Warning to Medicare Advantage Plan Buyers
On Monday, the New York Times ran a very good story about Medicare Advantage Plans. Medicare Advantage Plans are a type of health plan sold by private insurance companies. The plans are associated with Medicare. It seems that seniors across the country have been swindled into signing away their Medicare benefits by enrolling in a Medicare Advantage Plan. There were cases that the seniors did not have an idea how the Medicare Advantage Plans worked, and in others, did not even realize that the insurance agents had signed them up for the plan.
The insurance companies that sell these long term care plans have been accused of several bad practices, including:
Deceptive marketing strategies that does not make any clear difference between Medicare and Medicare Advantage The targeting of uninformed seniors in the low-income areas by pushy agents with hard-sell techniques Outsourcing customer service to overseas call centers, whose employees have substandard knowledge of the complex Medicare system. Insurance agencies with Medicare Advantage Plans undergo a greater amount of scrutiny than they have in the past, and it seems to be effective and helping them a little. Kerry N. Weems, the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, says, ” There are substantially fewer violations, and those violations are of substantially lower severity than in previous marketing periods. “
Medicare Advantage programs can help some consumers to finance their long term care, but these plans are not for everyone. 1There are factors to consider before signing up for any type of Medicare Advantage Plan. Here are a few of the most essential issues:
Make sure your doctor(s) and local hospital are listed within insurance company’s network of providers. Medigap policies become null and void once you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan. If you already have a Medigap policy, you will need to cancel it once the coverage begins with a Medicare Advantage Plan to avoid paying twice.
Remember that Medicare Advantage plans vary greatly. You are giving up all rights to your existing Medicare policy, so remember to pick a plan that will meet your future continuous care needs as well as your current ones. Read the fine print. This is an important decision, so don’t be in a hurry! We live in a society where the buyer must beware. If you want, call your parents tonight! Make sure that they know about the issues surrounding Medicare Advantage Plans. That phone call could be the one thing that saves them from making;or worse yet, being pushed into;a decision that isn;t right for them. You don;t even want to think about the alternative!
