Medicare 'Advantage' is no advantage at all

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

To the editor: Medicare is open for enrollment until Dec. 7.

If you are a senior, you are being bombarded with TV ads, emails and mailings encouraging you to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan. These are plans administered by private, for-profit insurance companies, unlike "traditional" Medicare, which is administered by the government.

So what is the difference between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage?

Traditional Medicare covers 80 percent of medical expenses and does not have a drug benefit, which means you need to enroll in two supplemental plans: one for prescription drug coverage, the other for the 20 percent of uncovered services. Medicare "Advantage" plans provide coverage with one bill. The only "advantage" of these plans is billing convenience. They are not cheaper than traditional Medicare plus the two supplemental plans.

The disadvantage of Medicare "Advantage" plans is that they are managed care products, with restrictions on which hospitals and doctors are covered by each plan and with onerous authorization processes that may lead to denial of care. So these plans do not necessarily lead to the best care if you actually get sick, or need significant or complex care. For example, if you live in the Berk-shires and want to see a specialist in Boston or go to a hospital other than Berkshire Medical Center, these providers might not be on your plan. (Traditional Medicare does not have these restrictions). The result might be that patients lured into these "Advantage" plans could be denied care, or be prevented from seeing the doctors they want to see, or going to the hospitals of their choice.

Medicare "Advantage" plans also have disadvantages for every taxpayer. A report from Physicians for a National Health Program, an organization of doctors working to reform the health care system, shows that for-profit, corporate Medicare "Advantage" insurers are overpaid anywhere from $88 billion to $140 billion a year. That's money coming out of patients' and taxpayers' pockets.

With the money spent on these corporate giveaways, we could fund Medicare's prescription drug benefit and even provide dental, hearing and vision benefits to everyone on Medicare.

Medicare "Advantage" is neither an advantage for seniors nor an advantage for American taxpayers. Buyer beware.

Dr. Susanne L. King, Richmond

Dehumanization of Palestinians seems rampant

To the editor: I write in regard to The Berkshire Eagle's Nov. 21 article about a woman tearing down Israeli hostage flyers in Great Barrington.

I'm now left with many questions. Is what the person did in the video illegal? Who took the video? They seemed prepared for an interview and mentioned having 400,000 followers. Would their identity not be newsworthy? Who put the posters up? What did they expect would happen to them? Would a poster commemorating a Palestinian child be given the same treatment by this community?

It is, however, apt to consider the comments by the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation's director quoted in the article: "Intrinsically we know that the beginning of dehumanization has begun." There is a great degree of dehumanization going on, which has indeed become precursor to what some international experts are calling a case of genocide against the Palestinian people. Victims of Israel's brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Gaza are only given the slightest acknowledgement in this piece. Elsewhere in the media, they are reduced to "human shields" or mere statistics.

This article serves as further incitement to division and outrage in our community. The posters in question should be treated as what they are: propaganda in an information war to support a foreign government in their war crimes. Free the hostages. All of them. On both sides.

Joe Scully, Lee

Triplex is showing 'Maestro,' too

To the editor: I am writing to correct a statement in The Eagle's Nov. 30 article on the special showing of "Maestro" at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, which read "The Mahaiwe was the only venue in the Berkshires they could find that was able to accommodate a Dolby 5.1 sound system, which the film's creators have stipulated for screenings."

In fact, The Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington has the requisite sound system, and "Maestro" will begin regular showings there beginning at 1 p.m. Dec. 15.

Further, on Dec. 15, the Triplex will begin a complementary series of films that feature Leonard Bernstein's music: "On the Water-front," "On the Town" and "West Side Story." The series will run for a week alongside "Maestro" and will also include speakers at certain showings offering personal insights about Mr. Bernstein's life and work, including his daughter, Nina Bernstein Simmons. Information on these events is available on our website thetriplex.org. Nicki Wilson, Great Barrington The writer is president of the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington.