Medicare Advantage Plans To Be Squeezed Next Year, Reduce Benefits

[Northeast Agent]

Medicare Advantage Plans To Be Squeezed Next Year, Reduce Benefits

Medicare Advantage plans are likely to have big changes in 2025, raising premiums and out-of-pocket costs while reducing benefits.

www.forbes.com

Yes, we all know BUT:

Medicare officials also are making tweaks in what the program covers that aren’t widely announced.

For example, the program recently said that in most cases it no longer will pay for blood tests that can detect early signs an organ transplant is being rejected by the patient’s body. Instead, patients have to wait until there are enough symptoms to warrant a biopsy, according to recent editorials in The Wall Street Journal.

 

[scagnt83]

Score a win for privatization of our health care. Those better outcomes just keep stacking up.

 

[somarco]

From the Forbes article . . .

Medicare Advantage plans are popular because for relatively healthy beneficiaries, out-of-pocket costs usually are lower than for a package of original Medicare coupled with Medicare supplement insurance and Part D prescription drug insurance.

I hate it when rookies can't report simple things correctly. The writer doesn't even have to understand these policies to get it right. Clearly he does not understand what he is writing.

 

[rousemark]

From the Forbes article . . .

Medicare Advantage plans are popular because for relatively healthy beneficiaries, out-of-pocket costs usually are lower than for a package of original Medicare coupled with Medicare supplement insurance and Part D prescription drug insurance.

I hate it when rookies can't report simple things correctly. The writer doesn't even have to understand these policies to get it right. Clearly he does not understand what he is writing.

He must be considering preium as of pocket costs and the client being in an upper age bracket.

 

[somarco]

The author's bio according to the link . . .

I am the editor of Retirement Watch, a monthly newsletter and web site I founded in 1990. I research and write about all the financial issues of retirement and retirement planning, for both those planning retirement and already retired. I cover estate planning, Medicare, long-term care, income taxes, IRA strategies, annuities, investments, and more. Trained as an attorney and accountant, I use independent, objective research and don’t rely on rules of thumb, conventional wisdom, or biased research.

If true, then he needs to learn to write with more clarity . . .

He comes across as an ***.

 

[Fisher]

From the Forbes article . . .

Medicare Advantage plans are popular because for relatively healthy beneficiaries, out-of-pocket costs usually are lower than for a package of original Medicare coupled with Medicare supplement insurance and Part D prescription drug insurance.

I hate it when rookies can't report simple things correctly. The writer doesn't even have to understand these policies to get it right. Clearly he does not understand what he is writing.

Well, he's not lying, though. If by 'relatively healthy' he means a person who sees a doctor once or twice a year.

 

[InsuranceGuy29]

Score a win for privatization of our health care. Those better outcomes just keep stacking up.

I mean, the better health outcomes are true. More like, score a "win" for the garbage Biden administration who just costed people more money with less benefits. As always, sticking their face in places it knows nothing about and causing chaos. Let's not forget why this is the way it is. Medicare Advantage is also FAR from complete privatization of healthcare/Medicare. There are a bazillion governmental rules to play by. Sure it's administered by private health companies but not without abiding by all those rules.

 

[scagnt83]

I mean, the better health outcomes are true. More like, score a "win" for the garbage Biden administration who just costed people more money with less benefits. As always, sticking their face in places it knows nothing about and causing chaos. Let's not forget why this is the way it is. Medicare Advantage is also FAR from complete privatization of healthcare/Medicare. There are a bazillion governmental rules to play by. Sure it's administered by private health companies but not without abiding by all those rules.

MA has better outcomes than Traditional Medicare? You keep telling yourself that.

All we do is add extra profit margins that pad the pockets of billionaires.

The same result could be achieved without having 10 layers of profit margins built into the system.

---

Politicians suddenly gave billions in subsidies to private insurers, and created "zero premium" MA plans.

It created a windfall of profits for these private companies.

The owners of those private companies who reaped that windfall, gave tens of millions to the exact same politicians, who created the windfall in profits for them.

If you dont see an issue with that. Then you are brainwashed.

I am not against private enterprise within the health care system.
But from an insurance carrier standpoint, it has proved to be nothing more than a cash grab.

Insurers claim they keep costs down, study after study shows otherwise. And of course they do, because they have zero incentive to keep costs down, and a HUGE incentive to drive them up.

 

[gregj]

meanwhile, Modern Healthcare's reporting some insurers may increase benefits thanks to revisions & re-running of star rating computations:

Elevance, Aetna among insurers to benefit from higher star ratings (6/17 MH)

so confusing....

 

[InsuranceGuy29]

MA has better outcomes than Traditional Medicare? You keep telling yourself that.

All we do is add extra profit margins that pad the pockets of billionaires.

The same result could be achieved without having 10 layers of profit margins built into the system.

---

Politicians suddenly gave billions in subsidies to private insurers, and created "zero premium" MA plans.

It created a windfall of profits for these private companies.

The owners of those private companies who reaped that windfall, gave tens of millions to the exact same politicians, who created the windfall in profits for them.

If you dont see an issue with that. Then you are brainwashed.

I am not against private enterprise within the health care system.
But from an insurance carrier standpoint, it has proved to be nothing more than a cash grab.

Insurers claim they keep costs down, study after study shows otherwise. And of course they do, because they have zero incentive to keep costs down, and a HUGE incentive to drive them up.

No I’m not “telling myself that.” If you did some research you’d see it’s an actual fact. And a 3% profit for administering an entire Medicare program for tons of seniors in the country, with most benefits having to go to the beneficiary BY LAW? I also see literally nothing wrong with
that as well. Otherwise what’s the point? A company has to make SOME profit. GOD FORBID! Clutch those pearls! I’m sure you, Mr. Charity, would wake up and go to work for free tomorrow. Also, care to chime in on the $60 billion dollars YEARLY that is wasted on fraud, waste, and abuse on original Medicare because there’s no oversight at all? Because if we’re gonna bring up costs, that MASSIVE amount is somehow always conveniently left out.