HEARING - U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging

45
Senator HEINZ. What you say is a kind of sophistry, with all due
respect. You are saying that when things are paid for, they are
being taken care of; when they are not, there is a problem.
And what I asked you-and you did not respond to the question-is
in your judgment, did the private catastrophic insurance
that the first two witnesses indicated they had, was that doing a
good job for them. And the answer is either it was doing a good job
or it was not.
Mr. SHAPLAND. Some of the witnesses had no insurance, so obviously--
Senator HEINZ. I am talking about the two that did.
Mr. SHAPLAND. Well, to the degree that they buy a Medicare supplement
policy, they have certain catastrophic coverages, and those
are limited just like Medicare, and they still leave all the loopholes
you just mentioned, and those are the ones you need to deal with.
Senator HEINZ. But how about the loopholes they mentioned?
Mr. SHAPLAND. The ones that they mentioned are ones outside of
Medicare and Medicare supplement policies.
Senator HEINZ. Which they had-the first witness' husband
worked for the Initernal Revenue Service as a very highly qualified
reader of, among other things, fine print. Both he and his wife are
still trying to figure out how they got done in. You are saying not
-to worry.
Mr. SHAPLAND. I did not say that at all. I think they need to
worry.
Senator HEINZ. You are saying it is working well.
Mr. SHAPLAND. No, I did not.
Senator HEINZ. You are saying it is not working well?
Mr. SHAPLAND. I say that there are all kinds of catastrophic
needs out there not being met by the' private insurance industry.
Senator HEINZ. Even when you have an insurance policy labeled
"catastrophic coverage."
Mr. SHAPLAND. It is labeled a Medicare supplement policy, and it
only supplements areas where Medicare is paying and covers the
gaps of Medicare.
Senator HEINZ. Yet it does not, does it?
Mr. SHAPLAND. Yes, it does. It covers the gaps--.
Senator HEINZ. Well, I have taken too much time; I apologize.
Chairman MELCHER. No, that is fine. I think this is really the
nuts and bolts of what Mr. Shapland can provide us. Let me restate
it and see if my statement is correct, Mr. Shapland.
You are testifying on behalf of both Mutual of Omaha Insurance
Co. and also the Health Insurance Association of America. What
you are testifying is that Medicare goes so far, that there are Medigap
policies that extend that only in the areas that Medicare now
covers; is that correct?
Mr. SHAPLAND. That is correct.
Chairman MELCHER. And that you personally believe that- we
should go much farther, and that your vote and your tax dollar, as
far as your vote is concerned, could wisely be used to go farther for
the elderly; is that correct?
Mr. SHAPLAND. In the area where people cannot take care of
themselves, I think we have to spend some tax dollars.