Thank you for the Jan. 2 guest column "Medicare Advantage, and disadvantages," and the front page article about the activists fighting abuses by this private insurance. I switched to Medicare Advantage a year ago, thinking how nice to get dental and eye insurance. It cost thousands, yes, thousands more than simple Medicare, and did not provide any more coverage. (dental bills denied.) I have switched back to government Medicare. And thank for Gazette reporter Scott Merzbach’s article on the $106 BILLION in excess fraudulent payments to Medicare Advantage sent by us taxpayers; and of the activist protests against it. But why do I have to learn in a letter to the editor how to join the effort of groups like Valley Action (www.ValleyAction.net) to protest overcharging and fraud in this private insurance? Why isn't that information automatically part of the news reporting? I hope the in-person meeting Jan 18 at the Bangs Community Center will likewise be covered.

Sophy Burnham

Northampton