Seniors in system worry less over health

MOSES LAKE - Affordable Care Act. Medicare Part A, Medicare Part D, Medicaid. Medicare supplements. Individual mandates. Rising premiums. Health care, and paying for health care, is getting very confusing, and maybe worrisome. For seniors who are using the system, however, navigating health care seems to be less about possible changes and more about keeping track of existing arrangements.

Thursday morning Willard Cleland and Mary Jane "Teddy" Morse were sitting at the table reserved for the birthday kids at the Moses Lake Senior Center. Cleland, who's 82 this month, said he doesn't anticipate that all the changes currently under discussion will make much difference for him. He tries not to worry about it, he said. "No matter what you think about it, it's not going to help you. It'll just give you ulcers, thinking about it," he said.

Teddy Morse will be 90 years old this month, and whatever the debate, she doesn't think it will affect her much. "I'm not into long term health care," she said. As for her current plan, it's all working out for her. "I'm doing fine," she said.

Gary Craig, 67, has Medicare and supplemental insurance provided by a private insurer, and he said he's satisfied with his coverage. The people that need to worry, he said, are still in the workforce. "It's coming for the people who have to wait until they're 70 (years of age) to get Medicare," he said. (Currently people are eligible for Medicare benefits at 65 years of age.)

"You'll be dead by then," said his friend Lewis Bright. The men were hanging out in the senior center's pool hall.

Bright, 73, also has Medicare and supplemental insurance. "I got all kinds of health care, but they don't do you any good," he said. But in terms of health insurance, Medicare, and a supplement to pay what Medicare doesn't, is the way to go.

However, the cost of supplement insurance is increasing, Craig said, and it's getting to the point where some people he knows can't afford it.

Barbara Rockhill, 80, said the best mix for her was Medicare, the Part D drug plan and a state supplemental. She tried something different once, she said. "They accepted me but they wouldn't accept my husband. I said that was dumb." Her friend Grace Thompson, 88, said her Medicare-and-supplement plan was "very affordable," and she wouldn't change it.

Seniors who are already in the system haven't been very affected by the changes, at least not yet. "I don't feel it," Rockhill said.