A Word About Insurances of Frustration
What Medicare HMO salesmen don't tell you can have disastrous consequences on your health. When you sign up for a Medicare HMO you are trading the freedom of choosing what doctor you see and when, for a set of rules made up by the insurance company.
Medicare pays these companies the same whether you see the doctor or not, so their rules are often designed to frustrate you into not seeing the doctor. Worse, many Medicare HMO's deny easy access to ophthalmologists by making you see an HMO- affiliated, lesser trained, provider first. Frequently, they lack the tools and experience necessary to diagnose and treat the common eye problems of seniors. Often, in order to get cataract surgery, a patient will have to travel 50 miles or more to see an HMO doctor who usually does not provide the follow-up care the patient needs after the surgery!
When you need eye care, you shouldn't have to wait for someone to approve a fax. Patients deserve better than this. The benefits offered by the HMO, like reduced priced medications, are minimal if you don't take many. Medicare Part D plans offer the same benefits without giving up the freedom of choice of traditional Medicare.