In recent years, there has been a large rise of seniors enrolling in Medicare Advantage plans. These plans are private plans that are advertised as an alternative to “traditional” Medicare plans, but in reality, they are a get rich quick scheme for insurance companies. Medicare Advantage plan providers get more funding for “sicker patients” and this has led to a large number of doctors over diagnosing their patients.
Every year, the government loses around 12-25 billion dollars to these plans and doctors over diagnosing their patients. There have been reports that doctors were incentivized to over diagnose their patients with presents and champagne.
Unfortunately, over half of all Medicare enrollments are in these Medicare Advantage plans that thrive on trapping people and denying treatment. 80% of Medicare Advantage plans are for-profit and therefore benefit greatly from “sick” patients. These Medicare Advantage firms use deceptive advertising to make these plans seem favorable to seniors when in reality, seniors are denied many options when seeking help. A lot of doctors are considered “out of network” for patients with Medicare Advantage plans, which leaves them with insurmountable fees to pay and denied coverage.
These Medicare Advantage plans will often target younger seniors and promise them low rates while they are healthier. This leads to people believing that this plan will also be beneficial to them. In reality, as seniors become “sicker” they will have very few options with this healthcare plan. Medicare Open Enrollment began on October 15, and this is a great time to reevaluate your healthcare plan.
