Private Fee for Service Plans Going, Going, Gone

When Medicare Advantage bites the dust there is help for those affected.

This is pretty scary information for seniors. Several of the bigger
insurance companies are getting rid of their private fee for service
plan completely. While this might not sound like a big deal, it
ultimately affects one million seniors by leaving them with no coverage.

The private fee for service plans are run by private insurance
companies with money received from the government. The idea behind them
was that the insurance companies would handle running these plans much
more efficiently than the mainstream Medicare. The private fee for
service plans are part of Medicare Advantage, under the knife for
serious cuts and in some cases, total elimination in 2010.

The major reason these programs are dropping like flies is that
recent legislation drastically affects the dollars allocated for
reimbursing physicians. With less money to spend, insurance companies
can’t operate programs like this any longer. It boils down to a
business decision. No money coming in means no one is able to put money
out and stay in business. With the private fee for service plans on the
chopping block and Medicare Advantage going away, patients nationwide
are scrambling to find health care alternatives.

One very reasonable alternative for seniors is the Medicare
supplement policy; something that has been available since the 60s.
With due diligence, older Americans are able to get a policy covering
bills that Medicare doesn’t pick up. Premiums for Medicare supplement
policies are highly competitive right now due to the coming changes in
2010 and the fact that insurance companies are seriously trolling for
new business.

Patients in the private fee for service plan do have guaranteed
issue provisions that allow them to slip into Medicare supplement
policies and avoid the usual underwriting rigmarole. While it may seem
like a giant pain to start looking for a replacement policy, now is
actually the best time to do so.

One thing that many seniors fail to understand is that all Medicare
supplements are the same. They pay the same “approved by Medicare”
claims and offer the same benefits. With this in mind it pays to shop
around to various insurance carriers and get a “deal” on premiums. It
does happen and now is the time to shop and get a bargain.

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