New polling from Data Progress shows that voters are very concerned about Republicans’ health care policy proposals, as laid out in Project 2025, for a possible second Trump term.
Of course the bigger picture in all of this is when you remove ALL unhealthy heavily processed foods from the market, suddenly people's health becomes better, they might be projecting that Medicare and Medicaid will no longer require such massive financial injections as people regain their health.
How can 77% be "concerned about privatizing Medicare" when 54% of them sign up for Disadvantage? People are lying. They LOVE privatization if they think it will save them a nickel. Many seniors are also INVESTED in the pharmas and healthcare conglomerates--they enjoy watching their portfolios grow as the private companies refuse to pay claims. Can't have it both ways, folks. Can't sign up for Disadvantage and invest in pharmas, then moan about privatization--you voted for it with your money.
One has NOTHING to do with the other; Just because ppl like me signed up with M(Dis)A doesn't me I wanted it. I, like 10s of millions of us elderly on fixed incomes, don't have the $$$$ it takes to be on Traditional Medicare + affording the Gap insurance.
When you are relatively healthy then the low cost Advantage no premium insurance is certainly “ advantageous”. So would a low cost Medigap program, as many are minimal costs, but if used have higher copays.
The problem arises when you are quite ill or your doctor tries to order needed testing and the Advantage insurer denial of care issues kick in.
This can be costly to patients and even deadly.
I have done cost comparisons between traditional and advantage, and the later gets its monies through significantly higher co-insurance costs.
Some of the advantage programs are pulling back offers because of government oversight of their over-billing the government and the excess denials of care. It may be difficult to pick up traditional Medicare-Medigap after being in the Advantage program after the first year as most states have allowed underwriting for preexisting conditions and higher rates for Medigap (which is also a private insurer program, with rules).
It’s scandalous how much the private insurers are collecting in Advantage from the government and it may break the Medicare bank. We really need a Medicare for All program.
Issues such as this are not being discussed by the presidential candidates except Stein and West.
More than 125 of Donald's former staffers were involved in working on P2025 and Trump has touted the Heritage Foundation repeatedly, has close ties with many of their leaders. Many of his so-called "policies" a.k.a. ramblings parrot the fascist policies of P2025.
I like many policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation and this is not one of them, that doesn’t make me a fascist. Watch what you say. If the current health plans available are so great, why are we the sickest nation in the industrialized world!
What are you talking about? How all are informing all elderly/disabled in the 1st place??? All I ever hear & see all day & night are greedy CEOs pushing their M(Dis)A plans like they are candy to kids.
And funding comes from OUR traditional Medicare deductions. Again, another government program, paid by elderly & meant to serve The People yet it is diverted by privatization into the pockets of the few greedy CEOs that control our politicians, while confusing many elderly that it has NOTHING to do with traditional Medicare by stealing it's name.
Not alot of elderly know that MA plans steal between $80-$120 BILLION every year from OUR Traditional Medicare fund.
I had appreciated your blog and was considering upgrading my subscription until you posted this!! We are SO FED UP with absolutely ERRONEOUS information being disseminated to people. How am I supposed to believe ONE other thing you have posted is true??? CLEAN it up!
We should learn more about Data Progress and what their priorities are. This is just a propaganda hit piece on a candidate who has clearly disassociated himself with Project 2025. The better article would be to compare each candidate's positions on health care policy in an objective manner. Democrats now clearly feel the only way to win this election is to scare people into voting for them since their candidate has no clear policy positions and is unable to articulate them when asked straightforward questions.
It is difficult to understand if so many are against privatizing Medicare that over 50% of seniors sign up for Medicare “Advantage” which is rapidly privatizing Medicare with unbelievable profits to private insurers and with significant denial of care issues and fraudulent coding issues.
The solicitations by corporate America and backing by our government is scandalous.
My concern also extends to the Democrats' approach to health care, but it's the potential actions of the GOP that worry me more. The 20% Medicare copay, for instance, is a significant burden for many, often pushing them into Medicare Advantage plans. This, in turn, fuels the problem of private insurance siphoning funds, rejecting valid claims, and forcing our doctors to spend their valuable time on bureaucratic tasks like writing 'medically necessary' letters, instead of focusing on patient care.
Why would the 20% copay push someone into a Disadvantage plan over a Medigap supplement? That makes no sense at all. And doctors aren't "forced" to spend ANY time dealing with insurance companies. They can always choose to charge fees that their patients can afford to pay. But they want to charge MUCH, MUCH more than their patients can afford--so they made a deal with the devil (the insurers) to hide the true cost of care and make it look "free," while they're collecting hand over fist from the insurers. Another case of wanting it both ways. Can't have a third party payer without giving up your professional autonomy and being reduced to the non-mercy of the bean counters. Doctors of various kinds represent 19 of the top 20 highest paying jobs in the US. They protest WAY TOO MUCH about a system THEY created for the express purpose of being able to overcharge their patients.
