By Carol Paris, M.D.
Chattanooga Times Free Press, Letters, Nov. 16, 2024
During Medicare open enrollment, seniors are asked to choose from a dizzying array of plans. As a retired physician, and now a senior on Medicare, I know how confusing these choices can be, and what an impact they can have on our health and our pocketbooks.
Medicare Advantage plans, run by corporate health insurers, tend to promise the moon and the stars, but deliver aggravating restrictions. Not so with traditional Medicare.
Advantage plans also put a strain on the patient-doctor relationship. Many physicians are distressed when they feel corporate interests prevent them from delivering the care they know their patients need.
I saw this firsthand when I visited an orthopedic surgeon for knee pain. He balked when I asked which he would recommend.
“It doesn’t matter what I recommend,” he said, “only what your insurance will authorize.” But when I explained that I had traditional Medicare instead of a corporate plan, his face brightened. “In that case,” he said, “I can give you my best advice and administer the injection today.”
We would all be better off with an improved version of traditional Medicare, and both patients and physicians are fighting to realize that vision. Until that day comes, seniors should be aware of the impact privatized plans can have on their quality of care and choose wisely.