Hatch Amendment to Save Advantage Defeated

[kennethbroyles]

FYI.....Hatch amendment to KEEP medicare advantage was not passed in Baccus committee today,,,, I watched some of this very interesting process. They have no clue on ether side what the main reason people we see choose a MA plan.... lets all say the answer together... they can't afford a Med Sup.

C-SPAN Video Player - Senate Finance Cmte. Health Care Markup


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[Mac1958]

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Medicare Advantage isn't going away.

Even if House Bill 3200 (the most aggressive & anti-private insurance of the current proposals) were to pass, MA reimbursements would simply be decreased over three years to regular Medicare levels. The Senate (Baucus) bill even includes what are essentially bonuses above Medicare rates for good performance. There is no proposal to eliminate Medicare Advantage as a program, despite what the politicians say (and as usual, the press isn't accurate).

This is no surprise to any of the MA companies, it's been well-known for two or three years this was coming. So, the major players are currently:

1. Continuing to find ways to cut administrative costs
2. Continuing to find ways to improve system efficiencies
3. Planning strategies to market MA products as essentially a "buy-up" from standard Medicare (which isn't much different from what already exists). No more $0 plans, but a simple alternative to the more costly Medicare Supplements.

As I've been saying since I've been on this board, the end result here will probably be MA HMO's typically around $40-$60, MA PPO's typically around $60-$90, and Medicare Supplements plus PDP's anywhere from $125 to $300. A simple spectrum of plans and benefit levels, like pretty much every other insurance product, that's it.

And like any other insurance product, a responsible independent agent should probably be aware of, and prepared to offer, the full menu of choices based on the specific needs of their particular client. It's like life insurance - it's best to at least be knowledgeable on Term, Whole Life, and UL. Agents need to stay educated & flexible. If they don't, the next agent their prospect sees will.

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