Some very smart and knowledgeable people say Medicare Advantage is a scam. If it is, the Advantage scam is heavily supported by the U.S. Government. And now, NPR reports that Advantage plans even drag their feet to pay small, rural hospitals.
Put that information in context, with a little background…
Medicare is government healthcare. Medicare Advantage is private health insurance. Representatives Ro Khanna (CA), Mark Pocan (WI), and Jan Schakowsky (IL) proposed a bill that would require Medicare Advantage plans to change their names (to remove the word “Medicare”).
Medicare Advantage is cheaper upfront. But Advantage plans are known for often denying or delaying coverage when seniors require more extensive healthcare interventions, as they age.
During a Medicare Open Enrollment period, it is easy for seniors to switch back to Medicare. My advice? Switch to real Medicare (often called “original” or “traditional” Medicare by wordsmiths working for the private health insurance industry) before your aging body parts start to breakdown. We are in a Medicare Open Enrollment period right now, from October 15, 2023 to December 7, 2023.
Why do I collect this information and share it with you? Because I am absolutely biased.
I am no fan of Medicare Advantage, or of any unnecessary private healthcare middlemen, making a mint off of the US Government and my fellow-Americans. This country would save a lot of money with a comprehensive, single-payer, universal healthcare system like Bernie Sanders’ Medicare For All. Even the conservative think tank Mercatus Center at George Mason University “found that under Sanders’s plan, overall health costs would go down, and wages would go up.”
Be well. Stay healthy. When injustice makes you unhappy, practice emotional detachment. And keep fighting the Good Fight.
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