Letters to the editor: Oct. 15

The Focus on Retirement column “Advisers can help with Medicare” (Sept. 24) quoted Dan McGrath, director of funding…

The Focus on Retirement column “Advisers can help with Medicare” (Sept. 24) quoted Dan McGrath, director of funding strategies at HealthView Services Inc., a provider of health care cost software.

His comments about dollar limits on total coverage and maximum days of hospitalization under Medicare Advantage plans are either ill-informed or inaccurate. Mr. McGrath probably has succeeded in scaring people, though.

Our agency writes both Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare supplements. There is no one size that fits all.

There can be times when one plan is a good fit, then days later, something catastrophic hits the client, and a different plan is more appropriate.

Medicare Advantage plans out here offer vision and hearing aid benefits, and some even offer free gym memberships, too. You can’t get that from original Medicare plus a supplement.

When Medicare beneficiaries turn 65 and go on a Medicare Advantage plan, they have up to 12 months to change their minds and switch to a supplement without answering any health questions.

Frank Adkisson
Financial adviser
National Senior Insurance
Omaha, Neb.
A Medicare Advantage plan beneficiary who has a continued stay at a hospital that is longer than 90 days may be subject to higher costs than the beneficiary who has enrolled in a MediGap policy.
My comment is from firsthand experience, not only with family members but also very close friends. In most cases, by the time the 90 days are up, the private insurance company will have tried already to have the patient moved to another facility to see if better care can be given.
With a MediGap plan this won’t be the case; he or she will be covered for 365 days.
Are there Medicare Advantage plans that cover 365 days? Yes.
Are they the norm? No.
I am not saying that Medicare Advantage plans are bad or even that MediGap plans are better. All I stated was that for those who may have a chronic illness, an extended hospital stay under a Medicare Advantage plan can possibly lead to higher costs than under a MediGap plan.