Traditional Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage - Part 2

Continuation...

Some Medicare Advantage plans are HMO’s and not PPO’s. Some Medicare Advantage plans can even deny you coverage. Traditional Medicare is an 80/20 plan, which means the government pays 80% of the allowable charges (not necessarily what is usually charged) and you pay 20%. You can choose any doctor anywhere who takes Traditional Medicare. But that trend is changing as some doctors refuse to take Medicare because they are reimbursed at a much lower rate than by other insurers.

Here is an actual case example: Patient was hospitalized for a one-day stay. Hospital charged $27,000.00… yes that’s right $27,000.00. Traditional Medicare paid $471.00 and the patient paid $147.00. For this same day on some Medicare Advantage plans you would have had to pay your co-pay, a daily rate in the hospital, and an additional total out of pocket. With these out of pocket costs, you could have (again I stress could have) paid upwards of $6,000.00 to $10,000.00 of your own money.

I know some people are going to go all bonkers because of what I am saying here. I did not say in every instance you will have out of pockets costs, or as with the example above, that you would have paid as much out of pocket. Let me be very clear though - you would pay more than $147.00 out of pocket.

So reiterating, take a long, hard look at Traditional Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage. You may think you are getting something free, but nothing is free in this life. There is always a hidden catch which equates to a hidden cost for you, the consumer. Medicare Advantage works for some people, especially those on many medications. Traditional Medicare usually works better for people on fewer medications.

DO NOT BE DECEIVED……Medicare Advantage is your Traditional Medicare privatized. So, no matter what you hear on Fox News, your Medicare has been hijacked by private insurers. These private insurers can change the medications your doctor prescribed for you to a different, less effective medication that is cheaper in cost for them. These private insurers can also deny certain procedures and certain care for you as well. Talking about death panels…wow here there are true death panels. People have died awaiting authorization for procedures and medications. Do not be fooled - this has been happening since the dawn of Medicare Advantage. So yelling “Hands off my Medicare!” won’t help because all hands are actually on your Medicare since it is controlled by the private insurers. Traditional Medicare is provided by the government!

Stop listening to people who profit from private insurance, including those who profit from Medicare Advantage. I suggest you read and research Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Do what is best for you and no one else. There are many sites where you can get information on these programs. And you can always, find additional information at Medicare.Gov or CMS.gov.

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