McCroskey Commentary: Medicare For All is Unrealistic

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Medicare for all has become the sexy symbol of several candidates for president on the ultra liberal side. Single payer, great care, everything and everyone is covered sounds so good … and so unrealistic.

As I listened to them explain how this would be paid for, (magic, or it doesn’t matter) and how great it would be for everyone, I wondered if by everyone they also mean them?

Or do they get to keep their Cadillac free healthcare they have now? Congress is pretty good at making exceptions for themselves and if I was a gambler I’d bet they would here too.

This proposal became more than an exercise for me in the past couple weeks as I turn 65 shortly and had to sign up for Medicare.  The experience left me with no real surprises, it was aggravating and generally what I expected from a big government agency.

It started with a phone call to get an appointment to sign up. I was on hold for more than forty-five minutes waiting. While waiting I was entertained by endless repeated messages about going online and how busy they are. I tried the online route but no longer had the phone I used when I registered.  So my only recourse was to send them a letter, and sometime in a week or two they’d review and send me a secret code to access my account.

Time was short and I didn’t have that much time to wait or trust they would in fact get back to me.

So I waited on the phone listening to how busy they are.

Finally, someone answered the phone and we went through a series of questions. I told her I wanted to get an appointment in Centralia to get through this process.  She asked morning or afternoon appointment?  I said first available and she said I have to choose and first available isn’t an answer.

 After a couple of minutes, she told me they are not accepting appointments in Centralia right now. She told me she would send them an email and someone would call me back within seven days. If they don’t call me in seven days, I need to call back.



Is there another number or do I have to wait up to an hour on hold again? Nope, they’re busy, she said, I’d have to wait. Can I schedule an appointment online?  Nope, they don’t do that either. I’ll just have to call and wait.

“How about if I just drive over and walk in?” I asked her. She said they’d just send me home to call on the phone.

So I can schedule doctor appointments, oil changes, haircuts and a whole array of things in my life online, but not make an appointment for Medicare? That’s correct. Once I’m signed up, but have a question about something? Call and wait.

Seven days and more have come and gone and no call back — although I can’t say that’s a surprise. I didn’t try to walk in the office in Centralia and see what happens but maybe I’ll have to give that a try.

As an aside to this, I recently spoke to a friend of mine who is covered by Medicare and the Veterans Administration. He was seeing a specialist for something pretty serious and needed a referral. His doctor marked the referral “urgent” which apparently in federal government speak means nothing. Weeks and phone calls later, he finally received the approval and went to the specialist they approved. Once there, that doctor said that’s not what he treats, and he needed a different specialist. 

I’d like to think my experience with this is unusual. I’d like to think that but I doubt it.

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John McCroskey was Lewis County sheriff from 1995 to 2005. He lives outside Chehalis, and can be contacted at musingsonthemiddlefork@yahoo.com.