Over the years, I have necessarily had to learn a great deal about insurance. The necessity is born both from having to give guidance to my patients who are trying to navigate this complicated topic as well as making sure my business is positioned properly to survive. One type of plan that often causes mis-understandings are the Medicare Advantage plans (sometimes called Medicare Part C). These plans privatize the Medicare part B benefit, often rolling other benefits into the plan including a prescription drug plan like Medicare Part D at a lower cost to the patient.
These plans can be very attractive to certain patients eligible for Medicare, and these plans do offer some interesting benefits. But I have always been a little wary of these plans. If something seems too good to be true, then there probably is something being left out or not explicitly advertised. I always caution my patients considering these plans to research their decision well before signing up.
As it turns out, these plans may very well be gaming the Medicare system. In a recent report from Morningstar, insurers offering these plans are intentionally shuffling patients between plans in order to maximize performance incentives offered by Medicare. Read more about this practice, called crosswalking by following this link.