile, my brother gets FREE Medicaid because he gets FREE food stamps, and for no other reason. No application, nothing. A form saying "You get food stamps, sign here for free Medicaid".

Meanwhile, a working young man I know that has zero health problems is being forced to buy health insurance. I'm not even awfully opposed to this, but it'd be nice if the insurance companies HAD to keep you forever regardless, but they don't. Every year, they can boot you out.

We can talk about politics and such, all day long. But these are real examples of what is happening in the real world.

And it's a mess. And it destroyed a system that was expensive (due to drastic increases in procedures and medicines) but worked, and replaced it with a boondoggle.

In 5 years, the inmates will be revolting. Every one of them.

Meanwhile, your Representative and Senator that you love (you hate mine, but you keep electing yours) doesn't have to worry with it.

What a mess.