VSEA Members and Retirees:
To educate lawmakers early on in the session about the disadvantages of Medicare Advantage that are being reported nationwide, VSEA’s legislative team sent the email below to every House and Senate member in January. This is one of the first education pieces VSEA has produced to date for lawmakers, but look for more, as VSEA expects the Governor could introduce his Medicare Disadvantage proposal in the coming weeks or a few months.
If the proposal is introduced, VSEA members and retirees will be needed at the State House and there will always be a need for you to work the phones and send emails with our message strongly opposing Medicare Advantage.
In Solidarity,
Steve Howard
VSEA Executive Director
Here is the email that was sent to lawmakers:
The Medicare (Dis)Advantage
In just the three months leading up to the end of this year’s deadline for Americans to enroll in a new healthcare plan, there was a mountain of bad press about Medicare Advantage plans. This is the plan that Gov. Scott wants to place retired state employees into, but read for yourself how suspect this program is in this sampling of recent press stories:
- Nursing Home Surprise: Advantage Plans May Shorten Stays To Less Time Than Medicare Covers, Fortune
- Despite outcry from Delaware retirees, Medicare Advantage plan will start in 2023, Delaware Online
- What’s Wrong with Medicare Advantage?, The Indypendent
- Between a Rock…Medicare Advantage or Zilch, Daily Kos
- Medicare Advantage Has a Fraud Problem, The Fiscal Times
- United States Files Civil Fraud Lawsuit Against Cigna For Artificially Inflating Its Medicare Advantage Payments, U.S. DOJ
- CMS Agrees to Release Audit Results of Potential Overcharges Under Medicare Advantage Plans, ALM Benefits Pro
- Mayo Warns It Won’t Take Most Medicare Advantage Plans, MedPage Today
- U.S. Senate Committee Finds Medicare Advantage Advertising ‘Rife With Fraudsters And Scam Artists, Yahoo Finance
- Past State Official Posts Warning About Medicare Advantage Plans, VTDigger
- How Medicare Advantage Scams Seniors, Newsweek
- Thom Hartmann Reports: “This Medicare Is No Advantage”
- Audit Reveals “Widespread Overcharges” In Payments To Medicare Advantage Plans, NPR
- Health Care Finance Expert Tells Why He’s Not Opting For Medicare Advantage, Marketplace
- “How Medicare Advantage Plans Dodged Auditors And Overcharged Taxpayers By Millions”, KHN
- It’s Time To End The Medicare Advantage Scam, The Nation
Retired state employees urge you to reject Gov. Scott’s ill-advised proposal to place them in a Medicare Advantage plan. It is clear there are problems associated with these plans, coupled with the fact that it would result in a shift to privatized health care and all the issues identified in that sector.
Join with thousands of active and retired state employees to say “NO” to Medicare Advantage!
See Also: