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Diane Archer's avatar

For sure, the upfront costs of Medicare Advantage are lower than the upfront costs of traditional Medicare, which requires people to have supplemental coverage to protect themselves from high out-of-pocket costs. The big concern with Medicare Advantage plans is that some of them inappropriately delay and deny critical care, charge unaffordable copays that prevent people from getting care, and have networks with poor quality providers. You might be fortunate enough not to need a lot of care or to be enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan that does a decent job of getting you the care you need at the moment. Be aware that could change at any time. There's also no doubt that the for-profit Medicare Advantage plans will put the needs of their shareholders first. And, in Medicare Advantage, maximizing profits comes in large part from minimizing care.

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Patrick Knight's avatar

Fantastic article and such a great resource! It blows my mind (and scares the hell out of me now that I am having to make decisions like this) that I have to spend one second of my life as I approach old age making sure our sociopathic, predatory, for-profit medical system doesn't make my life a nightmare! So glad to have become aware of Wendell Potter and all the resources he shares like Diane's great article here!

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