Though he’s more than 65 years old “I’m old,” is as specific as he gets. Bollinger isn’t on Part D because he has a Department of Veterans Affairs health insurance plan that includes prescription coverage. But in helping his wife, he formed some strong opinions about the Medicare prescription plan. “They’re out to make it as confusing as possible so you don’t know what the hell to do,” he said. “I know there’s profit in confusion.”
Her friend, Lillie Henderson, 72, of Exeter, said she and her husband have been happy with their Blue Cross part d plans, but when the enrollment period opens next month, they plan to look at plans that cover the gap because they don’t want to “fall in the black hole like Pat did.”
“It costs more,” she said of those plans, “but as a senior, you have to watch what you spend.”
Sitting in the Visalia Senior Center, Bollinger said, “There are some people here, I bet you, who get less than $800 a month from Social Security. So if they pay an extra $120 [a year], it hurts.”
“Clearly, some people were taken by surprise by the [gap],” Cheevers said. “And we pushed for more coverage in that. I mean, there’s heavy demand for that.”

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