Eliz. Warren Report Exposes Insurance Industry Ploy to 'Scam Millions of Seniors'

[appalachiablue]

- Private insurance giants are offering luxury vacations and other incentives for agents to "push seniors into the most expensive Medigap plans," the Massachusetts senator found. - Common Dreams, March 2, 2023. Ed.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a report Wednesday highlighting the splashy incentives—from luxury vacations to cash bonuses—that private insurance companies offer agents and brokers for enrolling seniors in potentially higher-cost Medigap plans. Medigap is federally regulated supplemental health insurance offered by for-profit companies such as UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and Aetna. According to Warren, the Medigap marketplace is rife with "incentive trips and other perks for brokers and agents" who—in pursuit of such rewards—could be motivated to

"push seniors into the most expensive Medigap plans, regardless of whether those plans meet their needs."

The senator found that the estimated 32 private companies that entice agents with vacations and other incentives to boost Medigap sales provided the supplemental insurance to around 6.6 million people in the U.S. in 2021 and raked in nearly $16 billion in premiums from beneficiaries that year. Warren acknowledged that her report "may underestimate the prevalence of incentives and rewards in the Medigap insurance industry" given that insurers and third-party companies are often not transparent about their incentive practices. In a statement, Warren lamented the weak federal and state regulations that are giving insurance giants "free rein to scam millions of seniors in Medigap, offering agents lavish vacations to steer unknowing beneficiaries into more expensive plans."

"Regulators must act to make sure seniors aren't getting fleeced," said Warren, who noted that around 40% of Medigap enrollees had less than $40,000 in annual income in 2018. The senator's report highlights several specific examples of the kinds of perks agents and brokers are being offered to peddle Medigap plans, which are often used to supplement traditional Medicare coverage." Mutual of Omaha offered brokers and agents selling Medigap plans this year a chance to earn a 'Sunny San Diego trip' that included 'airfare, one double-occupancy standard hotel room, two hosted receptions, cash allowance, and airport transfers for two people,'" the report notes.

"Cigna is currently offering brokers & agents the chance to 'earn the sales reward trip of a lifetime' to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands for sales made between Sept. 2022 & Feb. 2023."

Seniors receive much of their information about Medigap plans—which vary widely in price—from insurance agents motivated by undisclosed incentives, Warren's report notes, a dynamic that could be leading unsuspecting seniors to purchase higher-premium plans that they believe are best suited to their individual needs.. Warren attached her report to a letter urging Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and the head of the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners to "act as quickly as possible to end health insurers' promises of lavish vacations & other incentives to insurance agents and brokers in exchange for selling Medigap plans to seniors."...https://www.commondreams.org/news/warren-insurance-medigap-scam

[elleng]

1. SAD/BAD news.

I'm so fortunate, my 'gap' is from retired and widowed federal employees Health Benefits Plan.

[SheltieLover]

2. Contact your local council on aging. They will provide pricing & it varies widely

Every Medigap Plan in each category must offer identical coverage, yet pricing ranged from nearly $300/mo to $125/mo.

Mine is with Farm Bureau insurance & is not a scam.

[appalachiablue]

4. Good info., thanks much!

[SheltieLover]

5. Yw!

[SheltieLover]

7. Council on aging will also find best Part D pricing

Part D is so confusing because it is not uniform coverage.

But they will help find best price for the rxs one needs to take.

I don't have Part D.

[ShazzieB]

10. I did not know this!

Every Medigap Plan in each category must offer identical coverage, yet pricing ranged from nearly $300/mo to $125/mo.

All Medigap plans kin each category has to offer identical coverage? Good to know. Now I just need to find out what these categories are!

My husband is going to retire one of these days, and I figure we'll have to buy a Medigap plan at that point (since posts here at DU have warned against Advantage plans and scared me off from seriously considering one of those). I don't really know what they cover and was dreading trying to sort it all out, but it sound like the main thing I need to find out is what's covered in each category and which category is the best fit for our needs, right?

Thanks for this info, SheltieLover.

[progree]

13. In all states and territories there is a SHIP organization -

What Is a SHIP and How Can It Help Me?, National Council on Aging
https://www.ncoa.org/article/what-is-a-state-health-insurance-assistance-program-and-how-can-it-help-me

State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) offer free and unbiased insurance counseling and assistance to Medicare-eligible individuals, their families, and caregivers.

