Clara near Ashland, Ohio

Clara near Ashland, Ohio
Originally uploaded by walk4healthcare

On this hot afternoon, along the long road east of Mifflin, I began getting desperately thirsty. A generous family answered my knock and I spoke with three generations of whom the oldest, Clara, told me her story. She described a situation with Aetna (Medicare supplemental plan) where her husband had gotten an infection and required a ten-day course of antibiotics—ten pills. “But Aetna would only authorize four pills at a time,” she told me. This meant that for each time, in order to fulfill the full ten-day course, they had to drive forty minutes. That made three round-trips in total. Such a “ridiculous expense and hassle,” she said.