Medicare "Advantage"? Advantage to WHOM?

From an STRS retiree, December 8, 2009
Subject: Advantage plans

I am a retired teacher (two years now) who is very worried about the switch to Aetna Advantage plans. My spouse has a chronic disease that requires a transplant of both lungs. Since Congress just voted to cut $400 billion from Medicare, Advantage plans will suffer. The benefits will be reduced and the premiums will increase. Perhaps, they will disappear entirely. What it means to my family, is that we will never be able to return to a supplement plan, because we would have to go through underwriting with the insurance company. As I see it, STRS has sold those of us on Medicare "down the river." It is stressful enough to deal with emphysema - now we have to live in fear of having no insurance in addition to Medicare.

Thank you for listening, please keep up the "lifeline" to the retired educators of Ohio.

I did not send this to you to appear in your blog. I just wanted you to see how terrible the decision of putting us on an Advantage plan with Aetna will be for us.
(Posted with permission)