For profit health insurance companies are the problem. Everyone on D.U. agrees.

[3Hotdogs]

The only ones on D.U. who have opportunity to go to single payer, are the seniors.

SO ---

How many of you have, or are planning to go from their advantage plan to straight Medicare?

Why? or Why not?

[CurtEastPoint]

1. I have been on an Advantage plan for eight years. No problems. Some gripes about copays but

that's about it. To get medigap coverage/supplements it would cost me way too much.

[anciano]

2. I like original Medicare because

it lets me and the doctors of my choice be in charge of my healthcare.
I have no supplemental plans because medical bills are negotiable. There is an excellent book available from Amazon titled "Crush Medical Debt" by Virgie Bright Ellington MD. It's the best sixteen dollars that I ever spent.

[vapor2]

3. My concierge dr won't take any advantage Medicare

Have been on regular Medicare with not one single issue

[Voltaire2]

4. I can't go where I already am.

MA was always a scam. I didn't fall for it.

But everyone on DU doesn't agree. We've had this discussion repeatedly, and there are lots of posters who just love their for profit employer based health insurance and do not want to have to give it up.

[Grins]

5. Medicare Advantage plans are a 'money-making scam.'

Medicare Advantage plans are a 'money-making scam.' So wrote an insurance company exec.

WaPo:

Medicare Advantage plans, which are private insurance plans for seniors paid for with federal dollars, originated as a government savings strategy, on the theory that the private sector could improve on government performance at a lower cost. But over the past two decades, it has become clear that Medicare Advantage does not result in improved care for less money. Instead, ... insurers found a way to turn it into yet another profit center, while putting bureaucratic roadblocks in the way of patients.:

seniors on Medicare Advantage cost the government more than those in the traditional program, exactly the opposite of what is intended. A government advisory panel recently estimated the overpayment was $12 billion in 2020.

...This flood of money is fattening the bottom line of the health insurance giants even as they’re increasing pressure on the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which is projected to run out of funds in 2026. And Congress is loath to crack down, thanks to the combined power of health insurance lobbying and the program’s popularity with cash-strapped seniors.

...It’s “widespread” for Medicare Advantage plans to initially deny coverage for doctor-advised care.... Plans erect roadblocks to treatment by demanding prior authorization for services (that) traditional Medicare covers without questions. ...There are increasing complaints that private insurers rush patients out of skilled nursing and rehab facilities."

More? NY Times:

The government pays Medicare Advantage insurers a set amount for each person who enrolls, with higher rates for sicker patients. And the insurers, among the largest and most prosperous American companies, have developed elaborate systems to make their patients appear as sick as possible, often without providing additional treatment, according to the lawsuits.

As a result, a program devised to help lower health care spending has instead become substantially more costly than the traditional government program it was meant to improve. ...Last year, the (Justice) department’s civil division listed Medicare Advantage as one of its top areas of fraud recovery.

CBO:

The Congressional Budget Office projects that the Medicare Advantage share will grow from 54 percent of eligible Medicare beneficiaries in 2024, to about 64 percent in ten years if it continues on its current course. ...Congress’s Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) estimates that MA payments in 2024 were 22 percent above traditional Medicare — a difference that amounts to $83 billion in annual spending.

It started out with high promises. The insurance companies made it a scam that is costing far more than it is worth while delivering less. It, like so many other programs, is going to go broke and break us.

[Silent Type]

6. Kind of hard to argue with over half of Medicare beneficiaries who select MA because is meets their needs.

IMO, taking something that half (over 30 million) of Medicare beneficiaries voluntarily chose — until the government makes original Medicare meet their needs — would be wrong.

I’m on original Medicare, but I foresee being forced into MA to get rid of MediGap, Part D, and get $2000 or so in useful benefits like dental. I had Kaiser at one point when that is what an employer offered. I actually liked it.

Instead of griping about MA, Howsabout we get on government to do something? And pointing fingers at the other side ain't accomplishing anything. Until then, I’m supporting MA by voting for Democrats who will consider everyone’s needs and what has a chance to pass Congress.

Finally, can someone tell me why Democrats haven't come out with a detailed plan for a Public Option or something similar while their is a lot of attention on private insurance? Then push it. Maybe UHC contributing more to Democrats that Republicans -- as reported by Opensecrets -- ought to be a wake up call as we go into mid-terms.

[Ferrets are Cool]

7. My biggest gripe is that when I retired, I could no longer use ObamaCare, so my insurance costs increased

$175 a month.