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Cleita

(75,480 posts)
16. If you have to travel interstate like my DH and I did, the MA's will mostly not
Fri Aug 8, 2014, 04:13 PM
Aug 2014

pay until your primary care signs off of it. If you, like me who had Kaiser, when I was working in Idaho, where there is no Kaiser, I had to pay out of pocket cuz, I had no Medicare coverage there. With traditional Medicare, you are covered no matter which state you are in. MA only pays for emergencies and only if you call first for authorization. I had to call for an ambulance for my husband, who was having a stroke, from a pay phone alongside a Hwy. Needless to say, I couldn't call their bureaucratic office first for permission. That's how we got stuck with a $10,000 Bill.

Not only that, when we returned home, my DH's primary care stopped taking the plan for non-payment and no other doctor in the area was either. This was Blue Cross that my husband had. I had the Kaiser. It was basically another useless POS from our insurance industry, but good for them to put their greedy paws into the Medicare fund.

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Truthfully, traditional Medicare ain't treating patients well. Co-pays, no out-of-pocket cap, Hoyt Aug 2014 #1
So what do Medicare Advantage plans do to deserve getting paid an extra 14% eridani Aug 2014 #2
donate bribes...errr campaign contributions to dems and repubs alike who allow this? nt msongs Aug 2014 #3
I'm shocked! SHOCKED!!! that you would say such a cruel thing! eridani Aug 2014 #4
You don't think your doctor, hospital, chiropractor, etc., is ontributing either directly and/or Hoyt Aug 2014 #6
Most importantly, they cap the out-of-pocket costs beneficiaries are subject to. Next, they provide Hoyt Aug 2014 #5
Lucky you if you can get Kaiser because most providers won't take advantage plans. Cleita Aug 2014 #8
How do you determine who is a good doc -- they have a pretty office, drive a nice car, have certain Hoyt Aug 2014 #12
I'm all for stopping it and using the money to fully fund Medicare so we old farts don't Cleita Aug 2014 #7
Problem is, the government isn't going to take that money and "fully fund Medicare." Hoyt Aug 2014 #9
Advantage programs, which privatize a single payer system, suck. Cleita Aug 2014 #10
The "right Congress" can do a lot of things. But, "right Congress" ain't close despite our efforts. Hoyt Aug 2014 #11
If you have to travel interstate like my DH and I did, the MA's will mostly not Cleita Aug 2014 #16
Very sorry you had such a bad experience. You can have it with traditional Medicare too. Hoyt Aug 2014 #17
I really can't afford it because I'm only on SS but I do without other Cleita Aug 2014 #18
+1! SammyWinstonJack Aug 2014 #13
The real reason for Medicare Advantage meow2u3 Aug 2014 #14
Yeah, those 15.5 million that choose it year-after-year are all suckers. Hoyt Aug 2014 #15
Yes, they are. With health care you don't find out that you are screwn until eridani Aug 2014 #19
Get expensively sick on traditional Medicare and you better have an expensive supplemental policy. Hoyt Aug 2014 #20
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