Medicare Advantage plans have to provide at least a government defined baseline of service, but they can jiggle things around to offer better coverage for some

Medicare Advantage plans have to provide at least a government defined baseline of service, but they can jiggle things around to offer better coverage for some things (like lower copay on medicine for chronic conditions) at the expense of others (doctors in network). So basically what happened is these seniors wanted the better benefits when younger and then didn’t want them when they were older because their health status changed. To me it seems like a bit “get your cake and eat it too”. What they want to do is get the benefits that traditional Medicare doesn’t provide, then later switch and get the benefits that Medicare Advantage doesn’t provide. Problem is that it’s two different insurers, so the risk pool is separate. The 2nd insurer (Medigap) is basically saying “hey, you haven’t been paying into our plan all this time, so we can’t take you on now, with much higher expected payouts, without increasing your premium substantially”. It’s not that different than Americans who elect NOT to get Medicare when they hit 65 (thus saving on premiums) then later on complain they have to pay a penalty when they decide they suddenly want it at 75. I mean this seems like a “buyer beware” situation. When you’re selecting Medicare Advantage or traditional Medicare, plan for the long haul. Don’t just think about which one is better for you right now.