An excellent article by Wendell Potter with Healthcare Uncovered regarding the Medicare landscape. A few key comments below from the article 👇.
"Over the past few days, both CVS/Aetna and Humana admitted to Wall Street that their Medicare Advantage plans are not nearly as profitable as those insurers had predicted a year ago. As a consequence, hundreds of thousands – and probably millions – of seniors and disabled people enrolled in Aetna’s and Humana’s plans may soon wish they had never heard of Medicare Advantage.
Sadly, most will find they’re trapped in a circle of hell created by the insurance industry, unable to stay in their current Medicare Advantage plan but also unable to return to traditional Medicare because of what for them will be unaffordable Medicare supplemental policies (most of which are sold by the same big insurers that sell MA plans). Seniors have six months from the date they’re eligible for Medicare to buy a supplemental (Medigap) policy to cover out-of-pocket expenses. If they’ve been enrolled in an MA plan longer than six months, they’ll have to go through medical underwriting. That means that if they’re being treated for much of anything or, God forbid, have a “preexisting condition,” they’ll have to pay an arm and a leg for Medigap policy.
Yet another big Medicare Advantage player, Centene, says it, too, will be cutting thousands of its enrollees adrift as it exits counties in six states. Nearly 40,000 seniors and disabled people will be affected.
#medicare #medicareadvantage #seniors #disabled #consumers #patients #insurers #volatile #profits #losses #brokers #advisors #agents
Director of Sales GoHealth
1moThis year more than ever!