Public HealthWhy Is Medicare Advantage So Popular? A Real Life Squid Game
Medicare Advantage (MA) is so popular and growing because of the intricate business model based on overpayments, risk-score gaming, and relationships with healthcare providers. The Medicare Gold Rush, involving billions of dollars in recent investments, is linked to these dynamics, creating a distorted market that ultimately drains taxpayers and obstructs serious healthcare reform. The Medicare Advantage game is a way some health companies make extra money by taking advantage of the rules in the Medicare system. They do this by finding more health issues to report, getting paid more from the government, and then using those extra payments to offer more attractive insurance plans to seniors. The government pays more than it should for these plans, while the involved companies make a bigger profit. This game includes companies paying doctors to report more health problems, sharing the extra money with doctors, and even owning the doctor's offices. However, it's important to remember that not all Medicare Advantage plans are part of this game.
