In Alaska, it is impossible to find a doctor who will take new Medicare patients unless they don't wish to practice long. I had to go with the VA when my private physician retired, as there are no private practices taking new patients. There are, however, Medicare Clinics sponsored by the hospitals who take Medicare patients in order to fill the need. Their stand-of-care is less than the VA. I also have private insurance, but Medicare keeps my from using it fully, as they limit billing to only what they allow. As I have ranted about before, Medicare is the reason healthcare is so expensive in the U.S., and the more the government is involved, the worse it gets.
Yes; I am satisfied. We are in a large metro area where excellent healthcare is available, and lucky enough to have very good insurance,including dental and optometry. Both of us are healthy; husband takes no meds of any type and I only take a blood pressure medication. I see my doctor once a year for my annual checkup and blood work and I really like her. We live within 10 miles of a full-service hospital and several emergency clinics should something unforeseen happen. So I feel very good about our health care at this point.
I agree that Medicare is a large part of the reason why health care is so expensive, the other part of it being insurance companies. That said, my Medicare Advantage plan is good pretty much anywhere in Maine and New Hampshire, and my regular medical expenses are on a sliding scale, based on income, besides that, so I have no complaints. It's not fair to people who are paying out of pocket, though.
I've had only Medicare for 15 yrs now, no supplement or Pres D as just too costly for my limited income, but it's good and I have no issues...one botched hip replacement in 2010 which left me pretty crippled but I manage and then a knee infection in 2016, long story on how long it took doctors to "find it"...I didn't walk for just about 3 months since infection was raging in knee. The hospital won't see what they believe I owe them on copays etc and rehab stays. I see my integrative MD about once a year and take a couple minor meds like thyroid support and BP med. Buy nutritional supplements which I believe keep me in good health except for the mess from surgery and OA. I am happy with Medicare and sure glad it's here for we seniors. Although I believe people could keep themselves a lot healthier on their own and not run to a doctor every time they turn around.
Currently, have Medicare A & B, Florida Blue supplement and Humana Walmart drug plan...…….plus my VA Medical. Haven't used Medicare A yet, but have used B and Florida Blue. Humana Walmart is pretty much a waste. They don't cover enough. One we move, I may have to go with my VA only, due to finances. As I always say, "Money is the main key to Senior retirement, especially when it comes to healthcare."
Depends on where you live and what insurance cover you have and what country you compare it to. If someone praises the German healthcare system, you'd need to ask three questions: Where do you live? How are you insured (statutory or private)? What health problems do you have ? Generally speaking, healthcare in the eastern part of Germany (formerly communist) is usually not as good as that in the western part due to an ageing population with lower income, less purchasing power, and fewer privately insured people) except partly perhaps in some larger cities. It's definitely worse in rural areas. I'm currently satisfied because I don't seem to be needing extensive medical treatment (but which is to come) and because I moved away from an area with insufficient medical care. I had suffered tremendously before I moved because there were not enough practices, more and more of which will be closed for good because there's no one to take over. (no attractive location, i.e. rural or smaller town). Long-term care is another issue. Let's pray I won't need that.
Given that people who insist that healthcare is not available to the poor in the United States are invariably those who live in a large city, if they know what they are talking about and are being truthful, then these big cities play under different rules than the rest of the country. Whether I had a Medicare Advantage plan or not, even if I didn't have Medicare at all, or any other insurance plan, or money to pay for it, healthcare would still be available to me. I live in a town of just over 2,000 people and we have two federally-funded health systems that operate on a sliding scale, which can, depending on income and expenses, slide all the way down to free. These two health systems compete for patients, so if I called to ask for an appoint for this afternoon, the chances are better than not that they would be able to fit me in. On top of that, we have a municipal hospital that also uses a sliding scale, as does the considerably larger regional hospital in Bangor. When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer a decade or so ago, I wasn't yet on Medicare and I had no insurance. I was treated anyhow and am paying something like $20 a month on a bill that I'll never get paid off before I die, but if I needed to be treated at that hospital again, they wouldn't turn me away. So when you ask whether I am satisfied with my healthcare, I don't see why anyone would think that we need socialized medicine because we already have a system that doesn't turn anyone away. If not for Medicare and insurance, healthcare prices would go way down to a point where people wouldn't be getting unreasonably large bills that they could never hope to be able to pay, and that might be an improvement, but that's not the direction we're moving in. I do have a Medicare Advantage plan now that pays my bills and I prefer that because I hated having to qualify for whatever sliding scale that I was on every six months, and it's worth the cost.
