Here’s to Your Health: Cranford Seniors and Health Insurance Reform

In many movies, we’ve seen the “President” pick up the receiver on the red phone… ostensibly a telephone line that goes directly to the Russian President to prevent imminent nuclear annihilation.

This is all very Hollywood, to be sure. But what if you had a red phone to the President? What would you tell the leader of the free world if you had his full attention for ten minutes?

For seniors today in Cranford, as in other parts of America, the concerns are all about basic human needs. With the proposed health care reform bill now in the hands of Congress, it looks possible that some form of “universal coverage” will be enacted.

So then the question to ask is: how will this affect the senior population in Cranford and across the nation? I talked to the seniors around town to see what they think it will mean to them.

“I don’t think they’re addressing my problem with this proposal,” Virginia Smith of Cranford’s Alliance Retired Fellowship said. “My doctor wants me to get a colonoscopy and an upper GI on the same day. Medicare won’t pay for them on the same day – they want me to have two separate visits.”

Shaking her head, she continued, “I have Parkinson’s and it takes a while to get ready in the morning. I’ve got to stop all medications prior to the test. Drink that foul tasting liquid. Now I’ll have to do it twice? Why can’t they let me do it on the same day?”

She said that even with Medicare, secondary and tertiary coverage, she still has out-of-pocket expenses.

“I don’t think this proposal will help me,” Virginia said, shrugging.

Just to break it down into manageable bites, these are the key points in President Obama’s health insurance reform proposal (courtesy of www.whitehouse.gov.)

If you have health insurance:
If you are satisfied with your current health insurance, you may keep it.
There will be no more denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions.
There will be no dropped coverage when you get sick.
Yearly and lifetime caps on coverage will be eliminated.
There will be a cap on out-of-pocket expenses.
Preventive care coverage will be required.

If you don’t have health insurance:
There will be a new marketplace to shop for insurance called “the Exchange.”
There will be new tax credits for individuals and small businesses.
There will be low-cost coverage for individuals and businesses.
A public health insurance option will be made available.

For all Americans:
The plan won’t add a dime to the deficit and will be paid for upfront.
Independent medical experts will identify waste, fraud and abuse.
Preventive care coverage will be required.

For Seniors:
The plan will eliminate the Medicare prescription drug “doughnut hole.”
The plan will implement medical malpractice reform projects right away.

Of course, the operative word here is “proposal,” which means we won’t really know how the health plan will affect us until it becomes the law of the land.

Helen Van Gelder, a senior and member of the Floraphile Garden Club in Cranford, knows exactly what she’d like to see in the plan.

"Everything changes from day to day, but my opinion is that they have to straighten out the fact that certain people who are ill can’t get insurance, or if they leave a job they’re out of luck," said Van Gelder. "Perhaps the government could put in one more option, which would compete with insurance that is already there, but with a lower bracket so everyone can afford it.”

Marie Knoeller of Cranford, who is retired and has a few health concerns of her own, had a unique idea: “Give all Americans the same healthcare as congressmen have.”

E-mail me and share your story as a senior in Cranford: rhcwilliams@yahoo.com

Ruth Williams is a freelance writer living in Somerset. Her focus is on issues of interest to seniors, including health-care, lifestyle and self-improvement. She’s a single mom who lives with her 10-year-old son, Coleman, and her senior citizen Border Collie/Lab Mix, Sheena (84 in dog years.)