Deltonan not giving up on her crusade for the elderly

The daughter of a Deltona woman who says her mother lost her Medicare insurance because of alleged consent to a clever and fast sales pitch is still seeking help and reform for the graying generations.

You may recall Carol Hickerson's story that was published previously in The Beacon. Hickerson is trying to coax state and federal lawmakers to crack down on unscrupulous insurance agents that target the elderly and frail.

"It's the kind of predatory mess where they're calling all the seniors," she said, referring to agents who seek their victims' permission to drop their current coverage and enroll them in other plans that they are selling. "They should not be able to call seniors, any seniors, because they don't know. They preyed on my mother because she was vulnerable."

Hickerson noted her mother, who is in memory care, is a diabetic and suffers from dementia. Her mother, she added, would talk freely with strangers and would answer questions without really understanding what was being asked or the effects of her answers.

As she described what had happened, Hickerson did not mince words.

"They are paid predators," she said of the insurance salespeople who tap the senior-citizen sector. "They are paid a commission to prey on the vulnerable. That's very sad."

When she first contacted us about her family's plight — caring for an aging parent whose Medicare Advantage insurance had been canceled because of her mother's apparent willingness to change to another company — earlier this year, Hickerson was most upset to learn that her mother was not covered when she had to be hospitalized. Her brother, she said, finally got the problem straightened out, but the experience was quite stressful.

"It took over three months," she told The Beacon, regarding the sudden and unbeknownst loss of coverage.

"She had her doctor for years, like 30 years. She's lucky to have that doctor," Hickerson said.

Shocked that her mother needed inpatient care but was no longer insured, Hickerson decided to mount a campaign against such a form of elder abuse.

"I spoke to about 25 legislators and their aides," she said of her multiday trip to the Capitol in Tallahassee earlier this spring.

In her conversations with people in the state capital, Hickerson said she learned an interesting sidelight to her story.

"When I went to Tallahassee, I found out they're not just preying on seniors. They are preying on people who are not English speakers," she added, again alluding to the insurance agents who try to convince people to drop their existing coverage and switch to another insurer.

"I'm going to go back and be a squeaky wheel," Hickerson vowed.

For now, however, she is taking a hiatus from lobbying lawmakers.

"I just have to wait until after the election. I want to follow up with [Rep.] Webster Barnaby."

Barnaby, R-Deltona, was one of the legislators with whom she talked in Tallahassee.

"I am familiar with her story," Barnaby told The Beacon. "I am working on legislation for the next session [in 2027] that will attempt to penalize any company that is trying to get people to change their insurance coverage.

"We will make sure that the Office of the Insurance Commissioner and the Office of Financial Regulation … bring heavy penalties to any company that does this. There have to be consequences for this type of behavior."

For now, however, Hickerson is taking a break while the election cycle plays out.

"I can't do anything until after the election. Then we'll know who's in and what committees they are on," Hickerson said.

She relishes the thought of testifying before a state House or Senate committee.

"I would love the opportunity to go back to Tallahassee and speak before a committee," Hickerson added.

As a follow-up note, she said reform and protection for at-risk seniors may also have to come from the federal level, especially since Medicare is a federal program. Hickerson added she had contacted the office of U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, R-Port Orange, but she has not heard from him or his staff.

Deltona is within Florida's 6th U.S. House District.

Hickerson said she has yet to reach out to Florida U.S. Sens. Ashley Moody and Rick Scott, both Republicans.

"We need to draft something at the national level," Hickerson added.

Hickerson concedes she is fighting an uphill battle, especially now, but she is determined to prevent what happened to her mother from happening to other families.

"Everyone's involved in the election right now. They have bigger fish to fry than to be concerned with Little Carolyn or Little Janet," Hickerson concluded.

Janet is Hickerson's mother's first name.

Will Florida's seniors get the extra measure of consumer protection that Hickerson seeks to gain for them?

Stay tuned.