Health care reform will not hurt seniors
To the editor:
I am a 70-year-old senior. Health Care reform will not hurt Medicare it will only improve it. If we do not have a public option in health care reform, the for profit insurance companies will continue to control our health care. It is not Medicare that denies procedures for care it is the for profit insurance companies that do. They get between you and your doctor. They decide which procedures your doctor may or may not perform, not medicare or the government.We need a public health care choice to keep the insurance companies honest. I worked as a utilization reviewer for a hospital in Florida that went bankrupt not because of Medicare but because private insurance companies denied over half of our legitimate claims.
We got bogged down in paperwork, physicians had to review with insurance RN’s who denied our claims. It was a nightmare. I am not talking about one insurance company I am talking about many like; Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Health Care, Humana, to name only a few.
The worse offenders were the Medicare Advantage plans which took over regular Medicare and then denied services. Don’t be fooled by all the propaganda. Healthcare reform is sorely needed and good for all of us seniors included. Medicare will not be harmed it will only get better. I know what I am talking about I’ve lived it.
Janice Luippold
Cape Coral