Thank you Arthur. Excellent analysis. And after the way some UNITY folks treated Marianne and our lawyer, they stayed for quite a while after the meeting to answer questions because she does know more than they (UNITY) do.
Thanks Pat. The real distinction here, the one that makes it so difficult for Unity folks to converse with Marianne, is that she is telling the truth and they are not. I'm really gobsmacked that they hang onto these lies for dear life.
Thank you for this column! I think the best reaction to Unity's actions at the RTC meeting is a controlled fury that inspires one to keep carefully thinking how to counter their very harmful actions, especially as to healthcare and to donate to those making such fight in our behalf. This column is a very good starting point in showing the dirty tactics Unity is willing to employ and what they really are.
Among the best articles yet on this matter. Thank you Arthur for your honesty and the revelations that keep coming. You are truly a union member who knows the meaning of what a union is supposed to be and voting for the right leaders is the one essential way to attain it.
This is one hell of a piece Arthur. Thanks for giving form to the 'values' Unity Caucus follows, and kudos to the Unity insider who had the heart to leak those revealing emails. Unity Leadership should see it as empowering to learn and work with the likes of Marianne & Jake. Instead, as you so accurately describe (& those receipts prove), where Unity Leaders and Defenders lack in knowledge, they make up for it by engaging in insults and being manipulative. Can't tell you how encouraged I feel to know about the growing opposition within, and how Karma has been having its way. Unions and the facts matter!
Thank you Laura. I worked on this one for a while. I think Unity has failed to understand what they need to do. Maybe next time I'll tell them. They've never faced a loss of this magnitude, and knowing how to react does not appear to be in their DNA.
Believe me, right now they are trying to find this hero who sent Norm their game-plan. Many of these Unity plants were in back of me where I sat. Every time I would clap, they would sit with angry looks on their face. So I clapped even more wildly.
Thank you! I am so angry since Melissa Williams - the OT/PT rep was blocked from getting any headway on our contract. This article was eye opening. Were they saying that they were going to pump the chat full of insults to make the audience think that people were already outraged? Was that so that people in the audience don't put their actual questions in there?
Also, I wish I understood more about the contract - the dental changes. I am angry but it would be great to have a synopsis on what is happening because honestly I don't really have a handle on our benefits. That's my request for a future post :)
Thanks Naomi. We can speculate on the intentions or motives of those who wrote that stuff, but it's pretty clear they think that's how to win people over to their side. As for dental changes, as far as I know there have been none for 8 years. Unity complains that we ask for changes. It was awful what they did to Melissa, and frankly, they are not treating Bennett much better. But he goes in there every day and does his best for us.
Well, someone they sent it to is, anyway. But yes, it's remarkable. It clearly shows they have no interest in representing us, and no respect for the representation we chose.
I won’t go into what I happen to know about a prominent Unity member, now a prominent Unity retiree/capo, who seems to have zero compunction regarding his private behaviors while in service, or his public adherence and ability to perform whatever dirty tactics his Unity overlords demand - which I happen to have direct knowledge of, from the person who attempted to - without the restraint needed, publicly and in dramatic self-immolation, blow the whistle on the whole Unity cabal from the “fish stinking from the head” leadership on down...ANYWAY Unity needs to watch its damn step. The fact that they are losing their constituents to, wow, FACTS not fiction, and that there ARE whistleblowers willing to unmask their tactics IS AN AMAZING AND UNPRECEDENTED SIGN of how The Truth Will Set You Free, eventually. Holy moly, Batman!!! Wondering if Madame Randi is squirming in her Hamptons abode???? (Ugh. Sorry. Needed to rant. Hope I haven’t offended any of Arthur’s readers...)
Well, you haven't offended me, at least. Would love to see an honest-to-goodness, open Unity whistle-blower. It seems an opportune moment to craft an alternative to this nonsense.
I honestly don't know. If I'm attending a UFT meeting, I'm taking notes. I have no time to check. That said, I've stopped attending the town halls as they are almost always redundant, with Mulgrew saying the same he does in other meetings, except even longer. Also, he excluded retirees from the last Town Hall.
Have to tell you I’m not sure about what you say about Marianne: “I’ve never known her to spread misinformation.” I don’t know what she’s been saying to other people but in an email to me she made not one but two statements that from my long experience working in the Medicare area (and being HIICAP-certified for years) are totally wrong. (1) The “Medicare Rights center is also the same place that pushes Medicare advantage plans.” Not. It’s an informational and advocacy group that is entirely neutral. It produces an informational website that clarifies Medicare’s website enormously, it’s called Medicare Interactive. I dare Marianne to prove the MRC is anything but neutral on Medicare delivery. (2) She told me: “by you describing Medicare advantage as supplemental, you're confusing people”. Yeah, but only if they don’t listen or speak the English language. I dislike Medicare Advantage intensely, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not the point. Those plans cover costs that Orig. Medicare does not cover, and they offer extras. In THAT sense they are “supplemental” — an adjective. I never said that they were a “supplement” - like Medigaps or our hybrid union plan Senior Care. A true Medigap is in this sense a “supplement” - a noun. (PS : our Senior Care is a negotiated plan and not a true open market Medigap: it has a health deductible of $50 and handles Part A differently from Original Medicare/Medigap delivery. And when the copays get put back in 2025, that will be different as well: true Medigaps don’t have copays.) Marianne is knowledgeable and articulate, but she’s very partisan. Maybe she has to be to get this done, and I’m grateful for her work. Truly am. But she does bend the truth when she thinks she needs to.
