Medicare Advantage fraud spikes

There is a wide range of opinions about, and experiences with, Medicare Advantage. I'm not prepared to condemn the whole program, outright. But it absolutely needs to be under far more strict and enforceable regulation.

Insurance companies and other brokers are making false or misleading claims to dupe senior citizens into purchasing Medicare Advantage plans, according to a report published (November 3) by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

The report, which comes midway through this year's Medicare enrollment period—described last year by healthcare writer Susan Jaffe as "open season for scammers"—reveals that the number of Medicare beneficiary complaints about dubious private sector marketing tactics more than doubled from 2020 to 2021...

Dr. Jessica Schorr Saxe, a retired family physician, noted in a recent Charlotte Observer opinion piece that "earlier this year, the federal government reported that 13% of denials in Medicare Advantage would not have been refused under traditional Medicare," while "Medicare Advantage plans are also increasingly ending nursing home and rehabilitation care before providers consider patients ready to go home." - Common Dreams