Descriptive Transcript of Video: “Ron’s Medicare Affordability Story”
[Opening screen with an illustration of hands and bills. Vermont Legal Aid logo and text: Medicare Affordability. “I couldn’t afford it, and it was either have a place to live and a little bit of food on my table or... or keep my Medicare.”]
[Text: Ron is under 65 and has Medicare due to a disability. Ron received a small increase in his Social Security and no longer qualifies for the Medicare Savings Program.]
Ron says: Yeah, there was an increase from President Biden and I think it put me $40 over and I went to Social Security because I had to stop it
[Text: The Medicare Savings Program paid Ron’s Part B Premium. He had to drop this coverage because he could not afford it.]
Ron says:
I couldn’t afford it and it was either have a place to live and a little bit of food on my table or... or keep my Medicare.
I had to pay it would have meant either no place to live, no food, what little food I get, and I just could not afford it.
[Text: After he disenrolled from Medicare Part B, he canceled important tests at the hospital because he could no longer afford to get care.]
Ron says: I had to cancel 4 or 5 tests at the hospital because I didn’t know what was going to happen. And umm… I just, they were important tests too
I’m on medications and I had to wean myself off some because I didn’t think they were going to pay for them anymore.
[Text: Like many Vermonters living with a disability, Ron feels like his affordability and care needs have been “thrown on the backburner.”]
Ron says: I worked all my life and I don’t know why, you know they say when you get older, it’s good years, and I don’t see nothing good about it. You know our state, I’ve lived here all my life, Emma. I’ve paid my taxes, I paid what I had to, I worked, while friends were going out partying, I worked. And it just seems like we’re just thrown on the back burner.
[Closing screen with the Vermont Legal Aid logo and text: Vermont can and should increase the income limit for the Medicare Savings Program. Support H.118 / S.61]
End of transcript.