Not all seniors are eligible for Medicare

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Many people assume that everyone gets Medicare when they turn 65. Not true. Many teachers don't get Social Security, so they don't get Medicare, unless it is from a former job.

Your opinion article (Oct.30) says Modesto Junior College teachers have free insurance "which extends through retirement" that includes family. Maybe things have changed, but that is a better deal than we got! My husband, who had a doctorate in geography, taught at MJC. When he turned 65, he paid for half his insurance. I dropped mine, as it would take all his salary.

At age 70, the college paid nothing. The VA came to our rescue, as my husband was a Navy veteran. He received excellent low-cost health care. His expensive medicine, which the VA delivered to our door, was only $2.

Even when we had the free insurance, the provider could always refuse to pay. One day, our insurance declared that my husband's main Parkinson's drug, which he had used for over 30 years, was experimental, so they refused to pay. So we had to pay over $500 a month for the drug.

We greatly appreciated the college insurance for all those years, but at retirement, it was like getting dropped off a cliff!

KAREN OHL
Modesto