MedPAC: Medicare Paid MA Plans $38 billion for Non-Medicare Services in 2024

[scagnt83]

There's actually a very good reason...it keeps them healthier and helps keeps a roof over their heads. If you can't help senior citizens, then who can you help? Senior citizens are the ones in society who should have the MOST help.

Children. Children should have the most help.

If we are not paying for rec memberships for poor kids.... we should not be paying for gym memberships for seniors who had a lifetime to save.

If we are not paying for kids food.... we should not be paying for seniors food.

And health insurance, should pay for neither.

If a senior needs assistance, there should be a real direct assistance program for them. Not a sales incentive for a meager bit of extra dollars.

 

[InsuranceGuy29]

Children. Children should have the most help.

If we are not paying for rec memberships for poor kids.... we should not be paying for gym memberships for seniors who had a lifetime to save.

If we are not paying for kids food.... we should not be paying for seniors food.

And health insurance, should pay for neither.

If a senior needs assistance, there should be a real direct assistance program for them. Not a sales incentive for a meager bit of extra dollars.

Children have parents. That's their help. If adults can't afford children, they shouldn't have them. And there are also a million program for children. Once you get older, maybe you'll understand. The world is not all sunshine and rainbows. "Oh just save." Yea, and life happens that wipes a lot of people out. Helping people is not a "sales incentive." It's actually pretty frightening that you're working with seniors, to be honest.

 

[annon123]

Children have parents. That's their help. If adults can't afford children, they shouldn't have them. And there are also a million program for children. Once you get older, maybe you'll understand. The world is not all sunshine and roses. "Oh just save." Yea, and life happens that wiped a lot of people out. Helping people is not a "sales incentive." It's actually pretty frightening that you're working with seniors, to be honest.

Yes life happens. Good thing I had saved. I live in a state that did not expand medicaid. My savings and retirement money was needed to pay for cancer care for 2 cancers I had back to back.

In my opinion though kids need enough food because any period of life while their brain is developing that they experience malnutrition what ever part of their brain that was developing then is permanently damaged. If we can avoid that fewer kids will end up needing help the rest of their lives from "the safety net system". And yes there are programs but depending on the state some get far less help. Parents can help kids with a lot of things but poorer parents have more trouble with that- just as poorer seniors have trouble meeting all of their needs. The need for aides and long term care/assisted living and nursing home care are portions of the lives of many (but not all) seniors where their needs are not even remotely met at a time when they are least able to fend for themselves.

 

[InsuranceGuy29]

Yes life happens. Good thing I had saved. I live in a state that did not expand medicaid. My savings and retirement money was needed to pay for cancer care for 2 cancers I had back to back.

In my opinion though kids need enough food because any period of life while their brain is developing that they experience malnutrition what ever part of their brain that was developing then is permanently damaged. If we can avoid that fewer kids will end up needing help the rest of their lives from "the safety net system". And yes there are programs but depending on the state some get far less help. Parents can help kids with a lot of things but poorer parents have more trouble with that- just as poorer seniors have trouble meeting all of their needs. The need for aides and long term care/assisted living and nursing home care are portions of the lives of many (but not all) seniors where their needs are not even remotely met at a time when they are least able to fend for themselves.

Kids are a completely separate issue that have nothing to do with this topic. He just inserted it to try and shift the conversation. It's a typical straw man fallacy. The bottom line is seniors need immense help nowadays.

 

[annon123]

Kids are a completely separate issue that have nothing to do with this topic. He just inserted to try and shift the conversation. It's a typical straw man fallacy. The bottom line is seniors need immense help nowadays.

I'd agree that most do. When companies stopped offering pensions and went to the various "self save and we'll only match 1-3% for the most part" retirement plans (if they offered one at all anymore) that significantly increased the number of people without adequate financial resources for retirement.

 

[Medicare bro]

Kids are a completely separate issue that have nothing to do with this topic. He just inserted to try and shift the conversation. It's a typical straw man fallacy. The bottom line is seniors need immense help nowadays.

Yes they need help, but at whose expense? Do we all suffer because seniors deserve a gym membership and dental?

 

[annon123]

Yes they need help, but at whose expense? Do we all suffer because seniors deserve a gym membership and dental?

The difference between UHC G+ and UHC G without the extras, there is about a $70/month difference between the two. I'd imagine that is roughly the ballpark cost for those benefits in MA's.

Dental matters to overall health as some systemic diseases show up there first and dentists are the primary ones who diagnose those. In our siloed health care these days that is a problem. When supps don't pay for dental I'd imagine costs are higher to medicare as some diseases won't be caught until later in the game when they are more serious.

Gyms - well people can do many of those things without a gym. Yes a gym makes it easier but I'd suspect the percent of people (MA or UHC G+) using the gym is low. One study said about 10% another said 18% use their gym benefits. Certainly since the individual pays for that with a supp it's a profit center for UHC. With MA's I don't know if they only pay the gym system if someone uses it or if they pay a blanket fee even if no one uses it or a blanket fee plus per person who uses the gym. So with supps, unlike MA's, seniors pay and it has nothing to do with our medicare tax dollars other than that 10-18% that use the gym are likely healthier and so use less health care.

 

[somarco]

When companies stopped offering pensions

ERISA killed DB plans for all but government employees and union members.

 

[somarco]

Carriers that offered SilverSneakers found that roughly 15% actually used the program.

SilverSneakers charges carriers a flat fee which is absorbed by carriers that offer the program with MA or Medigap plans.

 

[straightnochaser]

Yes they need help, but at whose expense? Do we all suffer because seniors deserve a gym membership and dental?

Your suffering has nothing to do with seniors getting gym memberships on an MAPD. Time to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and work a little harder.