Editor,

I read your July edition. As usual, there were many articles on Medicare, most apparently talking down to recipients. Have you ever considered an article from the recipients’ viewpoint?

First off, please remember that most of the people enrolled in Medicare pay premiums for Medicare and D and Supplements. Medicare is not free. Are statistics available on the total paid to Medicare?

Supplements are quite expensive but they must be profitable to insurance companies or the companies would not offer them.

Often, medical practitioners seem to charge more than the service they provided was worth.

The idea of using a microchip card does not seem feasible since it has been my experience that I am not asked to pay anything as I leave the medical office. The office will bill Medicare directly. Perhaps, the practice differs elsewhere.

With Medicare, enrollees may have limited options for care. Some of the providers local to them may decline to accept Medicare patients or may have enough patients already and are not willing to add more.

Before I was Medicare-age eligible, I personally went about 10 years without medical insurance. The part-time jobs I had did not offer it. The only insurance company I had access to required an exorbitant payment of $1,000 monthly and its policy service for that payment was exceedingly minimal. If Obamacare had been available at that time, I would not have been eligible since I was employed.

Just some thoughts. Perhaps other recipients have concerns.

Rosalie E. L’Ecuyer

Fairbanks

To the editor:

Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc. (WASI) would like to thank Walmart for generously donating $55,000 to support our Meals on Wheels program, which provides home-delivered meals to seniors across the Mat-Su Borough.

This is the second year in a row Walmart has given us this extraordinary support to help feed seniors who are homebound and might otherwise go hungry. WASI will serve over 110,000 meals to seniors this year, more than ever before, yet government funding for this vital program is decreasing. Walmart has stepped in to help fill the gap and make sure every senior who needs Meals on Wheel gets one. At a cost of around $10 each, Walmart alone is providing 5,500 meals to seniors in our area.

And their support is not limited to these funds. Walmart also sent 16 associates to volunteer at our Miles for Meals on Wheels fundraising 5K on June 3, and just a week later, donated plant boxes they built, full of beautiful plants and flowers to hand out to our seniors. As you can guess, the folks here loved them.

We are so grateful for our relationship with all the wonderful folks over at Walmart, and for their whole-hearted support of the seniors we care about. From all of us here at Wasilla Area Seniors, thank you!

Peter Host, development specialist

Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc.