Medicare Advantage Covers My Multiple Chronic Conditions in the Most Affordable Manner for Me

Sharon McKelvey, Elk Grove, California

Medicare Advantage covers my multiple chronic conditions in the most affordable manner for me. The 20 percent co-pay with traditional Medicare would have bankrupted me in less than a year. My husband and I live on a fixed income and barely have enough to meet basic living expenses, but neither of us qualify for any type of special assistance for medical and pharmaceutical needs. That said, I have a number of chronic medical conditions that require frequent doctors’ visits, including a plethora of specialists. I need frequent, sometimes monthly, radiological and laboratory tests, take 26 different medicines (some very, very expensive) and I require several kinds of therapy on a rotating basis. There is no possible way we could afford the co-pays for my doctor office visits and therapy, let alone pay full price for my medications.  Were it not for Medicare Advantage I would either be living under a bridge or dead. If Congress eliminates Medicare Advantage I’m not sure what I would do because I would not pass underwriting for a Medicare Supplemental policy because I have pre-existing conditions. I am very satisfied with my Medicare Advantage plan.