I have been begging people to get standard Medicare. Medicare Part C, aka Medicare Advantage, is a fraud on the patient and the American taxpayer. I have explained this ad nauseam in several blogs.
A message from a former Medicare Advantage salesman.
A listener to my program, Politics Done Right, who received one of my recent newsletters, sent me the following email.
Thank you for sending the Common Dreams piece on Medicare Advantage. I will pass it on to friends. I know it’s true.
This is a bit long, but please read to the end. It’s important info. I am a health & life insurance agent, inactive at the moment due to a more important life saving disease awareness project.
When I started out selling health insurance, I sold MA plans, got one myself. My doc was on the plan, so I signed up, but when I got my card, it was for a doctor 30 miles away. I called and was told he’s on their regular plans, but not MA plans. I dropped that and went on Blue Cross, which was better, until I had a stent put in and faced $2,200 out of pocket costs.
I stopped selling MA plans, only supplements and wished I could get on one, but didn’t think I could qualify with multiple medical problems. But when my very healthy wife retired and left her company’s plan for Medicare, I took her to a Medicare specialist to see if any MA plan would be good for her since she had no health problems and decided a PPO plan would be best and after consulting with our daughter, a healthcare attorney handling managed care contracts for a regional healthcare group, went with Aetna.
I told the agent I thought MA plans were okay as long as you don’t get sick, but if you had health problems you need to be on regular Medicare with a supplement and I wish I had done so, but thought I could no longer qualify. He said I was wrong, With AARP’s United Healthcare, as long as you’re not dead or dying, you can qualify. He signed me up for AARP, put in an app, and I got on the F plan that pays for the 20% on everything Medicare covers.
Yes, I pay a bit over $300 a month compared to my wife’s $30 a month MA plan, but the 20% my F plan pays each month runs about $990. Is that a bargain or what? So this is what I tell my clients coming off health plans and going into Medicare. If you have health problems, I’ll help you with Medicare Supplements, but if you’re healthy, I recommend a specialist, not some company presentation. It doesn’t cost you a dime and they’re guide you to the best plans, and if you start having health problems or your healthcare providers no longer accept your plan, talk to your specialist, or come back to see me. I only handle real Medicare and its supplement plans.
The listener subsequently expanded on his statement.
It’s important for people to know this. One infusion I have every 8 wks for RA, the doc charges nearly $9,500, Medicare approves Pmt of $4,668 and pays $3,669, leaving AARP United picking up my co-pay of $936. Can you imagine what the co-pay would be on a MA plan, if covered at all??? And on top of that, it’s a drug that’s supposed to be administered every 4 weeks, but it’s been working so well for me that we were able to extend it first to 6 weeks and now 8. That’s just for one problem of old age. I have 3 more. Can’t complain though. Early in my life, I wasn’t expected to live past age 36. Celebrated my 37th birthday this year… for the 41st time, still battling that same killer 24/7. If I had known old age would be so painful, don’t think I would have worked so hard to get here! Have a great day.
I want to thank my listener for this email. His letter makes it even clearer that we should all get traditional Medicare to prevent any future problems. The private sector is solely in healthcare to make money and as such, they change policies to ensure their shareholders and executives are compensated. They take no risk while you risk your life and health when you sign up with them.
While my listener points out that a specialist can get you covered if you have to switch after getting sick, as the Medicare Advantage thugs continue to seek profit maximization for their bonuses and shareholders, one can never guarantee that you can get a supplemental if you started with Medicare Advantage. As stated by the listener, it will be much more expensive in the future if you do not get traditional Medicare from the beginning.
The bottom line is this. Medicare Advantage is a fraud. It hurts people when they most need healthcare. DO NOT GET IT. DO NOT GET MEDICARE ADVANTAGE/MEDICARE PART C!
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If Medigap F (“F-plan”) isn’t available in my area, or gets phased out by the Fed govt, then what?