There must be a tremendous amount of profit for vendors of Medicare Advantage Plans!

[athena53]

I have a neighbor that works receiving calls about medicare benefits. I ask her about the commercials touting $0 copays, free dental, free rides, etc, etc, she says some of that is true... but you must also be on Medicaid for those benefits touted.

I thought there was a reason I pay premiums of $336.50 a month!

Does she work for the SHIP hotline? My friend does and he gets a lot of of calls from people very disappointed by Medicare Advantage. Plenty of threads on this here but they make money by denying/delaying coverage and restricting you to a narrow network. My Dad was aggressively sold a MA plan and hated it by was able to switch back to traditional Medicare in the first 3 months of coverage. I'd seen Joe Willie on TV in the gym (I have Netflix at home) and mentioned it to my friend. He said he actually does get calls from people who want what Joe is selling.

 

[audreyh1]

I haven’t seen any of these ads and didn’t even know that Joe Namath was still alive.

No cable TV, no broadcast TV, no streaming service that includes ads, no radio. No Medicare Advantage ads!!!

 

[Car-Guy]

I haven’t seen any of these ads and didn’t even know that Joe Namath was still alive.

No cable TV, no broadcast TV, no streaming service that includes ads, no radio. No Medicare Advantage ads!!!

Well as you can probably tell, you ain't missed anything!

 

[MichaelB]

No cable TV, no broadcast TV, no streaming service that includes ads, no radio. No Medicare Advantage ads!!!

Same here. It sure is easy to get used to commercial free TV.

I imagine Medicare Advantage advertising will drop off after open enrollment ends. Ads will then return to the regular fare. Senior underwear, walkers, alzheimer’s drugs, and that “help I’ve fallen and can’t get up” device.

 

[Sunset]

It is lucrative for the insurance company if they are willing to take a chance. The deal with Medicare is that Medicare will pay them an annual fee equal to about 90% of the taxes and premiums collected (Part A + Part B + Part D) - for each enrollee. The insurance company is betting it can deliver care for less than what the government pays out under its traditional plans. If it can, it keeps the difference, if it can't, it has to pay to cover the costs. With one exception: hospice care.

Funding comes from the Medicare Trusts: Medicare Taxes, Part B and Part D premiums plus any premium for Medicare Advantage an insurer may charge.

Smaller carriers move in and out of Medicare Advantage - because their experience may not be as good as they thought it would be, and they can't operate within the Medicare payments they receive. So, that's why there is an annual enrollment period and why insurers try to get as many members enrolled as they can.

- Rita

Somewhere I read, the insurance company gets around $12,000 per person they sign up, the actual amount depends on where you live.

They are allowed to no spend 15% on the person, and some additional amount for some other reason.

In the end the old consumer, might get 80% of their Medicare value spent on themselves, less if the company can delay/confuse/deny service.

 

[Time2]

Does she work for the SHIP hotline? My friend does and he gets a lot of of calls from people very disappointed by Medicare Advantage. Plenty of threads on this here but they make money by denying/delaying coverage and restricting you to a narrow network. My Dad was aggressively sold a MA plan and hated it by was able to switch back to traditional Medicare in the first 3 months of coverage. I'd seen Joe Willie on TV in the gym (I have Netflix at home) and mentioned it to my friend. He said he actually does get calls from people who want what Joe is selling.

I don't remember what company she represents, I'll ask tomorrow. She works from home now with Covid. I do know she gets a lot of flack because people don't "get what they deserve"
People are often mad and she, as per policy, has to be very nice.
She was on a smoke break and I was telling her about my Plan D not covering any of the Shingrix shot cost. Ten minutes later I can her her telling a client that the Shingrix shot is not covered.

I'd bet a small amount that Joe doesn't even have what Joe is selling.

 

[Lewis Clark]

These commercials are better than political ads.

 

[ziggy29]

Apparently not if you live in rural or semi-rural areas. Our county (population 40,000) is losing its last available plan at the end of this year. There were about a dozen plans available here a decade ago, so I hear.

