For Recipients of Medicare, the Hard Sell - NYTimes.com

For Recipients of Medicare, the Hard Sell - NYTimes.com: "The chief justice of Alabama, Sue Bell Cobb, said that her 83-year-old mother, Thera R. Bell, had been “duped into signing up” for a private Medicare plan.

“The salesman absolutely misrepresented the coverage by Advantra Freedom,” Chief Justice Cobb said in an interview. “He said the plan was a supplement to Medicare and would provide dental care, but he failed to tell her that she would lose her regular Medicare coverage and that her family physician was not a provider.

“If my mother — a college-educated, astute person — would fall for it, anyone would fall for it,” Chief Justice Cobb said. “Congress needs to do something to prevent these companies from preying on the elderly.”"