Bob Ackley -> Mimi Gallandt wrote:
 BA> Replying to a message of Mimi Gallandt to Bob Ackley:

 BS>>>> If you declined Part D coverage you pay nothing extra
other than the
 BS>>>> normal $88/mo for Medicare part A&B.  Which
increases to $95.50/mo
 BS>>>> in 2007.

 BA>>> I think I'll stay with Tricare.

 MG>> Tricare rocks!

 BA> Actually it sucks.  But if one doesn't have it one doesn't get seen at
 BA> the Military
 BA> Treatment Facility (which is what they called the Offutt AFB Regional
 BA> Medical
 BA> Center before it was downgraded to a walk-in clinic), even if one is
 BA> legally
 BA> entitled to receive the care.  So I get to pay a monthly premium to a
 BA> civilian
 BA> outfit in Arizona to insure that I'll be seen at the local Military
 BA> Treatment Facility
 BA> which, AFAIK, doesn't receive a *dime* from Tricare.  Since Tricare is
 BA> sucking
 BA> up $millions per month in premiums, one would expect to see some
 BA> improvement
 BA> in the military health care system (since that's where most of the
 BA> claims should
 BA> originate); instead that system is apparently being dismantled because of
 BA> insufficient funds.

 BA> It sucks from the provider's point of view, too.  Tricare is really
 BA> better named
 BA> 'Medicare for the Military' because it works basically the same way:
 BA> slow pay,
 BA> deep discounts (they call it 'authorized charges' - they decide what's
 BA> 'authorized' -
 BA> and pay that amount regardless of the amount specified on the bill).  In
 BA> my case
 BA> in 2004 the hospital bill was $49K, Tricare sent them a check for $9K
 BA> and told
 BA> them to eat the rest, which they did (which means somebody *else* paid
 BA> the money).
 BA> The nearest civilian hospital to me doesn't accept Tricare, not all
 BA> civilian
 BA> providers do.  And I read a while back that many providers are no longer
 BA> accepting
 BA> new Medicare patients, and the number of those providers is growing.  Note
 BA> that in order to be a 'Medicare authorized' provider one must agree in
 BA> advance to
 BA> accept whatever Medicare pays as payment in full regardless of the
 BA> actual cost of
 BA> providing the treatment.

It obviously depends on where you live, it isn't like that at Naval
Regional Nedical Center San Diego.

-- 
L'Chaim

Mimi

In the beginning
the Word already was.

mimigalATcoxDOTnet

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