Re: The Greatest Wealth Transference....
Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 10:45 am
That's hard to read, I can't imagine living through it. Hoping for the best for everyone and happy birthday to Annie.
All Things Kansas.
https://www.kansascrimson.com/boards/
A growing number of Americans are finding insufficient coverage options or jaw-dropping medical bills after unknowingly signing up for Medicare Advantage.
Today, more than half of seniors are enrolled in these privatized plans. The appeal is easy to understand when looking at the minimal or zero premiums and perks like dental care and gym memberships.
However, some have found the darker side after signing up for the plans.
If you want to go back to traditional Medicare, for instance, your options will be limited. You also might have to travel much farther for healthcare and be stuck with a doctor you don't want.
And many of these things aren't advertised to seniors when they pick up Medicare Advantage marketers' calls.
According to a Senate Finance Committee report by Oregon Democratic U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, customer complaints about Medicare Advantage's marketing skyrocketed to double from 2020 to 2021, bringing the total to 41,000.
Some Americans might not even be aware of the difference between traditional Medicare and privately run Medicare Advantage, but one in five seniors reported issues getting care due to the prior approval process, according to a recent Retirement Living study. Another study found half of beneficiaries switched to a different plan after five years.
"Imagine foregoing your original Medicare you paid your entire life into for gym membership," Brandon Selfors, a Medicare broker and the founder of Tampa-based Bridge Insurance. "Sounds ridiculous but that is over half of seniors in the U.S. who traded their birthright for a privatized plan."
"These plans are pushed too quickly on seniors who only have seven months to make a potentially life-altering decision."
Retired Pharmacist Cheryl Mozer, who lives in Blue Springs, Missouri, said she's seen it time and time again. While elderly patients generally enjoy their Medicare Advantage plans while healthy, it takes a turn for the worse when their health begins to decline.
"When their health declined and they needed expensive care costing thousands of dollars, such as rehab following a hospital stay, we had denial after denial as being 'medically unnecessary' even though their doctors said it was necessary," Mozer told Newsweek.
While Mozer said seniors are occasionally able to win their appeals, it took away "precious time" while they were ill.
"I tell every elderly person I know not to sign up for an Advantage plan," Mozer said. "It is not worth the stress when you are ill and need care."
"All of the advertising on TV hooks people in," Mozer said. "Yes, they may get free dental and a gym pass, but denial for expensive care is the issue."
And once you are in, the government has rules that make it hard to get out of these plans, Mozer said.
Linda Muñoz, a 70-year-old senior loan officer, said she didn't realize until this December that she had an Advantage plan. She initially chose an Aetna Advantage plan because it was the most affordable, with the premium paid by the deduction she'd otherwise pay to the Social Security Administration.
"The representative I spoke with said that I would be covered for my minimal drug needs and some dental and some over-the-counter drugs," Muñoz told Newsweek. "I am a 70-year-old healthy individual so the explanation seemed to fit my needs."
However, after visiting her dermatologist, she found out she was limited to doctors contracted with Aetna, so hundreds of dollars in bills were not covered despite having $165 deducted from her SSA payment monthly, she said.
"I'm now in a situation where I have a plan that I have to fight for coverage with, but I'm very concerned about my future needs and being stuck in a program that may well turn out to be less coverage than I could have, presently being employed, with my employer," Muñoz said.
And even when looking at the official information, it's easy to be led astray and make the wrong decision.
"The 200-plus page Medicare plan booklet hardly makes these decisions easier," Muñoz said, adding she has a post-graduate degree and still found herself confused and deceived.
"In fact, it seems like the government is in league with the insurance companies to put together information that is absolutely designed to confuse the consumer... What hope does the senior, whose educational experience might be less and whose economic situation might be worse than mine, have?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Hbs0s6_sQ
That is one of those outcomes most of us hope for. It's good to hear that it can happen.jhawks99 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 25, 2024 11:35 am Fortunately, my Mom was able to stay at home until the end. My brother and his kid were able to maintain the house and take care of her with home hospice. The fight to make her leave would have been epic and probably would have destroyed the family. She did not want to be away from her dogs.