Obama Targets Medicare Advantage (Seniors getting screwed)

The Wall Street Journal ^ | August 27, 2009 | Karl Rove

[St. Louis Conservative]

President Barack Obama was wise to vacation this week on Martha's Vineyard. Not because it's one of the few places in America where his health-care plan is still popular, but because by getting out of Washington he gave staff time to repair his vaunted message machine, which was starting to break down.

Two weeks ago, White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod said in a now legendary "viral" email that, "It's a myth that health insurance reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits." This was sent out the day before Mr. Obama told a Montana town hall that he'd pay for health-care reform by "eliminating . . . about $177 billion over 10 years" for "what's called Medicare Advantage." And it was two days before Mr. Obama told a Colorado town hall he'd cover "two-thirds" of the "roughly $900 billion" of his plan's cost by "eliminating waste," again citing Medicare Advantage.

Who's right? As a former senior adviser, I can tell you who: the president. What's more, according to a White House fact sheet titled "Paying for Health Care Reform," Mr. Axelrod was misleading his readers. It notes the administration would cut $622 billion from Medicare and Medicaid, with a big chunk coming from Medicare Advantage, to pay for overhauling health care. Mr. Obama heralded these cuts as "common sense" in his June 13 radio address.

Medicare Advantage was enacted in 2003 to allow seniors to use Medicare funds to buy private insurance plans that fit their needs and their budgets. They get better care and better value for their money.

[rovenstinez]

You mean they won’t get free Viagra?

[Nervous Tick]

Bye bye, Grandma. We love you but you're past your prime, and the elites have allocated your "interventions" elsewhere. For the good of the State, of course.

[ReneeLynn]

This guy is screwing himself and those who are agreeing with his plans, with the elderly. That is one block of voters the Dems cannot afford to lose and he’s working very hard to lose them. Despite Obamacare they’d still be around to vote in 2010 and 2012.

[Publius6961]

For the next two years it's a done deal. No Social Security cost of living increases, and an increase in medicare co-pay.

I wonder if AARP has gotten the message yet?

[ccmay]

Two weeks ago, White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod said in a now legendary "viral" email that, "It's a myth that health insurance reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits."

Heh heh. They've already lost, if they have to put out whiny denials like this.

Hey Obama, how's it feel to be punked by an unemployed housewife?

[FlingWingFlyer]

Just think! Somewhere out there are a couple of computer geeks who are going to make a lot of money with “freeinterventionscore.com”. You’ll be able to go online and find out your chances of being treated under the ObamaCare “healthcare” system.

[eyedigress]

The retirement of the Baby Boom is just under way as well. The group is now aged 45 to 63. That is a huge voting block.

[Kansas58]

I sell Medicare Advantage Plans (Part C).
I also sell Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D), and Medicare Supplement Plans.

Medicare Advantage works like this:

Medicare's cost is, roughly, $830.00 per MONTH per beneficiary. This is a 2008 figure, I believe, used to set the “capitation rate” or the “census rate” or what every you want to call the cost of Medicare divided by the number of Medicare beneficiaries. In other words, the plans DO save the government some money, in my opinion, because they look backwards for the funding amount, which is then transfered to the insurance companies if a beneficiary decides to enroll in Medicare Advantage. Any inflation for the current year is eaten, in effect, by the insurance company.

In a Medicare Advantage Plan, the government would send that $830.00 to the insurance company, in addition to sending about $91.00 of the $96.40 Medicare Part B premium to the insurance company. (Medicare Part B is means tested, the premium is not the same for everyone.)

If the beneficiary needs massive amounts of medical care, it doesn't matter, the insurance company must cover the entire loss.

Why are the plans good for Seniors?

Well, for one thing, there is usually NO PREMIUM or a very low Premium, to the Medicare beneficiary, for the plans, over and above what the government transfers to the plans on behalf of each beneficiary.

Premiums range from Zero to about $40.00 a month.

Unlike the traditional Medicare Supplement coverage, Medicare Advantage clients/beneficiaries are asked to pay more out of pocket expenses for doctors visits or hospital stays.

However, there is an “out of pocket maximum” in most of the plans, which limits the risk a great deal.

In most cases, a Medicare Supplement costs between $100.00 and $150.00 per month at age 65, for a Plan F, non smoker.

By the time the client reaches age 70, premiums might be well over $200.00 per month.

If you can get a Medicare Advantage plan, with ZERO premium, and a $2,500.00 out of pocket maximum, WHY PAY THE PREMIUM???

You are facing a GUARANTEED “loss” or expense, in premium payments, of $2,400 VS a slight possibility that you might pay a total of $2,500.00 in out of pocket expenses.

