Why are some trustees so mean?

[justbroke]

Mensa... you forgot to mention that there will probably be 4-6 years in litigation caused by the laws that go into affect in the next 4-6 years. So I'm thinking that it will be 12 years before we "know" what the real affect is.

[tigergem]

As to Medicare Adv plans, if someone doesn't check to see that their doctors are accepted by the plan, in advance, then they have no business signing up for MA to begin with. Just a fact.

Oh you say that like it is a simple thing. Even if a MA PPO that says you can see "ANY DOCTOR", in network, out of network, it'll be covered, doesn't matter. Checking to see that your doctor will be covered by the plan is not the problem. It doesn't mean "ANY DOCTOR" accepts that plan. So "checking" means you have to call every doctor you plan to go to, and find out from them if they will accept it. So what if you have 5 different doctors and 3 say yes, and 2 say no? Especially when you live in a rural area, that really makes things tough. Oh and hope you never ever have to travel and might have to see a doctor you had no clue existed so that you could call them ahead of time to ask, too. I had one doctor last year was actually listed in the plan provider book, and when I got to the office was told "the insurance company made a mistake, we don't accept that one", after driving 2 1/2 hours to get there. Oh but then guess what? They billed the insurance anyway, and got paid anyway.

What's more, medicare doesn't tell you any of this ahead of time, and neither do any of the PPOs. And some of MA providers guard their provider lists like it is a matter of national security until after you sign up. This is all stuff you have to find out on your own as you go through the process.

And you still have to pick a supplemental Part D drug plan! Is that easy? No, of course not. You have to access to the plan "formularies" (which they may or may not make available) to find out if and how much of your prescriptions each plan will cover. Or just take a stab in the dark and hope for the best!

Believe me, filing bankruptcy pro se was much easier than dealing with medicare!

[justbroke]

Believe me, filing bankruptcy pro se was much easier than dealing with medicare!

Wow.

[ejhamilton]

That doesn't surprise me. I worked for Humana and dealt with Medicare members every day, all day long. I worked for the mail order pharmacy call center and got yelled at by my supervisor for trying to explain how the benefits & the gap worked to these members. They don't care to take the time to fully explain the good & bad. They just tell enough to make the sale. Made me sick, so I quit.