This opinion is completely unfactual. Here are the facts...
1. The 20% copay is typically much larger than the cost of the disadvantage plan. This is why seniors choose them. Plus many other additional benefits like dental, vision, health club memberships, etc.
3. Doctors collect significantly lower fees than they did 40 years ago when adjusted for inflation. There has not been a fee increase on the physician fee schedule in over 20 years. In fact, we get an annual cut in the Medicare reimbursement so our reimbursements have been declining for the past 15 years since I have been in practice. The consolidation of health care into private equity groups and hospitals is due to the fact that solo physicians are unable to stay afloat with the ridiculously low fees we are paid. Disadvantage plans pay even lower reimbursements than Medicare.
4. Because they reimburse at lower rates than Medicare, the big insurers are raking in record profits from Medicare, per the OIG report that was recently released. They are also increasing the Medicare payments for these seniors by making them look as sick as possible to the tune of hundreds of billions in overpayments to the insurance companies.
5. Doctors did not create the system, government and big insurance lobbyists did.
I am happy to read that the average American voter has woken up to these MAGAs and their dangerous Project 2025 proposals.
We cannot take away affordable Medicare insurance that will allow Wall Street Investors to make more billions in profit off of seniors. Diseases are not politically partisan. For example, cancer does not care if you are a Republican or Democrat.
Government run Medicare, Medicaid and the entire commercial health insurance market is an abject failure. We are the sickest nation , physically and mentally, in the entire industrialized world. Time to try something different, maybe not project 2025, but certainly not centralized government driven, as it is now.
Each and every person that buys part C are not formally informed that CMS aka taxpayers gives private for profit health insurance companies at least $12,000 every year they personally sign on to disadvantage plans aka part c plans.
Now private for profit health insurance companies want us to give them Medicaid dollars too.
It is a circle of insurance greed.
In 1965 Medicare was created because private for profit insurance companies dropped people as they aged.
Trump is the one who got started on lowering the price of drugs Anyway not the Democrats. He is also the one that made hospitals disclose their prices so you knew what you had to pay. No one's going to privatize Medicare. Just another scare tactic article from Democrat activist.
Of course the bigger picture in all of this is when you remove ALL unhealthy heavily processed foods from the market, suddenly people's health becomes better, they might be projecting that Medicare and Medicaid will no longer require such massive financial injections as people regain their health.
How can 77% be "concerned about privatizing Medicare" when 54% of them sign up for Disadvantage? People are lying. They LOVE privatization if they think it will save them a nickel. Many seniors are also INVESTED in the pharmas and healthcare conglomerates--they enjoy watching their portfolios grow as the private companies refuse to pay claims. Can't have it both ways, folks. Can't sign up for Disadvantage and invest in pharmas, then moan about privatization--you voted for it with your money.
One has NOTHING to do with the other; Just because ppl like me signed up with M(Dis)A doesn't me I wanted it. I, like 10s of millions of us elderly on fixed incomes, don't have the $$$$ it takes to be on Traditional Medicare + affording the Gap insurance.
Andrea
When you are relatively healthy then the low cost Advantage no premium insurance is certainly “ advantageous”. So would a low cost Medigap program, as many are minimal costs, but if used have higher copays.
The problem arises when you are quite ill or your doctor tries to order needed testing and the Advantage insurer denial of care issues kick in.
This can be costly to patients and even deadly.
I have done cost comparisons between traditional and advantage, and the later gets its monies through significantly higher co-insurance costs.
Some of the advantage programs are pulling back offers because of government oversight of their over-billing the government and the excess denials of care. It may be difficult to pick up traditional Medicare-Medigap after being in the Advantage program after the first year as most states have allowed underwriting for preexisting conditions and higher rates for Medigap (which is also a private insurer program, with rules).
It’s scandalous how much the private insurers are collecting in Advantage from the government and it may break the Medicare bank. We really need a Medicare for All program.
Issues such as this are not being discussed by the presidential candidates except Stein and West.
President Trump has no affiliation with Project 2025. He has diavowed it multiple times. https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5124900/donald-trump-disavows-project-2025
More than 125 of Donald's former staffers were involved in working on P2025 and Trump has touted the Heritage Foundation repeatedly, has close ties with many of their leaders. Many of his so-called "policies" a.k.a. ramblings parrot the fascist policies of P2025.
Thanks, Shauna.
I like many policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation and this is not one of them, that doesn’t make me a fascist. Watch what you say. If the current health plans available are so great, why are we the sickest nation in the industrialized world!
Jaime, do you believe former President Trump? That is incredible!
Funny how Americans have no concern on how to pay for these spiraling costs programs in the future. It's the future of now & me!
What are you talking about? How all are informing all elderly/disabled in the 1st place??? All I ever hear & see all day & night are greedy CEOs pushing their M(Dis)A plans like they are candy to kids.
