Millions of American Seniors Have Suddenly Lost Healthcare Coverage

At 70, landscape artist Anthony J. Petchkis lives with a host of health problems. There was the heart attack that sent him on an ambulance ride from his home in the mountains of New Hampshire to Portland, Maine, for an arterial stent. His cholesterol is stubbornly high. He has diabetes, gout and rheumatoid arthritis. He takes eight medications a day.

Until this year, he at least felt confident insurance would fully cover his medical bills, which he estimates run to several thousands of dollars a year. Then his Medicare Advantage plan dropped him.

"How am I going to pay all these things going into the future?" said Petchkis, who lives on about $24,000 a year from Social Security and the sale of the White Mountain landscapes he paints in his Conway studio. "Now, I seem okay, but six months or a year from now, something really catastrophic could happen."

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.