Perspective               

Retirees Face Health Coverage Gap

In testimony before a House panel recently, William Scanlon, director of health care issues for the General Accounting Office (GAO), reported that retirees are facing serious gaps in health care coverage. He stated that gaps in retiree health care coverage mainly result from the erosion of the availability of employer-sponsored retiree health benefits. He also noted that alternative and supplemental sources of health care coverage can be costly and limited and that a retiree's long-term health care needs typically are not covered by Medicare or private insurance.

Patricia Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation also testified and underscored the urgency of making prescription drug coverage available to older retirees covered by Medicare who lose access to such benefits under an employer plan.

If you are a person with Medicare who is retired, but do not have access to retiree insurance, there are other sources of supplemental coverage that can help fill the gaps in Medicare. You can buy insurance, called Medigap insurance, from private companies like AARP or Blue Cross. Call your State Department of Insurance for a list of companies that sell Medigap in your area.

You could also join a Medicare HMO. With an HMO you may fill some gaps in Medicare, but you must follow the HMO's rules and use only the HMO doctors and hospitals in your area. To find out if there are any Medicare HMOs in your area, call 1-800-MEDICARE.

Medicaid and other government programs can also help cover your costs if your income is low. Call your local Medicaid office to find out how to apply.

_________________________________