This is the continuation of the quoted previous thread. The title there was appropriate for the starting topic, but I can't recall the last time we stayed on topic. LOLI pay for my drug plan, and for my supplemental insurance plan, and naturally Medicare takes out the cost of Medicare from my SS check before they send me any money. So we ARE funding the insurance programs ourselves already.
I could start talking about my friend in the UK, who has found almost nothing his family needs, and many other families, is covered at all.
I'm a diabetic so vision tests are free, however, I have to pay 45 dollars for a refraction to get glasses, which I also have to pay for, and man have they gone up in price too.
The last time I bought glasses, the price was a little over 250 bucks, now those same types of glasses are over 420 bucks. So I've not got new ones yet. I'm getting by with four-dollar readers for a couple of things but they are not good for distance.
I don't know about a hearing test. Seems I always had to pay for mine, so don't get them any more, other than the annual exam where they whisper something and asked what I said. I usually don't know because I didn't hear it over my tinitus.
Can we change this thread to a new one with a different title?
Anyways ... I pay for Medicare insurance as well, but that was not my point. If the Medicare program did not exist we would be buying private insurance and paying whatever those insurance companies decided is fair for them. If you think that might be a better deal, think of those Medicare Advantage Plans. They are run by private companies that use the limited funds given to them by Medicare. Those Advantage Plans would not get cheaper nor would they cover more items without the Medicare reimbursement.
The first eye exam I had here in O'Fallon was mostly paid for by Medicare and my supplemental insurance. One of the battery of tests was not covered and cost me something like $40 out of pocket. The glasses resulting from that exam were out of pocket.
The second eye exam done about a year ago was with a different service provider and the entire exam was paid for by Medicare. It seemed as if both times the same tests were performed, but there could have been a difference. I had to agree to pay for whatever Medicare did not, but I was not billed anything for the eye exam. The glasses where relatively cheap in that they were "on sale" for something like 40% off. The choices were limited but the price was right, a few hundred dollars for two pair as I recall.
It's too early to know how much, if anything, Medicare will pay for my hearing testing. The next visit is a consultation and they told me that would not be billed. It is just to explain what my choices are. Regardless of what I choose, I expect to pay the full price for the hearing aids. To my way of thinking that is equivalent to Medicare paying for the tests to discover if I have cancer, and then refusing to pay for any hospital stays or drug therapy.
And, it has become obvious that you and I know people in England who have vastly different opinions of the healthcare system there. People I know admit private care is better if not more expensive, but there is no shortage of treatment from the National Health Service. I guess it's the same situation here in America. Some people have no problems with healthcare, and others simply can't afford it. Depends who you talk to.