There is a writer and editor at the far left wing Politifact single-handedly on a mission to misinform and mislead American senior citizens and other voters about Medicare. Actually us seniors know how bad Medicare is; it is the younger voters I'm worried about. In late August these two Politifact propagandists spewed all kinds of lies and they were back at it again on Politifact on September 17 where they said:
“First, while the federal government guarantees that you will be served by Medicare once you turn 65, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get every possible service or treatment paid for. Indeed, an entire industry sector -- Medigap insurance plans -- has emerged to pay for the procedures that Medicare doesn’t cover. This is particularly true for the coverage for newly emergent technologies and treatments.”
It is gross understatement to say that Original Medicare Parts A and B do not guarantee every possible service or treatment. The reality is that they don't cover many services and treatments seniors need (e.g., it doesn’t cover annual physicals or most drugs).
But the real Politifact misinformation from September 17 is the statement that the Medigap industry has “emerged to pay for the procedures that Medicare doesn’t cover.”
Medigap – as the name implies – mostly handles the gaps in co-pays and deductibles in Original Medicare Part A and B financial coverage (primarily the $1156 deductible in an admitted hospital stay and some but not all catastrophic coverage for an admitted hospital stay and SNF stays and secondarily all or part of the 20% co-insurance in observed hospital stays and other outpatient and clinical procedures including most doctors’ charges). In most cases, by law Medigap specifically does not cover anything that Medicare does not cover (e.g., annual physical exams and most drugs).
And that's forgetting the fact that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) guts Medigap. Pretty soon in America, the Federal government will force people under 65 to buy healthcare insurance they don't want while forbidding people over 65 from buying insurance they do want.
-- Dennis Byron
