How satisfied are you with the level of services you receive from Medicare?

I don’t have Medicare, but my elderly mother does. She’s going on her third spinal surgery, and we’re having trouble getting Medicare to cover it. Obviously, she lives on a very limited fixed income, and the cost of these procedures is so high that my husband and I have had to dip into our savings so Mom could get the surgery she needed. They keep covering less and less for each new surgery she has, but at least she’s got some form of insurance.”

- Hillary T., 58
San Pedro, Calif.

I guess it’s OK – could be better, could be worse. The one thing that’s really annoying is that whenever I go to the pharmacy, not only do I have to pay a king’s ransom for some of my medications that aren’t covered, but it takes the pharmacists a long, long time to get everything squared with Medicare. They’re always on the phone trying to figure things out. I think if you use Medicare for prescriptions, you should just expect a complicated transaction.”>

- Mike B., 70
Pueblo, Colo.