The Scams of Medicare

I have been researching supplemental Medicare policies the last three weeks and it is extremely hard to get accurate information and not to feel like I am being scammed. This lack of accurate information is just driving me up the wall because as a consumer I insist on knowing how something works before I invest in it. I have all kinds of handouts from Oregon's Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance (SHIBA) that explain the different types of health plans. And since I have ongoing health problems it would be crazy for me not to be knowledgeable. A mistake can potentially cause me hundreds (see this post from last week) if not thousands of dollars. However, I can't write a post about Medicare without saying fucking this or freaking that I am so aggravated, but that is just the way it is. Take it or leave it.

There are several types of policies you can buy to add extra coverage to the minimalist care of just plain medicare Parts A and B. What policy works for you depends on variables such as your income, any other existing health care policies you might have from an employer, union, etc., what prescription drugs you take, and so on and so forth...

The several types of policies are supplemental or gap policies and then there are Medicare Health plans which include HMO's Risk HMO's, PPO's and Private Fee for Service Plans. It's complicated and not all plans have the Part D drug benefit.

I am starting to think I am victim of a hard sell on the plan I just signed up for but they did cover 100% of all my drugs and the copays for docs are $10 and copays for specialists are $15. Apparenlty many seniors are getting scammed into the fee for service type plans. I was warned not to joing this type of plan because many doctors do not accept these plans.

These “private fee-for-service plans” allow patients to go to any doctor or hospital that will provide care on terms set by the insurer. In most cases, no one manages the care. And some patients have found that they have less access to care, because their doctors refuse to take patients in private fee-for-service plans.

Moreover, those plans may be more expensive than traditional Medicare for some patients, because the co-payments for some services may be higher. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission says that the cost to the government is also higher because it pays the private fee-for-service plans, on average, 19 percent more than the cost of traditional Medicare. NTY Link

Just one more example of the complexities of Medicare and why we need to simplify coverage.