You are on Medicare, a government funded single payer system. Do you feel that you receive less expedient care or an inability to receive elective care now, compared to when you had employer-provided private health insurance?
I have Regence MedAdvantage Classic to be exact. It runs me an extra $47 a month. My previous employer self-funded medical insurance, matching the Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield plan. The change from one to the other was seamless for me. Like all insurance plans, it is tweaked every year. Lately these have increased the number of services they cover. For the most part, I have the same doctors I had when I was still working.
Doctors, hospitals and pharmacies enter into contracts with medical insurance providers. They've agreed to accept what they pay them for each service. Also, a doctor cannot charge the patient for the difference between what insurance covers combined with patient co-pays and what they charge non-covered patients. If they did, they'd risk voiding their contract. Currently, my co-pay for primary care is $10 per visit and it is $40 for specialists. Drug coverage has 6 tiers. My prescriptions run me on average $5 each per month. The ophthalmologist prescribed new eye drops for glaucoma. The copay was around $150 per month. I asked the doctor to prescribe something that was covered. A 90 day prescription for testosterone cypionate runs around $20. I think emergency room visits run around $100 which is waved if you're admitted to the hospital. The evidence of coverage booklet Regence sends out annually is a thick as a bible. LOL!
