In the next week or so, the federal government will announce a decision that will clue us in on whether big health insurers that run the private Medicare Advantage program will have once again succeeded in browbeating regulators into giving them billions more of our money than they’re lawfully entitled to.
With all the information out there about the Medicare Advantage plans, why are large groups, such as the Illinois pension plans, still using Medicare Advantage for their retired employees? Although the amount paid per year is much smaller than it was before MA took over, the amount paid out of pocket has skyrocketed.
Easy Gail… It’s NOT about the retiree’s costs or health coverage. It’s about the employer and the insurance company’s profits. Illinois gets to offload the costs of fulfilling on their promises of providing healthcare to retirees. Medicare Advantage plans make so much money between the government and consumer in the name of “Free Dental!”. Consumers don’t know the difference between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. They assume it’s one and the same in terms of coverage.
So, there’s no real downside. This is why just about all the states and many, many private companies have shifted retiree health coverage to MA.
Why pay money from your budget when there’s this company that will take it over at a profit to them?
If we should be calling the White House, can you give us a suggested message? There's a lot of information here and a concise message that citizens can use when contacting Biden would be helpful.
Rebecca - if you go to psara.org, the Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action have a terrific letter to Biden that you can sign. It mainly calls for leveling the playing field reegarding cost and coverage between MA and Traditional Medicare. That means improving TM by reducing or eliminating co-insurance, setting an out-of-pocket cap, and adding benefits such as vision, dental, and hearing.
Thank you for posting these examples which raise awareness for the public of the problems with Medicare Advantage. Let’s call it Medicare DisAdvantage.
Six months ago, here in Northern California, SutterHealth sent weekly letters to all, encouraging us to sign up for MA. I was furious!
That is crazy!!! I wonder what was in it for SutterHealth? I’ve worked with many healthcare providers and organizations - not ONE has anything good to say about MA plans.
Thank you. Pulling all this together is a Big help in organizing to stop full privatization of Medicare. There is a rising tide in our favor.
With all the information out there about the Medicare Advantage plans, why are large groups, such as the Illinois pension plans, still using Medicare Advantage for their retired employees? Although the amount paid per year is much smaller than it was before MA took over, the amount paid out of pocket has skyrocketed.
Easy Gail… It’s NOT about the retiree’s costs or health coverage. It’s about the employer and the insurance company’s profits. Illinois gets to offload the costs of fulfilling on their promises of providing healthcare to retirees. Medicare Advantage plans make so much money between the government and consumer in the name of “Free Dental!”. Consumers don’t know the difference between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. They assume it’s one and the same in terms of coverage.
So, there’s no real downside. This is why just about all the states and many, many private companies have shifted retiree health coverage to MA.
Why pay money from your budget when there’s this company that will take it over at a profit to them?
If we should be calling the White House, can you give us a suggested message? There's a lot of information here and a concise message that citizens can use when contacting Biden would be helpful.
Rebecca - if you go to psara.org, the Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action have a terrific letter to Biden that you can sign. It mainly calls for leveling the playing field reegarding cost and coverage between MA and Traditional Medicare. That means improving TM by reducing or eliminating co-insurance, setting an out-of-pocket cap, and adding benefits such as vision, dental, and hearing.
Thank you for posting these examples which raise awareness for the public of the problems with Medicare Advantage. Let’s call it Medicare DisAdvantage.
Six months ago, here in Northern California, SutterHealth sent weekly letters to all, encouraging us to sign up for MA. I was furious!
That is crazy!!! I wonder what was in it for SutterHealth? I’ve worked with many healthcare providers and organizations - not ONE has anything good to say about MA plans.