Perspective: Mind the Medigap
One of the oddities of Medicare is that the elderly population it covers - the group most likely to face huge medical costs - receives no protection against catastrophic expenses.

Viewpoints: Mixing Obama and Ryan's plans, cancer rationing and stalling federal aid
What has been revealed is that the systems set up during an industrial era to provide health care, retirement income and support during economic downturns are inadequate for and ill-suited to our post-industrial, globalized economy. ...one can imagine a system in which all workers and nonworkers are required to buy insurance from the government-regulated exchanges being set up in each region or ...

Paul Kleyman: Obama Health Cuts Would Pinch Rich, but Harm the Rest
I don't know what your grandmother said, but the refrain I always heard was, "If you have your health, you have everything." It wasn't "If you have your health insurance, you're unpatriotic and getting too damn much."

Medicare maze can be navigated
Drug plans. Enrollment periods. Premium increases. Advantage plans. Medigap policies. Guarantee issue. These are just a few of the terms people are faced with when trying to understand Medicare.