General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: My Insurance Company Killed Me, Despite Obamacare - DailyBeast [View all]jeff47
(26,549 posts)An 86-year-old can get Medicare. Why was he dealing with a private insurance company?
It doesn't explicitly say in the article, but it sounds like he enrolled in a "Medicare Advantage" plan - the private insurance that was introduced to compete with "traditional" Medicare. For example, he talked about the problem of paying for his time in the hospital, but that's Medicare part A - 100% covered by the government, if he had "traditional" Medicare.
Medicare Advantage plans suck. And this article is an example of why they suck.
Anyway, the only reforms that were relevant from the ACA was the reduced reimbursement rate for Medicare Advantage plans - they've always cost the government more than traditional Medicare. Those reduced reimbursements may have caused his greedy bastards ....er... insurance company to try and avoid paying his bills. But the ACA didn't require him to get private insurance. Nor did it significantly change coverage.