OT:::::Medicare Advantage plans "are taking over Medicare and they are taking advantage of elderly patients,"

[SleepGeek]

This just on the news...

“They don’t want to reimburse for anything — deny, deny, deny,” Dr. Kenneth Williams, CEO of Alliance HealthCare, said of Medicare Advantage plans. “They are taking over Medicare and they are taking advantage of elderly patients.”

Some 31 million Americans have Medicare Advantage plans, private-sector alternatives to Medicare introduced in 2003 by Congress to encourage greater efficiency in health care. Just over half of Americans on Medicare are enrolled in one of the plans offered by large insurance companies, including UnitedHealthcare and Humana.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/rejectin ... cna121012

[Grumpy48]

Came across this YouTube video a few days ago. I switched to supplement plan about 5 years and glad I did.

https://youtu.be/vn2k1W-JzB8

[SleepGeek]

Came across this YouTube video a few days ago. I switched to supplement plan about 5 years and glad I did.

https://youtu.be/vn2k1W-JzB8

Excellent video. Wish I could give it a *Like*.

Be sure to watch the last 5 min. where he mentions the times you cannot change from an Advantage Plan. Worth knowing.

[Pugsy]

This topic doesn't relate to cpap, OSA or apnea.
It is off topic...leave it noted as OT please.

If you remove my edit of your topic again....I will remove the whole damn topic/thread.

You are borderline spamming about this topic. I will remove spam.

Stuff that is off topic needs to be suitably noted in case someone doesn't want to read it.
One warning only.

[LSAT]

The Advantage Plans vary by zip code. We have had ours for over 10 years and love it. My wife just ordered new glasses....Retail was $179 for frame and $85 for the lens...Our cost..$0. Most of our Meds are $0 cost.

[Applecheeks]

The Advantage Plans vary by zip code.

And they also vary year to year. And that can be a problem for some folks who are in communities with limited choices in practioners (think rural communities).
Just because your Advantage doc is in network this year does not assure that he will be in network next year.

MA is great for some folks who find that their docs and hospitals are "in network" and have agreed to accept reimbursement that is lower than traditional Medicare. But for those folks who need the freedom to choose (and change) their doctors at will, MA can turn out to be a real financial pitfall.

MA is pretty much HMO for the elderly.

[Grumpy48]

I realize this post was deemed 'OT', but I was thinking it was relevant to CPAP in the sense that are Medicare Advantage plans possibly making the decisions on sleep studies and what equipment might be dispensed by DME's. I have seen a few posts here that hinted a few DME's may be pushing less expensive CPAP machines and I wonder if it's the MA plans that are behind that(?)

[lazarus]

I think the "OT" designation helps. But I have appreciated reading the discussions on these matters for U.S. posters. Certainly more informative, on both sides of the issue, than the blasted millions of commercials on it all. Open enrollment has become the worst non-holiday season of the year!!

[chunkyfrog]

There would be no problem at all if the entire pricess was TRANSPARENT,
and providers were PUNISHED for all the LYING they do.

[lazarus]

There would be no problem at all if the entire pricess was TRANSPARENT,
and providers were PUNISHED for all the LYING they do.

The entire US economy is built on lying, though. If everyone told the truth, no one would ever buy anything.

Recently I caught a salesman in an obvious lie and pointed it out to him. He just smiled at me and said, "Well, that's the retail business!"

[ChicagoGranny]

The entire US economy is built on lying, though.

Are you that cynical in real life, or do you just engage in cynical hyperbole on the internet?

[lazarus]

The entire US economy is built on lying, though.

Are you that cynical in real life, or do you just engage in cynical hyperbole on the internet?

Buy this bridge, and I'll tell you.

https://www.business.com/public-relatio ... ness-lies/

[ChicagoGranny]

Ok, it's the former. I'll tread lightly. Bye.

[lazarus]

Ok, it's the former. I'll tread lightly. Bye.

Be yourself, Gran. It's all good.

I'm a trust-but-verify kind of guy who is willing occasionally to invest heavy in long-track-record-large-cap-high-value dividend stocks when the research numbers are good enough.

Yes, I do lean to the cynical side when assessing corporate behavior, so you called it well. Individual business people, on the other hand, generally get an initial benefit of the doubt from me one on one, though. It is much how I tend to smile at an oncoming individual in the street but am particularly wary of groups that appear prone to unpredictable mob behavior.

Didn't mean to offend. Sorry.

[stevenal]

Came across this YouTube video a few days ago. I switched to supplement plan about 5 years and glad I did.

https://youtu.be/vn2k1W-JzB8

Excellent video. Wish I could give it a *Like*.

Be sure to watch the last 5 min. where he mentions the times you cannot change from an Advantage Plan. Worth knowing.

Thanks Grumpy, very informative. I've started checking out his other videos too.

As to the last 5 minutes, it would appear you can change if you pass the underwriting step. So to bring this closer to being on-topic: Will diagnosis of OSA prevent one from obtaining insurance? Or be a strike against you along with some of the other common afflictions affecting us and lead to denial?. High blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia, and atherosclerosis come to mind. Has anyone here been denied coverage and why?