It should be noted that there is NO out of pocket limit for anyone who tries to insure themselves with Medicare, all by itself, with no supplement or MA plan.

Yes, there are some “extras” in the Medicare Advantage plans, depending on what you want. Most companies offer MAPD or Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans, where you can roll all of your insurance into one program.

Also, health clubs, some dental coverage, and some optical coverage, things you can not get in standard Medicare, are often offered in these plans.

Obama and the Marxists in Congress do not like Medicare Advantage because it is PRIVATIZED MEDICARE, and these guys are all about NATIONALIZATION, not Privatization!

[bert]

If he destroys Medicare advantage, he is harming me. Harm me, beware of harm. That goes for congress and their staffs....

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

No Social Security cost of living increases

If the cost of living hasn't gone up, why should they get a cost of living increase?

[arthurus]

The message AARP gets is not helpful for senior citizens.AARP is a Socialist activist organization that has fastened on old folks to provide their activist funding. AARP cares as much about the good of old folks in America as NOW cares about wives of Moslems. If they can’t be used to promote socialism they are not useful at all.

[SierraWasp]

"Already, an estimated 10.2 million seniors—one out of five in America—have enrolled in Medicare Advantage. Mr. Obama is proposing to cut the program by nearly 20% and thus reduce the amount of money each will have to buy insurance. This will likely force most of them to lose the insurance they have now. Yet Mr. Obama promised in late July in New Hampshire that, "if you like your health-care plan, you can keep your health-care plan."(emphasis added by me)

Despite some young twit's comment above, whose junk works like a bull in a china closet and gits all pumped up over Viagra, I'm one of those in a Medicare Advantage plan as are most of my Medicare beneficiary clients who live near metropolitan areas.

We're gonna be furious when we have to go back out and re-enroll in one of the miserable old standard "Medicare Supplement" policies that require a big monthly premium in addition to the premium for Part B and Part D already required!!!

Right now I pay only a Part B premium to the government directly from my Social Security and the first $1000 of claims which are screened and vastly reduced by Anthem Blue Cross and have several benefits that I wouldn't get at all with the standard Medicare with a standard supplement policy.

I pity Obama the moment these seniors learn the truth of this and really get screwed without any lovin, so to speak. We already know Obama doesn't need any Viagra to threaten senior's well being!!!

[Kansas58]

This is a serious issue.
Your comments show all of us how much liberals really care about the elderly: YOU DON’T!

[dalereed]

We have SCAN that's better than that.

The standard medicare deduction from Social Security covers it including Part D with no additional expense.

Primary doctors visits are $10 specialists are $25 for the first visit only, follow ups are free.

They do charge $100 for outpatient surgery but if you have an operation in the hospital there is absolutely no charge for anything.

I was in the hospital 7 days for an operation on my colon and there was no charges of any kind.

[cookcounty]

"The retirement of the Baby Boom is just under way as well. The group is now aged 45 to 63. That is a huge voting block.

Yup. With each election cycle the "senior vote" is significantly more and more important, a trend that will continue for the next 2 decades.

[MamaDearest]

For the next two years it's a done deal. No Social Security cost of living increases, and an increase in medicare co-pay.

In addition to taking it off the top of the wealthiest Americans, Obama is now taking it off the top of many of the nation's poorest. A considerable number of elderly folks depend upon their Medicare checks 100%. In my neck of the woods, city, county and state revenues are down and taxes are up in each of the forementioned. Food prices have risen dramatically, as have gas, electric and water bills. By the time all is said and done, many seasoned citizens will be hit dramatically by the loss of COLA bundled with increased Medicare premiums. How's that change working for senior citizens who voted for Obama? How's AARP defending your plight? Sighing here and praying for those independent souls who will now be very worried about their very survival (separate from the death panels).

[dalereed]

“If the cost of living hasn’t gone up”

what planet do you live on that you don’t have to heat, cool, or eat?

Those have gone up at least 20% in the last year!

[donnalee]

And here is the reason AARP supports healthcare reform, they will sell more supplemental policies. They represent themselves, not seniors!

The same thing is going on with Tricare Prime for miltary retirees under 65 that don’t live near a base. Are they trying to spread the pain and make the public beg for single payer?

[cookcounty]

"There are roughly 23,400 seniors on average in a congressional district who have Medicare Advantage, but who face losing it if Mr. Obama has his way."

To say nothing of the 17,000 per district who will lose their HSA's, for a total of 40,000 per district. Add close friends and close relatives and you're talking about 100,000 motivated voters (and typically, there are only 200,000-300,000 votes actually cast per district. Maybe Newt was right about 100+ seat pick-up.