This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

At 71 years of age, I am not someone with a simple medical history. In 1998, I discovered I had rheumatoid arthritis. The condition was not monocyclic, meaning it would never go away. It would only get worse. The following years became a great struggle as I worked to support my two sons and one daughter, as a single mother, all the while looking after my own mother's health. Two years later I was diagnosed with Lupus. Shortly after I developed Sjogren's Syndrome, then diabetes.

If it weren't for Medicare Advantage, I would not be able to afford necessary medical attention. I could not afford to live. The services I receive for low co-pays and rates have allowed me to retain the medical care I need, and for this I am eternally grateful.

The state of Utah has one of the highest percentages of seniors in the country on Medicare Advantage. Of these seniors 94 percent are satisfied with the quality of the care they receive and 100 percent have plans with caps on out-of-pocket spending. Medicare Advantage protects people like me and allows me to continue to afford quality care when I need it.

The Medicare Advantage program provides elderly Americans with low incomes the ability to receive the help they need. Additionally, it outperforms traditional Medicare on cholesterol testing and diabetes care and allows seniors the opportunity to have longer hospital stays if need be.

This quality of care has greatly helped with my ailments, especially my diabetes. My other ailments are tough to address, but my affordable coverage makes it possible.

However, this month, the federal government is considering cutting funding to Medicare Advantage. While the economic impacts of such cuts are calculable, the human suffering is not.

If Medicare Advantage funding for my plan is cut short, my already thin budget would practically cease to exist. It would become substantially harder just to put food on the table. If the benefits were to diminish, I might not receive the adequate medical attention I need to survive. Neither of these options favors the many seniors who use and need this service.

For these reasons, I recently met with the staff of Congresswoman Mia Love to discuss Medicare Advantage. At this meeting I was not alone. Alongside me were other seniors familiar with my struggles. We told our stories and the staff members listened intently.

Shortly after our meeting, I learned that Love was going to take action, calling on federal regulators not to cut Medicare Advantage.

I would like to thank Love for her support on this issue, and I would also like to thank Sen. Orrin Hatch for his continued support of Medicare Advantage. Their decisions to stand in support of seniors does not go unnoticed by the thousands of us in Utah who rely on this program.

Carol Somerville lives in South Jordan.