Despite my impaired hearing I have been able to learn from my neighbors that many of them have been to New Zealand where I have spent 26 years of my retirement before coming home to California. Most have done a number of cruises and all have been to Europe & UK. Given the age of these folks and the fact that all are retired and have been for some time it's nice to see that they enjoyed their retirement. My observation is that financially these folks though not rich, are quite comfortable (you must be to live here).
I have travelled to a lot of countries in Europe, .....Greece, Greek Islands, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Turkey, Austria, even lived for some years in a few but never travelled outside Europe tho''.. My daughter OTOH, has not only visited many countries in Europe like me , ( and also lives on the continent)..but has travelled to the USA ( California, New York City, Colorado, several times...)... Canada several times times...Australia twice... The Maldives twice, South Africa ( Cape town ) once... Dubai twice, Mexico once, and more I can't think of at the moment, and she's only in her early 40's...
I do not agree that everyone has healthcare, whether they can pay for it or not. When I was injured in a serious car wreck (hit by drunk driver) in 1991, that started affecting my heart, and I erratically would have a-fib episodes. Since they were sporadic, my doctor was not able to find anything wrong, and my heart was strong and healthy when it was not in a-fib. When it was in a-fib, it felt like there was a wild bird in my chest, struggling to get out, and it would last from 1-4 hours, usually late at night. Over the years, it wore my heart down and caused the heart failure, and when I went to see a doctor because I was close to passing out a lot of the time, he diagnosed me with a-fib and CHF. He said that it was severe enough that Social Security Disability would qualify me for medical treatment. Each time I applied , they turned me down, and since I had no insurance and could not work anymore, I couldn’t afford to get medical treatment, and there was no treatment available without the SSI disability. It was a catch 22, as the saying goes. Without the doctor verification that I needed medical treatment for my heart, they would not put me on disability, and without the money or insurance to see a doctor, I could not get the needed verification. When we moved here to Huntsville, there was a free medical clinic that helped people who were very low income and had no insurance, and they gave me the heart medications that kept me alive until I turned 65 and was qualified for Medicare. Now, I have Medicare and the Humana Advantage plan, and that has done a great job of helping me when I did have to go to the hospital for treatment for my heart.
Social Security Disability turns pretty much everyone down the first time they apply for it, but I'm not saying that everyone has insurance, or even that your doctor has a sliding scale. My cancer couldn't be treated at MD Anderson because it's a private facility and I don't think they even accept Medicare, but I could - and was - treated successfully at another hospital. Whether I had opted for surgery, radiation alone, or a combination of the two, it was available. As for regular medical care, given that these are federally funded health systems, I hardly doubt that they are available only in Millinocket. In fact, the ones we have here have set up operations in several other cities, and one of them is now one of the larger medical facilities in Northern Maine, and they're not free clinics where you sit in a waiting room for hours alongside a bunch of junkies and homeless people to see someone who isn't even a real doctor. Katahdin Valley has medical, dental, chiropractic, mental health, and a pharmacy. Depending on income, people pay anywhere from full price to nothing at all. People prefer it to the clinic operated by the hospital. I'm thinking you just didn't know where to look, which isn't a problem here because they advertise.
I have a number of neighbors here at Assisted Living that are in their mid nineties and have such great mobility. No Cane, No Walker, and several still driving their cars very well. I no longer drive and use my walker daily. The one thing we all have in common though is that we don't receive or need assisted living YET.
My ex-MIL will be 94 in August. She still lives alone in her own home and drives herself wherever she needs to go, in Austin traffic. She plays bridge every Thursday and is active in her church. She has always been active and very weight-conscious, and apparently that has paid off for her. She is also one of the hatefulest people I have ever known.
So does the Queen ( tbf she does have the best medical and lackies doing everything for her) but still , ..... and Betty White.... and ..several others.. Just the luck of the draw Lon...