By Ray Cardello for August 12, 2026, Season 32 / Post  41

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I realize that medical insurance coverage is not only a hot-button topic for most people, but medical insurance premiums are now one of the biggest entries on the family budget. The failed Obamacare, or supposed Affordable Care Act, has been anything but affordable for most Americans, and the costs of medical care are as difficult to understand as a corn maze at harvest time. I am writing this article today from two viewpoints: one as a consumer and taxpayer, and the other as a cancer survivor trying to survive the never-ending bills that fill the mailbox like catalogs in December. When I hear politicians, especially those on the Left, pledge to give Medicare for all, it stamps them as unrealistic and delusional. It labels them as someone who knows the pledge is untenable and unaffordable. Still, it is also pandering to the voters who are dependent on Medicare to help subsidize the medical treatments and bills that inevitably increase with age. Anyone who makes that pledge has lost all of their credibility.

Medicare enrollment is very difficult to navigate, and it’s frustrating that where you live helps determine coverage and cost. Until Medicare covers all costs after the deductible has been satisfied, there should be no talk of expanding the roles to include illegal immigrants. To do otherwise is foolhardy and an insult to Americans attempting to keep their finances in order after a medical event.

To examine the Medicare process as a patient and a cancer survivor is, at the very least, an eye-opener. At the other end of that spectrum is frustration and anger. I compiled a list of services and procedures that totaled in excess of $600,000 in 2025. Medicare pays pennies on the dollar, which is understandable, as some facilities and doctors will not accept it. I paid my deductible of about $2,600, and you would think everything above and beyond the deductible would be covered. Not so much. I continue to receive bills and calls from collection agencies. When I ask the collectors why Martin’s Point did not pay for the service, they usually say that Martin’s Point declared they did not want to pay, to which I reply, neither do I. The system is further complicated by Martin’s Point canceling all policies it underwrites in New Hampshire. This makes you question whether they were no longer motivated to pay claims. I chose Humana as my new carrier, but it came with concessions. Foremost was finding a new PCP. That is not an easy task these days, as there is a serious shortage of general practitioners in America. Humana will be fine, but the ramp-up time has been longer than expected. The medical profession needs a review. There is a shortage of people entering the field, and costs, especially insurance premiums, and a shortage of staff are forcing many professionals to leave early. With all of these negative impacts on the industry and resources, how can any of these politicians think we can supply healthcare to the world?                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Author’s Note: Graphics created by Grok AI. Grok’s comments about the images: It shows a cancer survivor at the kitchen table buried under a mountain of unpaid bills, EOBs, and collection notices, while a winding red-tape maze of deductibles, prior authorizations, step therapy, and denials stretches out toward the hospital and Capitol in the distance. The “corn maze at harvest time” metaphor from your article is the central visual.