Well said. For anyone with questions about Medicare, this is a simple and accurate description. Regarding Medicare Advantage, I imagine the federal government agreed to the insurance companies not having oversight, as they do with Medicaid, in order to get Obamacare passed. As a former government employee, I would much rather see oversight by the government along with the expense of that, than allowing insurance companies loose in the hen house.
Hi Irene - I so agree with you and thanks for the comment. Part C Medicare Advantage started before the ACA. It was probably well intended to share the risk with industry, but industry is concerned with profit, not health.
I agree that cost savings from managed care was the focus and profit is the driver of the insurance world. By over site, I mean quality of care. I see it as a continuum, problems of quality of care that were not prioritized after the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, only got worse when the door was opened to Medicare Advantage programs in 2003. By 2006 or so, it should have been obvious and addressed with the Affordable Care Act in 2010. But it was not, as far as I can tell.
Well said. For anyone with questions about Medicare, this is a simple and accurate description. Regarding Medicare Advantage, I imagine the federal government agreed to the insurance companies not having oversight, as they do with Medicaid, in order to get Obamacare passed. As a former government employee, I would much rather see oversight by the government along with the expense of that, than allowing insurance companies loose in the hen house.
Hi Irene - I so agree with you and thanks for the comment. Part C Medicare Advantage started before the ACA. It was probably well intended to share the risk with industry, but industry is concerned with profit, not health.
I agree that cost savings from managed care was the focus and profit is the driver of the insurance world. By over site, I mean quality of care. I see it as a continuum, problems of quality of care that were not prioritized after the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, only got worse when the door was opened to Medicare Advantage programs in 2003. By 2006 or so, it should have been obvious and addressed with the Affordable Care Act in 2010. But it was not, as far as I can tell.