The Center for American Progress addressed the issue of elderly poverty and seniors’ economic security in “The Not-So-Golden Years”:

“Social Security is tremendously effective in helping seniors and their families stay out of poverty. Its benefits kept 14 million elderly Americans out of poverty in 2009. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated in an analysis of 2008 Census data that the elderly poverty rate would actually exceed 40 percent in most states without Social Security benefits. The majority of people kept out of poverty by Social Security are elderly, but the Census data shows almost a third of those kept out of poverty are under 65 and include more than 1 million children.”

If your Medicare Advantage plan is cancelled, you have two options:  Change to another Advantage plan or return to Medicare and get a Medicare Supplement – with no questions asked. This is called “guaranteed issue”, and it is an option that should be seriously considered.

Guaranteed issue means a person who is 70 years old (or 90) with health problems can get a Medicare Supplement plan with no questions asked.  A person in this situation will pay the premium rate for his age, but will have no penalty because of his health condition.  This is a great opportunity to get the full coverage offered by a Plan C or F Medicare Supplement - and people in this situation are encouraged to look seriously at this option.

A copy of the cancellation letter from the Medicare Advantage plan must be submitted with the  Medicare Supplement application.  The Medicare Advantage cancellation letter will say clearly that  the person has “guaranteed issue”  for a Medicare Supplement with any company.  There are also boxes on the Medicare Supplement application to indicate that the applicant has guaranteed issue.

A number of Medicare Advantage plans will be cancelled for 2011 and letters have been sent to more than 2,000 people in southern Arizona informing them that they will have to change their Medicare plan by the end of December.  Details of 2011 Medicare Advantage plans are not publicly available until October 3rd, so plan options cannot be discussed until that time.

For more information go to the Medicare Choices of Arizona.

In 2003, President Bush and Congress created the Medicare Part D drug plan which began in 2006.  This added trillions of dollars to the Medicare budget without any way to pay for it.  Republicans are supposed to be the party of fiscal responsibility and yet they cut taxes while we were fighting two wars and  added a billion dollar budget buster to Medicare.  I wonder why?

The Comptroller General of the United States under George Bush spoke to Sixty Minutes in 2009.