Blue Cross Blue shield KC and so it begins

[BALDELMO]

 

[Newby]

How about having a good Med Advantage plan for around $80 monthly with a basic dental benefit and the rest focused on the actual health plan that actually pays the legit claims without a fight?

It seems like all the plans try to appeal to the “free, free, free” crowd that pays no attention to the actual health insurance.

 

[LostDollar]

View attachment 12963

You missed a post awhile back. According to the Kansas news I get from Insurance Forums, "It" already began awhile back.

Wichita doctors were stopping taking Original Medicare.

Now we have a Kansas City carrier (they include 2 Kansas counties in their coverage area) dropping the provision of Medicare Advantage coverage.

Does this mean we are going to have to drive to Nebraska and Oklahoma to get our Medicare insured health care?

 

[StevenjKSU]

We sat in their Agency round table earlier in the year. They had a combination of problems including, but not limited to a lack of their own pharmacy benefits manager, relatively small enrollment and a lack of infrastructure to handle the workload of hunting down members when they sign up for cost smoothing and the carrier is responsible for collecting the bill.

I personally thought they would cut way back and limp along for a year or two, but I guess George Brett will have to find a new sponsorship deal.

 

[Midlevel]

Caveat, not an agent.

According to a lot of the posts I read here, the health coverage provided by a Medicare Advantage plan is irrelevant. The important consideration seems to be the millions and millions of government dollars participants in the Medicare Advantage sales chain can acquire.

I'm not sure there is a place for the moderation you propose.

Caveat, an agent who shows clients all their options and not just one.

Yep, it's irrelevant. We usually tell clients the health insurance portion of these plans are terrible, and you have very little coverage for anything. Good chance you will go broke if you have any medical claims while on this plan. You do have dental, vision, etc so what do you want to do?

I think what you are reading are the MSO posters who use these tactics to steer people away from MAPD because they don't offer them or are too lazy to do the training. Guarantee you the health benefits are superior to what most people have now with their group plan or Obamacare.

You should look at a summary of benefits sometime for MAPD's so you have a little knowledge since you like to post about these things you know nothing about. You would be shocked at how low most of the copays are with no deductible and a far better drug plan than you have now.

 

[LostDollar]

We sat in their Agency round table earlier in the year. They had a combination of problems including, but not limited to a lack of their own pharmacy benefits manager, relatively small enrollment and a lack of infrastructure to handle the workload of hunting down members when they sign up for cost smoothing and the carrier is responsible for collecting the bill.

I personally thought they would cut way back and limp along for a year or two, but I guess George Brett will have to find a new sponsorship deal.

Caveat, not an agent.

So you would see this as things like problems with organization design and administration and problems creating administrative structure to comply with new legislation within one organization rather than the sensationalism of market collapse like OP's post implies?

 

[rmhaire]

ou should look at a summary of benefits sometime for MAPD's so you have a little knowledge since you like to post about these things you know nothing about. You would be shocked at how low most of the copays are with no deductible and a far better drug plan than you have now.

Seriously? Squaring up at LD?

When it comes to Medicare, I'd put @LostDollar up against all of the OT ponies on here.

You don't have to have a license to know shit.

 

[Duaine]

 

[StevenjKSU]

Caveat, not an agent.

So you would see this as things like problems with organization design and administration and problems creating administrative structure to comply with new legislation within one organization rather than the sensationalism of market collapse like OP's post implies?

I think your summation of my view as accurate. I only saw a news release from @BALDELMO , but maybe I have someone muted or a post was edited, because I don't see any commentary.

I think agents/agencies who struggle with change will be very uncomfortable the next couple of years. I think agents/agencies who have a plan and the ability to roll with the punches have an incredible opportunity in front of them.

Anything can happen, but I suspect insurance commissions will still be paying my mortgage in 2025.

 

[LostDollar]

I think your summation of my view as accurate. I only saw a news release from @BALDELMO , but maybe I have someone muted or a post was edited, because I don't see any commentary.

I think agents/agencies who struggle with change will be very uncomfortable the next couple of years. I think agents/agencies who have a plan and the ability to roll with the punches have an incredible opportunity in front of them.

Anything can happen, but I suspect insurance commissions will still be paying my mortgage in 2025.

Caveat, not an agent.

My comment about sensationalism was based on "and so it begins" in the thread title, followed by an article citing the withdrawal of a carrier from the MA market. And this following a posted article link a few weeks back about how providers in Wichita were dropping Original Medicare.

And the thread, thread title, and presented document coming in the forum environment of threads I really, as a non agent, do not fully understand about compensation changes in the MA marketplace.

I really don't have the knowledge base to understand all the issues but your comment above seems like a calm and reasoned assessment of the situation which should be carefully considered by others and which probably could/should apply to the market for another year or two.

Appreciate you taking the time to respond.