OT:::::Medicare Advantage plans "are taking over Medicare and they are taking advantage of elderly patients,"

[MYRESPCO]

I used to be case manager at a major hospital chain and i always recommend patients to switch to traditional medicare. Adantage only takes your advantage as a patient and pays for nothing.

Yash B

[ChicagoGranny]

pays for nothing

[Rubicon]

I used to be case manager at a major hospital chain ...

Pretty clear why you aren't anymore.

[Janknitz]

The Advantage Plans vary by zip code. We have had ours for over 10 years and love it. My wife just ordered new glasses....Retail was $179 for frame and $85 for the lens...Our cost..$0. Most of our Meds are $0 cost.

My husband loves his Advantage plan for exactly this reason, and they helped pay for his hearing aids.
Plus they have been very responsive to his medical needs because I know how to advocate for him. He has no clue how to do the same for me.

In my field of work, I see the other end of things with this particular Advantage plan. I can't go into detail, but it's terrible as people age and need services they are contractually obligated to provide but try not to because of cost. Advantage plans are capitated, meaning they get paid per "life", not fee for service, so they are better off financially by not providing care, especially expensive care when people are in desperate circumstances. This is not for the purposes of efficiency, it's purely financial and incredibly cruel to the individuals and their loved ones who don't realize when they sign up for an Advantage plan that their medical provider has a financial conflict of interest with their medical needs.

[dataq1]

What she said !

[bwexler]

I have been on a variety of MA Plans for the past 13 years.
I have seen many times where I chose to pay out of pocket rather than fight the system. This applies to small items like CPAP masks and larger items like oxygen concentrators and my Resmed Airsense ASV.
I have learned to advocate for what I need, but am still capable of being resourceful enough to provide what MA won't.

I track what is going on and up until now I am way ahead financially with MA.
Maybe someday if I live long enough to develop serious medical issues that MA refuses to cover, I may wish I had gone a different way.

[lazarus]

Well, at least everyone is perfectly happy with the way things are going and the direction that things are heading: https://www.axios.com/2023/12/19/health ... ion-gallup

[ChicagoGranny]

Maybe someday if I live long enough to develop serious medical issues that MA refuses to cover

At my age, I wouldn't want to be treated anyway. We all have to die. I've sat with too many relatives and friends who were just "being kept alive", not living.

A major source of expense for the Medicare program is beneficiaries at end of life. Estimates of the percentage of Medicare costs that arise from patients in the last year of life differ, ranging from 13% to 25%, depending on methods and assumptions. Did anyone benefit from living that last year of their life? I don't want it. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6610551/ This is a huge cost and absorbs a large amount of the country's medical resources.

BTW, Gramps and I are each way ahead with costs of our Medicare Advantage plans.

[bwexler]

At my age, I wouldn't want to be treated anyway. We all have to die. I've sat with too many relatives and friends who were just "being kept alive", not living.


BTW, Gramps and I are each way ahead with costs of our Medicare Advantage plans.

If your picture is any indication of your age and health, you have a long way to go.

By the way, I was smart enough to leave Chicago over 55 years ago, for San Diego.

[ChicagoGranny]

By the way, I was smart enough to leave Chicago over 55 years ago, for San Diego.

Don't diss my Chicago, asshole. Wimps retreat to cultureless San Diego.

[bwexler]

If I want culture, I can go down to the beach and watch the surfers.
Unfortunately they are usually gone by the time I wake up. so I miss out on that treat.
We also have mountains here higher than 20 feet.

[WearyOne]

My husband has been on two different medicare advantage plans over the last five years, just switching to the second one for this year. He had no problems at all switching during the designated change period and has been happy with what is covered. This is my first year on a Medicare advantage plan (same one my husband switched to), and I love. So much better than my previous insurance. No cost at all for my regular prescriptions, and little to no cost for several one-time scripts. Several procedures at no or minimal cost. No cost for my glasses frames and lenses. Paid almost all of my two ER visits when I had COVID in late summer, including multiple tests. Also have dental insurance through the MA plan, which has been great. I have had to see several different specialists. Never needed a referral. At this point, no way I would want to change to regular Medicare.

[WearyOne]

I used to be case manager at a major hospital chain and i always recommend patients to switch to traditional medicare. Adantage only takes your advantage as a patient and pays for nothing.

Yash B

Well, that hasn't been my husband's experience for the last five years or my experince this year (first year on it). Neither of us has had a hospital stay, but we've both been to the ER more than once each and are on multiple prescriptions, have had several procedures done (some routine, some not), and have no complaints at all on what they have paid.

[lazarus]

Seems like a relatively balanced overview/comparison?:

https://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-in ... lsrc=aw.ds

[SleepGeek]

Seems like a relatively balanced overview/comparison?

Ever notice those who claim to be "way ahead" or "be happy" never volunteer what MA plan they are using?

And IMHO IF you travel an HMO type plan is not the one to have.
Of course I don't like an HMO even when not traveling.