John,

Seniors deserve better than for-profit private health insurance.

After a lifetime of work, paying in toward our Medicare system, Americans deserve the peace of mind that comes with guaranteed health care. But because of the stealth privatization of parts of Medicare, too many seniors are paying more for worse care―and winding up dead as a result.

The only way the corporations that run privatized Medicare plans make money is by taking people’s money and then denying them care. So that’s exactly what they do.

Privatized Medicare―whether it’s happening out in the open (under Medicare Advantage) or without seniors’ knowledge (under the REACH program)―is a recipe for Medicare plans that kill.

That’s the future Republicans want.

Can you make a $7 donation to save Medicare from corporate greed? Social Security Works is rallying our allies in Congress to crack down on killer Medicare plans!

Federal investigators released a damning report on privatized Medicare earlier this year―the New York Times had this to say about it:

Based on its finding that about 13 percent of the requests denied should have been covered under Medicare, the investigators estimated as many as 85,000 beneficiary requests for prior authorization of medical care were potentially improperly denied in 2019.

Advantage plans also refused to pay legitimate claims, according to the report. About 18 percent of payments were denied despite meeting Medicare coverage rules, an estimated 1.5 million payments for all of 2019. In some cases, plans ignored prior authorizations or other documentation necessary to support the payment.

These denials may delay or even prevent a Medicare Advantage beneficiary from getting needed care, said Rosemary Bartholomew, who led the team that worked on the report. Only a tiny fraction of patients or providers try to appeal these decisions, she said.

“We’re also concerned that beneficiaries may not be aware of the greater barriers,” she said.

Here’s the bottom line: While corporate marketing campaigns can make Medicare Advantage seem like a good deal to seniors, these plans fundamentally alter Medicare’s promise. Instead of letting a patient and doctor choose the best course of care, the for-profit insurer determines what care the patient receives.

If Republicans have their way, they’ll tear down every protection between seniors and greedy health care corporations. Instead of expanding Medicare’s universal promise to every American, they’ll push seniors into the same broken health care system we all deal with. We’re going to stop them.

Social Security Works is making the lines extremely clear to Americans in every state―Democrats want to expand Social Security and Medicare, while Republicans want to destroy them for their greedy corporate donors. Donate $7 to save Medicare and Social Security from Republican greed!

Thanks,

Alex Lawson
Social Security Works

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