but rather private insurance--heavily subsidized by the government, with all of the pitfalls that come along with private health insurance. The goodies are there to lure people in. As private insurance, there's a lot more gatekeeping and requirement to get authorization for treatment. I'm sure they work great for a while, but once the policyholder starts needing a lot of expensive care, not so wonderful.
An internet search for "medicare advantage scam" will show many, many studies and investigative reports documenting ripoffs by the insurance company, problems obtaining authorization for treatment, etc. that aren't there for real Medicare.
My biggest problem is not that some may choose to get private insurance, but rather that the whole intent of the scheme is to drain funds from traditional Medicare--which is much more efficient and lacks a profit motive--in order to eventually destroy traditional Medicare and turn the entire system into mandatory for-profit private insurance. Then just watch the rationing that takes place.
Just one of the many, many sources of information about "Medicare" "Advantage":
Medicare Advantage plans must have one of the best business models going. They say they are offering people Medicare health care benefits but no one has a clue what that means. We don’t know the extent to which they are pocketing money that should be going towards the health and well-being of people with Medicare or how to hold them to account when they are violating their contracts. What we do know is that many of these plans have high denial rates, some have high mortality rates and others have been found to deliver poor quality care. They are contracting with poorer quality nursing homes and home care agencies to provide services to their members.
Why Congress would consider giving these corporate health insurers more business is hard to understand if our representatives are putting the interests of their constituents and the national treasury first. Yes, some Medicare Advantage plans are helping people who cannot afford supplemental coverage in traditional Medicare. But, the answer should be to strengthen and improve traditional Medicare, which is far more cost effective and allows people unfettered access to the care they want and need, not to hand more business to corporate health insurers who by at least one recent account are responsible for not meeting their members’ care needs, leading them to die.
Medicare Advantage plans have a huge bag of tricks to seduce more people to enroll with them in 2021. But, even the Trump administration’s Department of Justice recognizes that at least some of these health insurers are engaging in massive fraud. HealthCare Dive reports a recent DOJ suit against Cigna alleging $1.4 billion in overcharges. There was a suit against Anthem in March and Sutter Health settled a similar fraud suit for $30 million.
Some might think that these insurers only commit fraud against the government. Keep in mind that these insurers also can profit handsomely by delaying and denying care and creating other administrative and financial barriers to keep people from receiving needed services that Medicare covers. Whether the Medicare Advantage plan you are enrolled in or might be considering switching to does or does not do so is a gamble you should not take lightly.
[link:
https://justcareusa.org/medicare-advantage-gold-mine-puts-traditional-medicare-at-grave-risk/?link_id=3&can_id=9d16b609e43ac33f41fd14cad455b49b&source=email-beware-of-new-trump-card&email_referrer=email_953651&email_subject=wheres-your-body-fat|]
Here's more, from that bastion of liberal hatred for Medicare Advantage, Forbes:
The Fine Print of Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Advantage plans, usually bundled with prescription drug coverage, typically require you to use health care providers in their network. The policies limit your annual out-of-pocket costs for covered services.
"People need to go beyond the commercials" to understand the fine print of Medicare Advantage plans, Omdahl said. "There are indeed zero-premium Advantage plans and many of the plans do not have any [annual out-of-pocket] deductibles. But the zero co-pay is misleading. Zero co-pay is for your primary doctor; depending on where you live, co-pays may apply in other situations."
In addition, noted Omdahl, "start digging into the evidence of coverage and you will see that Medicare Advantage is pay-as-you go: fifty dollars to see a specialist, four hundred dollars a day for five or six days of hospitalization. So you are writing checks, and that's what people don't realize. They think 'zero premium' means it's free, which it's not."
Savage said that due to the Medicare program's rules, Medicare Advantage enrollees could wind up paying out of pocket as much as $7,500 a year; more than $11,000 a year if you use out-of-network health care providers.
"These plans work best if you don't get sick," she said. "Once you need to see a lot of specialists, then you start paying."
Omdahl said that before signing up for a Medicare Advantage plan, understand that anytime you want care other than an emergency, the plan has to approve it.
[link:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2021/11/12/the-truth-about-those-medicare-advantage-tv-commercials/?sh=14d99e2c1e99|
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