The only way anyone could ever have supported Medicare Advantage is to be willfully ignorant of the structural defects of Medicare Advantage. Primary care providers are the gate keepers, insurers limit networks, then overcharge Medicare.
Spot on! The whole system is corrupt and the government is not the only one being ripped off. Patient's suffer as well as the physicians trying to treat them. It is totally corrupt, especially with the vertical integration UHC has done to control and profit from all pieces of the Healthcare system. It looks like Standard Oil all over again and the DOJ should break them up.
So, You've never heard of Medicare Advantage PPO plans ? Medicare Advantage Plans that let the insureds see Providers both In-Network and Out-of-Network. Couple that with $0 monthly premium and you have an unbeatable plan. Compare that to a Plan F or G Medicare Supplement Plan coupled with a Part D Prescription Drug Plan, those two Plans will cost the insureds between $5,000 to $6,000 more per year than a $0 premium Medicare Advantage PPO Plan and it's a no-brainer decision to make.
Thanks for your comment! I really appreciate it. I will address PPOs and HMOs and others in a future post. Covering all the variants in one post was just too unwieldy. Medicare Advantage plans do have a place in the Medicare landscape, and they are cost effective. My concern is that many people don't understand the trade-offs they are making. I also have problems with Medicare Advantage marketing and the unsustainable costs of the plans. Again, thanks for your comment.
This is a perfect example of what happens when you privatize any service, they exploit the reimbursement system and people enrolled. Here comes corruption and they new Trump/Musk administration moving in that direction with many government systems.
Go Chuck Grassley! You are on to their fraudulent money schemes that benefits their shareholders and the C-suite.......ALL at the expense of plans, Medicare, patients, and state and federal taxpayers. United Healthcare and the other two big vertically integrated behemoths have completely destroyed what was to be a good plan initially labeled Medicare Part C. The big three (as well as Humana, Prime Therapeutics/Magellan, MedImpact) have completely capitulated the process to fill their own pockets at everyone else's expense. The ONLY answer is to break up the vertically integrated monsters and let there be competition once again. It is a shame when the top 6-7 PBMs control 96% of all prescriptions processed; now we have the insurance companies taking advantage of billing codes, upcoding, and "creating" medical issues patients may not have at all! That is a crime and it's time for some real serious jail time. Had I done those things intentionally when I practiced I'd still be in prison. Let's make UHC an example. It is long overdue.
People choosing part c often are not formally informed that taxpayers give at least $12,000 annually to for-profit private health insurance companies in their name.
Senator Grassley was instrumental in undermining original Medicare. He believed the b.s. of private insurance companies telling him they could 'do better' and save the government money using that original Medicare money. At least he's realizing the error of his ways, years and years later. The taxpayer gets socked twice and then in addition gets crappy private insurance plans at age 65+. Advantage plans are NOT original Medicare. I refuse to call them that. It's disingenuous. Disingenuous seems to be the norm for companies selling Advantage plans. Chuck, the gift that keeps on giving.
Tough to say that Medicare Advantage Plans "overcharge" their clients when for many years now in the geographic area where I reside there are many, many plans that are $0 monthly premium. In case you're wondering that also comes to $0 annual premium.
The only way anyone could ever have supported Medicare Advantage is to be willfully ignorant of the structural defects of Medicare Advantage. Primary care providers are the gate keepers, insurers limit networks, then overcharge Medicare.
Spot on! The whole system is corrupt and the government is not the only one being ripped off. Patient's suffer as well as the physicians trying to treat them. It is totally corrupt, especially with the vertical integration UHC has done to control and profit from all pieces of the Healthcare system. It looks like Standard Oil all over again and the DOJ should break them up.
So, You've never heard of Medicare Advantage PPO plans ? Medicare Advantage Plans that let the insureds see Providers both In-Network and Out-of-Network. Couple that with $0 monthly premium and you have an unbeatable plan. Compare that to a Plan F or G Medicare Supplement Plan coupled with a Part D Prescription Drug Plan, those two Plans will cost the insureds between $5,000 to $6,000 more per year than a $0 premium Medicare Advantage PPO Plan and it's a no-brainer decision to make.
Thanks for your comment! I really appreciate it. I will address PPOs and HMOs and others in a future post. Covering all the variants in one post was just too unwieldy. Medicare Advantage plans do have a place in the Medicare landscape, and they are cost effective. My concern is that many people don't understand the trade-offs they are making. I also have problems with Medicare Advantage marketing and the unsustainable costs of the plans. Again, thanks for your comment.
This is a perfect example of what happens when you privatize any service, they exploit the reimbursement system and people enrolled. Here comes corruption and they new Trump/Musk administration moving in that direction with many government systems.
Go Chuck Grassley! You are on to their fraudulent money schemes that benefits their shareholders and the C-suite.......ALL at the expense of plans, Medicare, patients, and state and federal taxpayers. United Healthcare and the other two big vertically integrated behemoths have completely destroyed what was to be a good plan initially labeled Medicare Part C. The big three (as well as Humana, Prime Therapeutics/Magellan, MedImpact) have completely capitulated the process to fill their own pockets at everyone else's expense. The ONLY answer is to break up the vertically integrated monsters and let there be competition once again. It is a shame when the top 6-7 PBMs control 96% of all prescriptions processed; now we have the insurance companies taking advantage of billing codes, upcoding, and "creating" medical issues patients may not have at all! That is a crime and it's time for some real serious jail time. Had I done those things intentionally when I practiced I'd still be in prison. Let's make UHC an example. It is long overdue.
Insurance is fear driven exploitation.
People choosing part c often are not formally informed that taxpayers give at least $12,000 annually to for-profit private health insurance companies in their name.
Senator Grassley was instrumental in undermining original Medicare. He believed the b.s. of private insurance companies telling him they could 'do better' and save the government money using that original Medicare money. At least he's realizing the error of his ways, years and years later. The taxpayer gets socked twice and then in addition gets crappy private insurance plans at age 65+. Advantage plans are NOT original Medicare. I refuse to call them that. It's disingenuous. Disingenuous seems to be the norm for companies selling Advantage plans. Chuck, the gift that keeps on giving.
Thank you. I am pleased to know.
Tough to say that Medicare Advantage Plans "overcharge" their clients when for many years now in the geographic area where I reside there are many, many plans that are $0 monthly premium. In case you're wondering that also comes to $0 annual premium.