A national organization of retirees is looking into the decision by The Villages Health to stop providing service to patients who have Original Medicare and supplemental policies.
The National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) sent a survey to members about the decision. The survey, which also is open to non-members, is at the end of this article.
NRLN is a 10-year-old advocacy organization that lobbies Congress on behalf of retirees from more than 200 corporations, representing more than 1.5 million retirees in groups such as the American Airlines Retirees Committee and Ekra-Kodak Retirees. The organization has supporters in 75 percent of the nation’s congressional districts, said president Bill Kadereit.
“The gut issue regarding Medicare Advantage plans is that insurance companies and hospitals want these plans to flourish because they compete with Medicare, but even the most conservative among them won’t own up to the fact that these plans receive 12 to 17 percent of their costs back from the government in the form of a subsidy,” Kadereit said. “The irony is that these subsidies are paid from the Medicare Trust Fund. Just over 30 percent have chosen Medicare Advantage and the other 70 percent who paid into Medicare are paying for the subsidies.”
He said some members of Congress want to privatize Medicare and his organization is seeking legislation that would require retirees to opt into the program instead of opting out.
“This would make a big difference and would shift the decision-making to retirees under normal circumstances,” Kadereit said. “The real problem is cost – doctor salaries, underutilized bricks and mortar and specialty diagnosis equipment, the cost of wheel chairs and, most important, the cost of prescription drugs.”
With six primary care clinics, The Villages Health announced to patients earlier this month that it no longer would accept Original Medicare with supplemental policies, also known as Medigap, beginning Jan. 1 and that patients who want to keep those policies would need to find new doctors. New and existing patients are required to enroll in one of The Villages Medicare Advantage plans offered through United Healthcare to continue receiving care.
Below is the NRLN survey. Answers can be submitted to contact@nrln.org.
· Do you use Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage?
· Do you use The Villages Health for your health care needs?
· Will the decision by The Villages Health affect your health care services?
· Will it cause you to switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan during the enrollment period this fall?
· If you currently have Original Medicare and your doctor is part of The Villages Health, will you change doctors in order to continue Original Medicare coverage?
· Whether you use The Villages Health or not, do you think this decision is unfair?
· If you are affected by The Villages Health’s decision, would you send an NRLN sample letter to your members of Congress if the NRLN issued an Action Alert on this issue?
