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This is a problem with "Medicare Advantage", which is an HMO scheme. The Government pays the HMO a flat fee per patient, and they try to minimize expenses. Don'

This is a problem with "Medicare Advantage", which is an HMO scheme. The Government pays the HMO a flat fee per patient, and they try to minimize expenses. Don't take that route. For now, "Traditional Medicare" plus a commercial supplement is a far safer deal. However, this may change. See [1], p. 465, which proposes to make "Medicare Advantage" the default. "Medicare Advantage (MA), a system of competing private health plans, is the major alternative to traditional Medicare for America’s large and growing cohort of seniors. The program provides beneficiaries with a wide range of competitive health plan choices—a richer set of benefits than traditional Medicare provides and at a reasonable cost. Equally as important, the MA program has been registering consistently high marks for superior performance in delivering high-quality care. Critical reforms are still needed to strengthen and improve the program for the future. Specifically: 1. Make Medicare Advantage the default enrollment option. ... " [1] https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_CHAPTER-14.pdf https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_CHA...

bry4n 2y ago
may i ask if you could explain in more details why medicare advantage is a bad choice to make if a person is already on regular medicare? assume that the person trying to make this decision is stubborn and not informed about the differences. thanks, i appreciate it.
- Animats 2y ago
  Claim denial, pre-authorization problems, delays, and out of network problems, mostly.[1] Medicare Advantage is an HMO. If you can afford a good Medicare supplement (type F if you can get it), and can cover eyeglasses and hearing aids yourself, that's the most comprehensive coverage. But it will cost more. [1] https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/medicare/medicare-advantage-plans-prior-authorization-denial-rates https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/medicare/medicare-advan...
  - tzs 2y ago
    Plan G is probably better than plan F for most people now. The only coverage difference between the two is that plan F covers the Medicare part B deductible ($257 this year) and plan G does not. Plan F is not open to new enrollees in less they were eligible for Medicare before 2000-01-01 and so the pool of people with plan F is shrinking and aging. Plan G on the other hand is open to all, and is the most popular choice for new Medicare enrollees with something like 70% of the people who buy a supplement plan choosing it. That gives it a younger and growing pool. Accordingly plan G is generally cheaper than plan F which is usually more than enough to make up for not covering the $257 deductible. G just needs to be at least $21.42 month cheaper than F to come out ahead which is the case in a few sates I looked at.

bry4n 2y ago

may i ask if you could explain in more details why medicare advantage is a bad choice to make if a person is already on regular medicare? assume that the person trying to make this decision is stubborn and not informed about the differences. thanks, i appreciate it.

Animats 2y ago
Claim denial, pre-authorization problems, delays, and out of network problems, mostly.[1] Medicare Advantage is an HMO. If you can afford a good Medicare supplement (type F if you can get it), and can cover eyeglasses and hearing aids yourself, that's the most comprehensive coverage. But it will cost more. [1] https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/medicare/medicare-advantage-plans-prior-authorization-denial-rates https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/medicare/medicare-advan...
- tzs 2y ago
  Plan G is probably better than plan F for most people now. The only coverage difference between the two is that plan F covers the Medicare part B deductible ($257 this year) and plan G does not. Plan F is not open to new enrollees in less they were eligible for Medicare before 2000-01-01 and so the pool of people with plan F is shrinking and aging. Plan G on the other hand is open to all, and is the most popular choice for new Medicare enrollees with something like 70% of the people who buy a supplement plan choosing it. That gives it a younger and growing pool. Accordingly plan G is generally cheaper than plan F which is usually more than enough to make up for not covering the $257 deductible. G just needs to be at least $21.42 month cheaper than F to come out ahead which is the case in a few sates I looked at.