A big difference

To the editor:

When I turn 65 in a few months, the New York City Transit Authority has a Medicare Aetna Advantage plan at no cost and even refunds the Part B premium the following year in full. I will turn it down forthwith.

I have been researching all Advantage plans including Aetna Advantage now for the last two years and I have no doubt that I want no part of it.

My cost for a Plan N supplement is $84.44 a month and for that: No pre-authorizations whatsoever for tests or surgeries. See any doctor who accepts original Medicare. See any specialist.

There is a reason why Advantage plans offer free gym memberships or some other incentive to sign up. The issue is not when you are relatively healthy; the real issue hits home when you become sick or even develop a chronic condition or cancer. That is when the Advantage plans show their real colors.

Mayor Eric Adams and Municipal Labor Committee Chairman Harry Nespoli are lying to your face when they claim the Aetna Advantage plan is the best Medicare plan. That is a BOLD FACE LIE.

They also claim they eliminated many pre-authorization requirements. I guarantee hundreds of tests and many surgeries, especially the more expensive procedures, do require pre-authorizations.

Also remember this: If later ,especially when the Advantage plan shows its true colors when you become ill, and you want to change to a supplement plan, it will be just about impossible due to the fact you will have to go through underwriting through any supplement plan by an insurance company, you can and will be locked in an Advantage plan for life.

Think long and hard before going into an Advantage plan. It might be the difference between life and death.

Mark Wolf