Hidden Costs of Medicare Advantage Plans

http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=10594

Hidden Costs of Medicare Advantage Plans
October 15, 2009 — Ron Chusid

The Medicare Advantage plans were set up by George Bush to reward the insurance companies for their contributions. The plans pay large subsidies to care for Medicare patients. As a result, it takes from 13 percent to 19 percent more to care for patients in Medicare Advantage plans than in the government Medicare program. Most of this extra money goes to increase profits for the insurance companies. Some plans use a portion of the money to provide benefits such as health club memberships.

These extra benefits often don’t turn out to be a good deal for patients. Many don’t use the exercise programs, and often patients in Medicare plans do have access to exercise facilities. I’ve had patients who signed up for Medicare Advantage plans which promised dental benefits only to find that there weren’t any dentists in the area who actually accepted the plan.

Health insurance plans should be judged primarily on their health care benefits, but often the extra benefits are offset by higher out of pocket expenses for routine health care. For example, Medicare patients who do not have a secondary insurance pay 20 percent of Medicare allowed amounts for office calls. Many Medicare Advantage plans have copays of $15 to $30 which exceed the 20 percent Medicare copay. There is no copay for laboratory testing in the government Medicare program but some Medicare Advantage plans do have a copy for lab work.

The Washington Post has an article on the hidden costs of the “free” perks from Medicare Advantage plans:

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See the article for additional interesting info.