Letter to the editor: Medicare more efficient than private insurance

I graduated with a law degree at age 51 and found I couldn’t keep my school insurance. I spent almost three years while job-hunting (and working several part-time jobs) with six-month-maximum coverage policies that covered no doctor visits and no medications but had a huge deductible if I were hospitalized.

Then I went to a lawyers association policy that, again, covered nothing but catastrophic hospitalizations and cost $250 per month in 1991. I still had no coverage of medications or doctor’s visits.

I got an interview with the state of Michigan; my only question when asked was “If I’m hired, when would my health insurance start?” Since my interviewers had gotten their jobs right after college, they didn’t have an answer and seemed surprised at my concern.

From the time of my hiring, until now, I’ve been held in the “hand” of the state of Michigan, but I will never forget living in fear of going to the doctor or getting needed medication. Now my state coverage is combined with Medicare (which has been wonderful). Medicare’s overhead, about 2 percent, is much less than that of private insurance, at 17 percent. (Does the higher overhead go toward the CEOs’ pay)?

Pat Shalhoob

South Berwick

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