The phrase “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” is a well-known quote often attributed to philosopher George Santayana, emphasizing the importance of learning from history to avoid repeating mistakes.
While cleaning out a closet I came upon several yellowed pages of old newspaper from the business section of the Record Eagle and was able to look back twenty-five years to see just how far we’ve come. Sadly, it’s not as far as you’d hope.
They were from three consecutive Sundays, October 2nd, 9th, and 16th of 2005.
Twenty years ago, the Record Eagle’s Sunday business section printed a section called The Wall Street Journal Sunday. Back then you got your stock prices from lists published in the newspaper. You’d turn to the stock listings, run your finger down the column until you found your stock symbol and then see if you made or lost money that day.
In addition to the stock listings the section also contained financial information and advice. When I started looking at the articles I was amazed by what I read.
In the Oct. 2 section the article that caught my eye was “Managing Medicaid Cuts”. The article is all about the Bush administrations push to cut $10 billion from the programs budget over five years. Main goal was to eliminate the sheltering of assets with instituting the five-year look back on giving assets away, which is still in effect today. Plus maintain the asset limit to $2,000 in cash and investments. Twenty-five years later, although the limits were recently increased the program is essentially the same.
And 20 years later we’re seeing another GOP administration determined to undermine the safety net for almost 80 million Americans, with the majority being children.
The Oct. 9 sections lead article was titled “Be Smart About the Medical-Plan Maze for 2006.” 2006 was the first year when large employers started offering their employees high deductible HAS health plans. I could reprint, verbatim, the column and it fits exactly in-line with employers trying to control today’s health care costs, as well as all the same pros and cons employees need to consider when deciding on picking an HAS plan verses traditional coverage.
Medicare was also going through a major change at that time. On January 1, 2006, the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug program was going into effect. It was the first major change to Medicare since its inception in 1965. The column titled “…Don’t Procrastinate on Medicare Drug Program” urged Medicare beneficiaries to purchase a Part D RX plan even if they had little or no drug use at the time. These are the same conversations we have today with new Medicare beneficiaries in our office every day.
What was also interesting was the fact that the initial coverage limit in 2006 was $2,250 and then you fell into the “Donut Hole” and it took 25 years for it to change. The Inflation Reduction Act now has capped max out of pocket limit to $2,000.
And 20 years later this important savings vehicle for Medicare beneficiaries is in the cross hairs of the current administration.
But I think the October 16th column “Avoid Drug-Plan Scams” is the best example of history repeating itself — over and over again. Twenty years ago, Deane Beebe, of the Medicare Rights Center, an organization I still use as a resource, is quoted as saying, “Who knows who’s going to pose as a company and prey on seniors?” Every year I write about the scams being perpetrated and twenty-five years later on January 2nd the phones ring in our office with someone who woke up and found themselves in trouble.
And twenty-five years later we still see no administration able to protect seniors from those determined to do them harm.
Sadly, the current push to eliminate or rewrite history will have a more devastating impact then just repeating our mistakes. We can learn from the past, and fix it, but if we deny its existence we are doomed as a society.
Please remember that the next Medicare 101 class will be held at the Traverse District Library on April 23 @ 6:00pm. Call to reserve spot.