 

[SecondCor521]

I imagine Medicare Advantage advertising will drop off after open enrollment ends. Ads will then return to the regular fare. Senior underwear, walkers, alzheimer’s drugs, and that “help I’ve fallen and can’t get up” device.

I also get a lot of Tom Selleck smiling at me comfortingly as he tries to convince me that a reverse mortgage is a great idea. I did not know he participated in rodeos.

 

[ziggy29]

I also get a lot of Tom Selleck smiling at me comfortingly as he tries to convince me that a reverse mortgage is a great idea. I did not know he participated in rodeos.

Why would I believe a product endorsement from someone who has obviously never used the product by virtue of obviously not needing it?

 

[RobbieB]

It is a great idea if you're broke.

 

[timo2]

When I see Joe Namath on the TV ads, it reminds me that he played in the NFL in the age where most players needed a job in the off-season. I remember as a preteen in St. Louis that some of the Cardinals players would get jobs at insurance companies. I'm sure it was for show and PR, but they still needed the paycheck. It wasn't just the minor players. I seem to recall QB Jim Hart having an insurance agency job.

 

[JoeWras]

Why would I believe a product endorsement from someone who has obviously never used the product by virtue of obviously not needing it?

He has a history of this. 50 years ago he was selling panty hose. No joke.

 

[Amethyst]

I remember the ads, with him wearing the hose and posing lying on his side.

He has a history of this. 50 years ago he was selling panty hose. No joke.

 

[Amethyst]

I wonder how many people fall for the Prevagen "It's made from jellyfish" anti-dementia pills?

 

[timo2]

He has a history of this. 50 years ago he was selling panty hose. No joke.

IIRC Namath wore panty hose during for warmth during at least a couple of games. I recall the conversations in my house distinctly. So that's how he ended up hawking panty hose. It was not random.

 

[Redbugdave]

All those actors plying sales on those commercials indicates to me that they are at the ends of their careers and Washed Up. I see them as panhandlers and a fragment of what they were. Why don't they just ride off into the sunset? Hint: Ego.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Yay!!!!!!!!! They are gone!

Still got those damn CarShield Ads though

 

[brett]

Our mute button is wonderful. We mute Joe Nameth every day. And we mute all of those prescription drug ads. No wonder US drug prices are so much higher than other countries.

 

[Amethyst]

Perhaps these elderly hucksters didn't LBYM, and can't afford to retire.

All those actors plying sales on those commercials indicates to me that they are at the ends of their careers and Washed Up. I see them as panhandlers and a fragment of what they were. Why don't they just ride off into the sunset? Hint: Ego.

 

[audreyh1]

He has a history of this. 50 years ago he was selling panty hose. No joke.

Oh, right! I actually remember that!

IIRC Namath wore panty hose during for warmth during at least a couple of games. I recall the conversations in my house distinctly. So that's how he ended up hawking panty hose. It was not random.

Interesting!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Now I notice Tom Selleck is back flogging AIG Reverse mortgages to broke unsuspecting old codgers, you just cannot win. Wasn't AIG the group that got the Bailout in 2009?

 

[Dawg52]

If Joe is getting paid a $1 an episode he's accumulated a ton of money by now.

 

[bolt]

Many medical facilities prefer medicare/medicaid .gov or long standing established BCBS type known guidelines then negotiating with newer varying medicareX insurance operations. The federal .gov has established guidelines, X insurance operations, I'm told vary widely.

Remember, the FEDs(FederalReserveBank),..is a quasi obtuse & exclusive private currency provider.
Fannie/Freddie?
Medicare rates are medical facilities monthly income streams.

Just my lame understanding,
Its Obtuse and not an "occums razor " set-up.

Good luck & Best wishes......

 

[SecondCor521]

Now I notice Tom Selleck is back flogging AIG Reverse mortgages to broke unsuspecting old codgers, you just cannot win. Wasn't AIG the group that got the Bailout in 2009?

Maybe they were, but Tom Selleck's ads are for AAG, not AIG - notice the middle initial is different.