To the Editor:
There is a constant television and radio barrage of ads for so-called Medicare “Advantage” plans. It should alert anyone that spending that much money on advertising suggests there is a huge profit to be made in that product. Medicare recipients should realize that “Advantage” plans are private insurance companies, who have contracted with Medicare.
Their only requirement is to offer the same coverages as Medicare. Most have co-pays, are PP plan (preferred providers) – which means you do not get to choose your doctor and doctors you have used in the past may not be in their plan. If you go outside their plan, you can be billed. Also, as private insurers, they have thousands of employees whose only job is to deny or delay your claims. Virtually always, regular Medicare and a supplement plan will cover more than the “Advantage” plans. This idea was hatched by the GOP in an effort to move people off regular Medicare and back to private insurance in an effort to do away with “socialized medicine” as many of them called Medicare when it was first proposed.
Many of us fear that if they get a majority of Medicare recipients off regular Medicare, they will, at some point announce that all must go to private insurance and then Medicare is dead. I have regular Medicare for which they deduct about $190 a month from my Social Security check, In addition, I pay for a supplement with United Healthcare for about $200 a month in a plan which also covers international stuff, since we travel a lot. They even paid for treatment on a cruise ship.
As a retired physician, I can tell you that doctors come and go within PP groups and most often leave. They have a pattern of consistently lowering reimbursements to doctors and most doctors who have busy practices will not sign up with them. Particularly in a place like the Villages, where there are fewer American trained physicians, the doctors within a PP group in an Advantage plan may not be able to provide the care most of us are accustomed to receiving. Do not fall for the “free” things advertised for “Advantage” plans. Overall they provide zero advantages for overall healthcare for seniors. In particular, people with cancer who require treatment find that newer treatments including bone marrow transplants and DNA based therapies are often refused coverage in Advantage plans. Choose wisely and do not be seduced by advertising.
Sam Jackson
Village of Poinciana
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