And funding comes from OUR traditional Medicare deductions. Again, another government program, paid by elderly & meant to serve The People yet it is diverted by privatization into the pockets of the few greedy CEOs that control our politicians, while confusing many elderly that it has NOTHING to do with traditional Medicare by stealing it's name.
Not alot of elderly know that MA plans steal between $80-$120 BILLION every year from OUR Traditional Medicare fund.
I had appreciated your blog and was considering upgrading my subscription until you posted this!! We are SO FED UP with absolutely ERRONEOUS information being disseminated to people. How am I supposed to believe ONE other thing you have posted is true??? CLEAN it up!
Agree with you!
We should learn more about Data Progress and what their priorities are. This is just a propaganda hit piece on a candidate who has clearly disassociated himself with Project 2025. The better article would be to compare each candidate's positions on health care policy in an objective manner. Democrats now clearly feel the only way to win this election is to scare people into voting for them since their candidate has no clear policy positions and is unable to articulate them when asked straightforward questions.
It is difficult to understand if so many are against privatizing Medicare that over 50% of seniors sign up for Medicare “Advantage” which is rapidly privatizing Medicare with unbelievable profits to private insurers and with significant denial of care issues and fraudulent coding issues.
The solicitations by corporate America and backing by our government is scandalous.
My concern also extends to the Democrats' approach to health care, but it's the potential actions of the GOP that worry me more. The 20% Medicare copay, for instance, is a significant burden for many, often pushing them into Medicare Advantage plans. This, in turn, fuels the problem of private insurance siphoning funds, rejecting valid claims, and forcing our doctors to spend their valuable time on bureaucratic tasks like writing 'medically necessary' letters, instead of focusing on patient care.
Why would the 20% copay push someone into a Disadvantage plan over a Medigap supplement? That makes no sense at all. And doctors aren't "forced" to spend ANY time dealing with insurance companies. They can always choose to charge fees that their patients can afford to pay. But they want to charge MUCH, MUCH more than their patients can afford--so they made a deal with the devil (the insurers) to hide the true cost of care and make it look "free," while they're collecting hand over fist from the insurers. Another case of wanting it both ways. Can't have a third party payer without giving up your professional autonomy and being reduced to the non-mercy of the bean counters. Doctors of various kinds represent 19 of the top 20 highest paying jobs in the US. They protest WAY TOO MUCH about a system THEY created for the express purpose of being able to overcharge their patients.
This opinion is completely unfactual. Here are the facts...
1. The 20% copay is typically much larger than the cost of the disadvantage plan. This is why seniors choose them. Plus many other additional benefits like dental, vision, health club memberships, etc.
2. Doctors cannot charge higher fees. Medicare sets the fee schedule.
3. Doctors collect significantly lower fees than they did 40 years ago when adjusted for inflation. There has not been a fee increase on the physician fee schedule in over 20 years. In fact, we get an annual cut in the Medicare reimbursement so our reimbursements have been declining for the past 15 years since I have been in practice. The consolidation of health care into private equity groups and hospitals is due to the fact that solo physicians are unable to stay afloat with the ridiculously low fees we are paid. Disadvantage plans pay even lower reimbursements than Medicare.
4. Because they reimburse at lower rates than Medicare, the big insurers are raking in record profits from Medicare, per the OIG report that was recently released. They are also increasing the Medicare payments for these seniors by making them look as sick as possible to the tune of hundreds of billions in overpayments to the insurance companies.
5. Doctors did not create the system, government and big insurance lobbyists did.
Thanks for the corrections, Pete.
Just get a traditional supplement, budget the cost, definitely worth it and never ever claims problems and go to any doctor.
I am happy to read that the average American voter has woken up to these MAGAs and their dangerous Project 2025 proposals.
We cannot take away affordable Medicare insurance that will allow Wall Street Investors to make more billions in profit off of seniors. Diseases are not politically partisan. For example, cancer does not care if you are a Republican or Democrat.
Government run Medicare, Medicaid and the entire commercial health insurance market is an abject failure. We are the sickest nation , physically and mentally, in the entire industrialized world. Time to try something different, maybe not project 2025, but certainly not centralized government driven, as it is now.
Part C is complete corporate welfare.
Each and every person that buys part C are not formally informed that CMS aka taxpayers gives private for profit health insurance companies at least $12,000 every year they personally sign on to disadvantage plans aka part c plans.
Now private for profit health insurance companies want us to give them Medicaid dollars too.
It is a circle of insurance greed.
In 1965 Medicare was created because private for profit insurance companies dropped people as they aged.
Trump is the one who got started on lowering the price of drugs Anyway not the Democrats. He is also the one that made hospitals disclose their prices so you knew what you had to pay. No one's going to privatize Medicare. Just another scare tactic article from Democrat activist.