7 Questions to Ask to Protect Yourself from Medicare Advantage Scams: Open Enroll Oct 15- Dec 7

[Silent Type]

7. Traditional Medicare with Medigap and drug plan is way to go IF you can afford it. Unfortunately, if you can't afford

$200 a month for MediGap and $40 or so a month drug plan, MA is about the only option unless you qualify for Medicaid.

And, giving up $1500 a year in dental coverage, $300 a year for OTC meds and food, meals for a few weeks after a major surgical procedure, etc., is tough for someone living on $1500 a month.

That's why over 50% of Medicare beneficiaries now select Medicare Advantage.

It's good Daily Kos, CommonDreams, etc., are here to tell all those people how stupid they are. [Do I need a sarcasm thingy?]

PS: I hate the ads too. But once about 60% of Medicare beneficiaries have MA, companies will cut back on advertising because they've captured the market of people who feel MA is best for them. And, you can bet any future attempts to improve Medicare will have to involve these type plans, or it will be a non-starter for enough Congresspeople to block legislation. So, we'll all go nuts -- railing against the damn insurance companies -- and 20 years from now we'll still be sitting here in the same situation as now.

Oh, for those who dislike prior-authorizations, traditional Medicare is now requiring authorization for these procedures, with more on-line for future.
https://www.cms.gov/data-research/monitoring-programs/medicare-fee-service-compliance-programs/prior-authorization-and-pre-claim-review-initiatives/prior-authorization-certain-hospital-outpatient-department-opd-services