Today, 50 years after it was signed into law, what we call “Medicare” may be the most misunderstood program the government has. Since the annual “Open Enrollment” for the Medicare Advantage (MA) market just began, I thought this was a great time to review a few things about Medicare.
One thing I’ve learned after 55 years on this planet is that we all walk around every day with biases that color our decision making. Some of these biases can be safety-related (“I really don’t want that wild snake in my home, even though I can’t tell a poisonous one from a safe one!”) or designed to support sensible decision making (“I probably won’t give Jim any more work, since he keeps getting caught stealing from the company!”) or even beneficial to society (“Sure, I could dump these excess chemicals into that river with no idea what impact they would have on the environment, but it just feels wrong!”).
In this blog, we spend a lot of time talking about the individual market (people who buy their own health insurance coverage and aren’t covered through an employer or government program.)
I’m having a really bad dream, but I’m wide awake! You know the one I mean? Where you are in an impossible situation, you see something really bad about to happen, and there is nothing you can do about it? And you just have to watch the horrible event unfold, unable to change or alter it? Worst dream ever.
It’s been a pretty crazy week. Just since I last wrote to you, Donald Trump came to town, President Obama came to town. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Red Cross and lots of other organizations are here distributing money and supplies and food. Relief has been pouring in from far and wide. We’re so grateful!
I just can’t wrap my brain around these numbers (even after 55 years of living in South Louisiana).
