Did you know that some Medicare Advantage plans are paying for tons of perks like ski and golf passes, pet supplies, hairstyling and beauty services, hunting licenses, and more?¹

It might sound nice, but let us explain why it’s not.

Medicare Advantage is a type of plan offered within Medicare that is administered by private health insurers. It costs taxpayers way more than traditional Medicare, yet it:

Covers 25% fewer services for patients;
Has limited provider networks;
Requires prior authorizations;
Often results in more delays and denials;
Incentivizes less care than traditional Medicare;
Exacerbates racial health inequities.²

These plans are a huge boondoggle for private insurers: in 2024 alone, they cost our government at least $83 billion more than what it would have cost to cover those same enrollees through traditional Medicare.³

To convince people to switch to their Medicare Advantage plans, the health insurance industry has loopholes that let them spend government money on the nonmedical supplemental benefits mentioned above. But it’s not about improving people’s health — it’s just a ploy to get them to switch to a worse plan!

Medicare Advantage is a huge threat to traditional Medicare, and the Trump administration is already actively working towards their goal of fully privatizing Medicare by accelerating these plans offered by private insurers.⁴

This is yet another reason why we need a single-payer, universal health care system that provides Medicare to everyone instead of making it worse.

We can achieve that through Medicare for All, which was just reintroduced in the U.S. House and Senate. Sign our petition calling on members of Congress to support and pass the Medicare for All Act of 2025 now!

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In solidarity,

Nurses' Campaign to Win Medicare for All

Sources:

1 - Nonmedical Supplemental Benefits in Medicare Advantage in 2024
2 - Taking Advantage: How Insurers Harm Seniors on Medicare
3 - Project 2025’s Medicare Changes Would Restrict Older Americans’ Access to Care and Imperil the Program’s Financial Health
4 - Trump could saddle seniors with a costly Medicare Advantage plan — whether they like it or not