I’m writing this from the infusion center, with my every-three-week cocktail of chemotherapy and immunotherapy drugs dripping into my right arm. And that’s good news.
It’s been a rough two-and-a-half months. In early October, an abdomen scan uncovered a pulmonary embolism, which landed me in hospital for two days and means I’m now on blood thinners. In early November, an MRI uncovered two new cancerous lesions on my brain, while another MRI later in the month turned up four lesions on my spine.

The Medicare Annual Enrollment period runs from October 15th to December 7th. I initially believed this was the only time I could switch my Plan G Medigap supplement. However, these dates specifically apply to those changing Part D or Medicare Advantage plans.
In contrast, Medigap plans can be changed at any time during the year, although underwriting may be required. I turned 65 in June and enrolled in Medicare Plan G, already changing plans once during my initial 6-month sign-up period.

The signs of this looming crisis are everywhere. Expensive home care, long term care and end of life care are going to be the biggest challenges facing baby boomers.
There are over 69 million baby boomers, 21% of the US population, holding 50% of wealth. Unfortunately, most are unprepared to face this crisis. I find that in my retirement community, most have not investigated options to provide for such care and have shown little interest. They say they will handle it if and when they need it.

Anyone considering a Medicare Advantage plan should take a look the Executive Summary of this U.S. Senate report. It starts with this: “Every day, doctors evaluate thousands of seniors recovering from falls, strokes, and other ailments, and enter a recommended course of treatment into an online portal, or in some cases feed it into a fax machine.  But whether the requested service is determined to be medically necessary is a decision that belongs to people at the other end of the line. 

Twenty years ago I would not have written this, but I have grown less naive.
Consider human nature…when thinking about paying for healthcare and generating retirement income
We have tried countless schemes to manage health care costs, and expand coverage.  Similarly we provide incentives to get people to save for their retirement. The evidence shows only modest progress, but nothing has really solved the basic problems. 
We humans are just short-term thinkers.
Over 20 million Americans still have no health insurance.

For those of us HD readers who have warned against the problems in using Medicare Advanatge (MA), you may want to read an op-ed published in the The Hill on Sunday. Former Republican Rep. Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania, who helped write the Medicare Modernization Act that created Medicare Advantage, stated directly: “The program no longer lives up to [its] promise.”
Greenwood once believed private competition would drive innovation and efficiency. But today, he says,