SHIP counselors are highly trained and certified to help you understand Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug coverage, supplemental insurance options (Medigap), and long-term care insurance.

As needed, they can also refer you to agencies such as the Social Security Administration and State Medicaid offices for more help.

https://www.shiphelp.org/

In Minnesota, the SHIP organization is the Senior Linkage Line

I have a Medigap plan, also called Medicare Supplement

Also a good place to get the basics (and the details) is medicare.gov --
https://www.medicare.gov/medigap-supplemental-insurance-plans/#/m/?year=2023&lang=en

[area51]

3. Until Medicare is fixed to be comprehensive, this is going to continue to happen. n/t

[Maraya1969]

6. These people call and text me just like other scammers.

[slightlv]

8. And I have to wonder...

when trying to backstep away from getting snagged Medicare Advantage and back to regular Medicare, was I being quoted these extravagant costs for Medigap? I mean, I knew it was going to be higher than if I hadn't been roped and lasso'ed by MA, and I knew I was going to be paying for the rest of my lap because of that mistake. But this information really makes my blood boil.

There has GOT to be a major change done here. We HAVE to kick out ALL these "for profit" crap artists out of our senior healthcare. There must be "Medicare" that handles everything. Seniors diminish over time... duh! I'm NOT saying that's what happened to me. I had two diminishing seniors to take care of and make decisions for at the same time my husband and I came of age. I reached out for help and got taken advantage of... all the while saying "I don't want to make decisions and sign up for anything AT THIS TIME"... the damn broker just flat out took advantage and lied his way into a commission. What else do you expect in this day and age. I even called HIS boss and complained and got blown off. Which leads me to believe I'm not the first he's done this to!

There is no way the way we are treated is fair, and it's all greed based. We should never have to deal with the greed mongers in the first place, but especially not when the marbles start falling OUT of our head faster than the knowledge level is kept in! That's just flat out cruel!

Furthermore, with the way the for profit healthcare companies treat everyone, there shouldn't be "for profit healthcare" IMNSHO. Healthcare is something you can't live without. Therefore, it shouldn't be "for profit"... I say it should be public... like a utility. We all pay into it all our working life, and then you use those $$$ when you need them as you age, like with Medicare. Medicare for all!

[Grins]

9. Not sure I agree with this one...

I was in sales for decades and almost every company I worked for had sales incentive programs. To include quota club trips to wonderful places.

Selling something you know would exceed their needs or means is another story.

[Skittles]

15. so I'm just curious

they are literally enticed to sell overpriced crap to seniors for a free trip to wherever? That's just plain wrong.

[ancianita]

11. Sen Warren? This isn't a ploy or scam. This is organized racketeering, covered by RICO law.

These seniors are not the clients.
This is the coordinated overbilling racket by middlemen to fleece the actual client -- Medicare and the United States government.

When money goes from one entity to another, the patient is not the client, only the conduit and pretext for siphoning off Medicare funds. When the patient gets healthcare, the contract is fulfilled. This situation is not that at all.

The Department of Justice should investigate Warren's list of middelemen, charge them with defrauding the government by misrepresenting vacation services as health services to unsuspecting seniors who only want actual health care for their actual bodies.

These corporations are contemptuous of government, want to end it along with benefits for any seniors -- so they set up their "catch me if you can" rackets and dare government to do anything about it.

[NNadir]

12. I got my plan through the American Chemical Society. It's very affordable, with excellent coverage.

I'm very happy with it, small copays.

It actually beat my company's health insurance plan in terms of cost and benefits, so I switched.

[TeamProg]

14. K&R

[Delphinus]

16. I was

taken aback by what is needed when you retire and go onto Medicare.

Hubby and I had gone to a seminar by an insurance broker and had an idea what we were looking for. I could NOT figure out how to get Plan D - drug coverage - and somehow I entered my phone and within seconds I received a phone call from an agent. She was very nice, professional, knew the drill. I had planned on Medicare Part B - no advantage plan - and the agent started talking about the Medicare Supplement (Medigap), the Hearing, Vision, Dental plan (about $35 per month), the Critical Illness policy (around $30 per month), and then Drug Coverage ($10 per month). I was speechless!

The money for the Medicare Supplement was $90 per month! That's on top of whatever we are going to pay for Part B. And any other of the policies.

I really thought I could get Part A, Part B, and Part D and not need anything else. How are folks supposed to receive Social Security, pay taxes on it, and then pay for all these other things????

WHY do we need Medigap?