Navigating the Medicare Maze

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Credit Brett Jordan / Flickr

Choosing the right Medicare plan can be a headache even for those armed with experience and expert medical knowledge. Journalist Frank Lalli talked about his experience.

Frank Lalli is a personal-finance writer who accidentally stumbled on a healthcare story. Years ago Lalli was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. When his coverage changed he wondered how much his medication would cost.

After 70 phone calls to 16 separate organizations, Lalli found wide variance: the cost of a year's worth of drugs was quoted between $240 and $17,000 per year.

If Lalli, a journalist, wasn't able to find a satisfactory answer, what chance does the average citizen have?

Frank Lalli joined Callie Crossley to talk about this experience.

Later, Callie Crossley spoke with journalist Trudy Lieberman about what Frank Lalli's experience means for the rest of us.

GUESTS:

• Frank Lalli, personal-finance writer and former senior executive editor at Time Warner's Time Inc. The story about his medical inquiry is called "A Health Insurance Detective Story."
• Trudy Lieberman, a contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review, where she covers healthcare and the media's coverage of healthcare.