General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Hidden Dangers of Medicare Advantage Plans for Social Security Recipients [View all]AverageOldGuy
(1,569 posts)I'm 79 and live in a waterfront community, rural VA, Chesapeake Bay. I'm an EMT and still serve with the local volunteer rescue squad, though I answer only a few calls per month because EMS is a younger person's job.
One of my neighbors is 73, divorced, somewhat reclusive; ex-husband lives about 20 minutes away, he visits her almost every day, they get along well, he is 78.
Three days ago he called me about 9:00 PM. Seems that he had been trying to call her for three hours, no answer, could I go check on her. I grabbed my medic bag and squad radio, called the dispatcher and requested they put a deputy enroute in case I needed to make forced entry. Arrived at the house, dark, all doors locked, I could see the flicker of a tv set in one room. Shined my flashlight through the windows, saw her lying on the floor. Did not wait for the deputy -- called for medics and an ambulance, kicked in the front door. She was dead -- unconscious, unresponsive, not breathing, no pulse, no chest sounds, pupils fixed and dilated, cool to the touch, obvious lividity. Nevertheless, I started CPR, medics arrived, we tried one round of CPR and AED, called ER doc who told us to declare her dead.
Husband arrived shortly after. I talked with him for some time . . . he became more and more agitated as we talked. He said she had all but stopped seeing docs for her various ailments because two years ago, against his advice, she had dropped Medicare for a Medicare Advantage plan -- "because of all those damn TV ads" -- that had denied almost all her requests for meds, specialists, and the like. She could not afford the co-pays or the medication.
Not saying she would have been alive had she stayed with traditional Medicare, it could be a bit more complicated -- just dropping this story here for what you may take from it.