“I understand that traditional Medicare is preferred when you have a serious illness,” Carol said. “A lot of people are enticed to take Advantage plans [which may not cover certain services.] People don’t realize how expensive an illness can be and are lured in by cheap eyeglasses” [an extra benefit the plans sometimes offer], which pale in importance when a serious illness strikes, she explained. “My husband and I were very satisfied with Medicare the way it was.”
Karyl, age 69, had been a high school math teacher in New Jersey for 22 years. She left her job in 1995 when she became disabled so her state pension is much smaller than it otherwise might have been. She said that the governor and the legislature had cut cost-of-living adjustments, and she was not pleased. “I don’t like the idea they took this from us,” Karyl said. “I don’t trust them.” So when she hears the Republicans say Obama took $716 billion from Medicare, she worries. “We are concerned with the rumor Medicare might go under.”
Neither Carol nor Karyl had quite made up her mind whom to vote for. Karyl said she goes to Fox and MSNBC to get different views, and sometimes feels as though people in the country are “depressed, down, and frightened.” As a sign of that, they discussed what seemed to be a poor showing at the Italian festival. They attributed it to the high cost of gasoline and the increased price of pizza, pasta, and meatball subs. In years past, Karyl said, “there were never any empty seats at these tables.”
I'd say a more accurate headline for Trudy's good piece would be "Word on the street: Ixnay on Ryan-Romney Medicare voucher plan."
#1 Posted by Harris Meyer, CJR on Thu 6 Sep 2012 at 02:23 PM