Since they are taking the Drug Company Subsidy out of Medicare Advantage

[OHdem10]

what happens to all the Seniors who have Medicare Advantage
now as their Health Insurance Plan.

If there is no Public Plan Option, are they being forced
into other Private Plans they cannot afford. Are they
back to the same old game--use up every little penny you
have on Health Insurance.

This is an honest question. Medicare Advantage may not
have been the best our country could do but it made getting
coverage for care and drugs possible.

I am not defending this giveaway to the Drug Companies, I just
want to know what the "GREEN-EYESHADES" Blue Dogs propose
for this segment of Seniors????

It seems that with a public option, this group could quickly
find something they can afford. I am not so sure if there
is no public option.

Please help me out here.

[dionysus]

1. i heard yesterday on randi that medicare advantage really isn't medicare and is a giant ins co scam.

[madfloridian]

4. The people in that program are not on traditional Medicare

Not sure of the details on what you say, though.

Just don't know.

They would still be on traditional Medicare I would assume, but would need a prescription supplement. I guess.

Medicare Advantage plans are private Medicare plans, meant to privatize the system by confusing seniors.

[dionysus]

5. yes, ins salesman were (for 3-600 a head) scamming seniors out of actual medicare into these private

plans in a very deceiptful way, and many ofthem were actually losing benefits.

[madfloridian]

7. And congress knows they are doing it. It's heartbreaking.

Ads go out that make seniors think they have to change programs. They don't.

[Lugnut]

11. It sure is.

My husband and I are both covered by a Med Advantage plan and have been for about seven months. Medicare subsidizes the insurance company to provide us with coverage. There are $15 copays for office visits for our PCP and specialists but no referrals or deductibles for most services as long as we stick to a provider list for care. This is a step up from the horrible Aetna plan we had through my husband's workplace. We signed up for this plan because it costs $106 a month and covers basic dental and eyeglass care which traditional Medicare does not. Separate dental and eyeglass plans are un-affordable for us so this fit the bill. The one complaint I have about the plan is the sparse provider list but otherwise we haven't had any issues so far.

The insurance companies that have Med Advantage plans are a superfluous middle-man that wouldn't be necessary if traditional Medicare covered basic dental and eyeglass care.

[OHdem10]

2. Sc am or no Scam, a lot of Americans have it and can afford it.

They say people can keep what they have.

This group cannot keep what they have. What is offered them.

This group is a big part of AARP. We need answers.

[foginthemorn]

3. AARP has lost its activism the last several years.

[Critters2]

6. This is why we need single payer.

There's this program, and that program, with their different relationships to private insurance...talk about bureaucracy! Why can't we have a system where you go to the doctor, and your care is paid for by you and other taxpayers without all these damn programs?!!!

[Lasher]

8. Medicare Advantage, AKA Part C, is a privatized substitute for Medicare Parts A & B

Some Medicare Advantage plans also include the Part D prescription drug benefit. The government then gives the These private companies said they wanted a chance to compete with government-run Medicare, because as everyone knows, things are always done better in the private sector, blah blah blah. So the government started giving them whatever subsidy they would have provided on your behalf to traditional Medicare providing a level playing field for the free market to do its magic.

But these insurance companies couldn't actually compete after all. The Bush administration and his Bush league GOP lapdog Congress came to their rescue by authorizing a Medicare Advantage per-capita subsidy that was greater than the one going to traditional Medicare. So much for the level playing field.

This is wrong, these insurance companies should get the same subsidies as the government-run program and nothing more. Obama agrees, and he said so during the presidential campaign. It's possible the Medicare subsidy will be raised to match what's going to the private insurance companies but it's more likely Medicare Advantage subsidies will be lowered to match the government-run program. There is trouble ahead for Medicare Advange providers unless their lobbyists can convince Congress it's a good idea to continue throwing extra money their way, basically just to artificially prop up a failed Republican ideology.

How can you avoid probable Medicare Advantage problems that will result? In your place I would get myself back on traditional Medicare as soon as I could.

[OHdem10]

9. Thank you for the explanation. I knew about the Drug Company

Subsidies. I never approved of the Subsidies.

You answered my question, there is trouble ahead for Medicare Advantage
Members.

I hope our party does some anticipation here and head the GOP off at
the pass. This was their baby. I hate giving them the opportunity
to exploit this.+

[Gin]

10. I have Medicare A & B and Optima Medicare advantage for 0 a month

If I had not made that decision when I first enrolled in Medicare...I may not have been able to enroll in another plan to offset what Medicare doesn't cover...my Optima has drug coverage.....haven't used any medical coverage or drug coverage.....my understanding, after discussing my situation with a man who helps seniors make the decisions about these things, was that for me and my circumstances....this is the best option...again...I have Medicare A & B and Optima.

As of today...I pay for Medicare but no monthly charge for the advantage plan. That can change once open enrollment rolls around.

[Lasher]

12. Do you have Optima Medicare Value Plus?

If so, you don't have Parts A & B anymore. You have Medicare Advantage (Part C) coverage that includes the Part D prescription drug benefit. You can't have Parts A & B, plus Part C at the same time.

And this man who helps seniors make decisions about these things, is he employed by Optima? The reason I'm asking is, sometimes people tell folks they 'represent the government' or 'represent Medicare' when they are actually salesmen for insurance companies. I've seen this first hand when a Medicare Advantage salesman came to see my in-laws. I had to almost beat it out of him to get him to admit who he really worked for.

[madfloridian]

13. Your Medicare payment goes to Optima, not to medicare.

It is not traditional Medicare. These programs were begun as a way to privatize Medicare without saying so.

[Lasher]

14. She pays her Medicare premium as though she were still with the traditional program.

Then her premium payment and the government subsidy go to Optima.

http://www.optimahealth.com/OptimaHealth/Members/Unsecured/Resources/Pages/medicare_group1_2008_why-optima_exploring.htm

[madfloridian]

15. So the $96 or so dollars in the Soc. Sec. monthly go to traditional Medicare?

I had been told differently, but not sure at all.

[Lasher]

16. I know Medicare Advantage beneficiaries must continue to pay their monthly Part B premium.

It says so at the Optima website that I linked:

You must continue to pay your Medicare Part B premium if not otherwise paid for under Medicaid or by another third party.

BTW, I believe the monthly premium is $106.58.

I assumed that these premiums then go to Medicare Part B for those who stick with it, and to respective Medicare Advantage providers for those who opt for one of them. I was too lazy to look it up, and still am. Maybe I'll feel more inspired tomorrow. What did you hear?