When a Senator Makes Ignorant remarks

Introduction: I did this commentary because I thought the remark by the Senator from New Hampshire was ignorant. If anything, Senators and Representatives should get out in the public and work with or see what their constituents are doing to make a living. In which case and this is a maybe, Sununu would not be making such base comments about seniors.

The other reason the detail is here because I do not believe many people know how expansive Medicare Supplemental Insurance coverage is, how many different versions there are, and how they all appear to cover similar things to some degree. The difference is to what extent is the coverage. Jan and I have PLan N. The coverage is good. You will have to pay the Medicare A deductible.

Sununu making an ass of himself: If what is being said is a true statement by esteemed Senator Sununu, he must be in his last term in office. Personally, I believe all Senators and Representatives should have a work requirement. And yes, I agree with Joel. Any Representative or Senator making such ignorant remarks about Medicare and healthcare should have his resume prepared.

One of Joel’s comments on Facebook which I decided to make a post out of it.

Joel: “This seems like an electoral death wish for Republicans.”

AB: But what if a person can not afford commercial Medicare Supplemental healthcare insurance? The hospital will care for them and attempt to extract whatever they can from the patient.

There are people who can not afford commercial Medicare Supplemental healthcare insurance. What happens to them? Some detail below to fill you in on that occassion.

If you have Medicare, can not afford Supplemental, and are not eligible for other programs? Approximately ~3.5 million Medicare beneficiaries – 6% overall –and 13% of beneficiaries in traditional Medicare – had no supplemental health insurance coverage. This has some harsh results as explained below.

AB: Even if you can afford Supplemental, you may not be able to have one of the better programs like Plan N. More on that further down.

In 2023, 3.5 million Medicare beneficiaries – 6% overall –and 13% of beneficiaries in traditional Medicare – had no supplemental health insurance coverage. Traditional Medicare beneficiaries with no additional coverage are fully exposed to Medicare’s cost-sharing requirements, which would mean paying a $1,736 deductible for a hospital stay in 2026, daily copayments for extended hospital and skilled nursing facility stays, and a $283 deductible plus 20% coinsurance for physician visits and other outpatient services. (These costs are in addition to the standard Part B premium amount of $203 per month in 2026). Beneficiaries in traditional Medicare without additional coverage also face the risk of high annual out-of-pocket costs because there is no cap on out-of-pocket spending for Part A and B services in traditional Medicare, unlike in Medicare Advantage plans.

AB: I have Supplemental and was hospitalized for two weeks due to ITP. Most of what you see above was covered. I believe the total I would have paid out of pocket would have been well over $5,000.

Beneficiaries in traditional Medicare without any form of additional coverage were more likely to have modest incomes (between $20,000 and $40,000 per person) compared to all traditional Medicare beneficiaries in 2023 (Figure 3, Appendix Table 1). Medicare beneficiaries with modest incomes have limited ability to afford Medigap premiums and are unlikely to qualify for Medicaid because their income and assets are not low enough to meet eligibility guidelines. “A Snapshot of Sources of Coverage Among Medicare Beneficiaries,” KFF.

The number and share of traditional Medicare beneficiaries without any form of supplemental coverage has steadily declined in recent years. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of traditional Medicare beneficiaries without supplemental coverage declined from 5.6 million beneficiaries (10% of the total Medicare population, or 17% of those in traditional Medicare) to 3.5 million (6% of the total Medicare population, or 13% of those in traditional Medicare). This decline likely reflects the increase in Medicare Advantage enrollment over time, which has increased from 20 million in 2018 to 34 million in 2025.

1 — Plans F and G also have a high deductible option which require first paying a plan deductible of $2,950 before the plan begins to pay. Once the plan deductible is met, the plan pays 100% of covered services for the rest of the calendar year. High deductible plan G does not cover the Medicare Part B deductible. However, high deductible plans F and G count your payment of the Medicare Part B deductible toward meeting the plan deductible.

2 — Plans K and L pay 100% of covered services for the rest of the calendar year once you meet the out-of-pocket yearly limit.

3 — Plan N pays 100% of the Part B coinsurance, except for a co-payment of up to $20 for some office visits and up to a $50 co-payment for emergency room visits that do not result in an inpatient admission.

Sources of Healthcare Coverage for People Using Medicare

Note: Analysis excludes beneficiaries who were enrolled in Part A only or Part B only for most of their Medicare enrollment in 2023 (n=5.4 million) and beneficiaries who had Medicare as a secondary payer (n=1.7 million). *represent a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the subgroup and Medicare beneficiaries overall; ^ represent a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the subgroup and traditional Medicare beneficiaries overall. Demographic characteristics of traditional Medicare beneficiaries with other sources of supplemental coverage (n=0.3 million) not shown due to sample size limitations. Sample size restrictions preclude analysis of groups other than White, Black, or Hispanic. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race but are categorized as Hispanic; White and Black beneficiaries are non-Hispanic. Source: KFF analysis of CMS Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, 2023 Survey File.

“Medicare Supplement Plan Types.” – United Medicare Advisors