Well, Julie, since we're deep into semantics here, you cannot dispute that I have never known her to spread misinformation. As for what you have known, I personally would not describe or view MA as a supplemental either. What springs to my mind as supplemental is Medigap. While MA may provide things standard Medicare does not, like the stuff Joe Namath talks about on TV, the fact is it fails to provide things Medicare does. I just had a standard surgery for a non-standard reason, and because I have real Medicare, Aetna got no veto over my procedure. I know nothing about the Medicare Rights center, but I am absolutely not neutral. For my money, Medicare with a supplemental plan is superior to MA, full stop. That's why I'm all in battling to keep it.
First, you’re not reading Adjective Noun discussion. Secondly, let’s leave out the “supplemental extras” for a moment. II had the UFT’s HIP HMO for a decade. Got a total thyroidectomy outpatient surgery and 5 colonoscopies (!, polyp removals)plus all therapies — at NO COST, with NO DENIALS of the prior auths the MDs had to put in for. NOT ONCE. Therapies also, NONE denied. If I had had straight Medicare, I would have paid 20% of every single one of those expensive procedures. But the HIP HMO “supplemented” — it picked up the remaining costs Medicare would have left on the table. In THAT sense “supplemental.” I never once considered that HMO to be a “supplement” NOUN. It acted supplementally. What is everyone’s problem with that? It’s because the NYC retirees are making weird allegations for political reasons. I agree with their goal, but not the confusion they themselves are creating. Leave Joe Namath out of it, please. That’s where the darn hyperbole gets in the way. If you don’t know about the MRC, it’s an important resource for people with no retiree insurance. I am battling to keep pure Medicare also — but keeping in mind that the exact same companies that offer Advantage plans are ones supplying supplements NOUN in the form of open market Medigaps and hybrids like Sr. Care. Same companies also offer the drug plans… like our Express Scripts pharmacy benefit manager. The whole industry is so corrupt, it’s breathtaking.
Every time one of those shady MA ads come up (like on YouTube) I grind my teeth because their claim that “you are missing out on Part C! That you’re entitled to!” Which is so incredibly misleading no wonder so many have been hoodwinked into leaving traditional Medicare for privatized MA plans! They know people will be confused!
If our Senior Care as currently negotiated could be improved then our negotiating committee should make that our next priority. In the meantime we must fight off the vultures who see NYC retirees as the huge cash cow we are.
In January we'll all be paying $15 co-pays every time we use a service. I'm fairly certain every retiree in the city will think of Unity every time they reach in a pocket to pay. Our negotiating committee seems to be the MLC, and as far as I can tell they work for the city, not us.
This is the most insane description I have ever read! Your HiP ViP HMO didn't "supplement" anything... It REPLACED your traditional medicare!!! No one is making any "allegations for political reasons." We cite and source what we say. You would NEVER have had to have paid the 20% Medicare didn't cover because Senior Care covers that. Are you sure you understand insurance? There are the reports and findings by the HHS OIG, the DOJ the federal government including Congress!!! And while the same companies offer MA do offer Medigaps - they want to sell the MA plan because brokers get 3 times the commission. YOU get screwed if you ever want to leave if you don't leave in less than a year. THESE ARE FACTS.
Stop getting your knickers in a twist. I can “supplement” my diet with extra salad. Salad is not a “supplement.” There’s nothing wrong with saying that Advantage plans cover some of the costs Medicare leaves on the table. In this sense an Advantage plan is “supplemental” — but it is not and never will be a “supplement.” I am “in” Medicare in both delivery systems, it’s the delivery of the Medicare benefits that’s handled differently. OF COURSE the HIP VMO (an Advantage plan that includes drugs through the rider) replaces a Medicare/supplement/rider drug plan delivery system. But it does “supplement” straight Medicare in two ways: picking up costs I would have had to otherwise pay if I only had straight Medicare, and throwing in some extras (e.g., telehealth, fitness program, etc.) Senior Care is a negotiated delivery system — not quite a standard Medigap, but very similar. OF COURSE it pays the 20% for Part B leftover, and OF COURSE it pays the leftover Part A costs. OF COURSE brokers get larger commissions with the MAPs. (But PS: you do NOT get “screwed” in NYS, which has very different rules for Medigaps (guaranteed issue rights, open enrollment, you can change Medigaps every month in NYS and CT). I know exactly what I have, thank you. One delivery system “supplements” straight Medicare in one way, and the other delivery system “supplements” it in another way. They are two different structures. OBVIOUSLY. But there’s nothing wrong in saying that both delivery systems give you more than what straight Medicare gives you, and in that sense, they “supplement” it, i.e “add” to it. That’s all I’m saying.
If you are choosing with this response to stick to your story that MA "supplements" medicare there is no reason to even continue to have a conversation with you as you cannot say that with an honest face if you are NOT ADMITTING THAT THE "BENEFITS THAT SUPPLEMENT" MEDICARE ARE IN EXCHANGE FOR ACTUAL HEALTHCARE!!
There are 4 states with guarantee issue rights, NY, Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut. EVERYWHERE ELSE, YOU CAN BE SCREWED. And what you are also not accepting is that if you are getting screwed by your MA plan, you are most likely dealing with illness sever enough that now your plan is also a burden and not allowing you access to the care you need.
For example in your "senior voice" you describe PA for medical necessity, when in fact it is abused for the purpose of retaining profits in MA - and yes, while it is done IN SOME instances in Traditional Medicare, if for example there were to be an issue, it is the DR who is on the hook, not the patient. In that sentence, you are very wrong. We hired Medicare EXPERTS in our litigation - this is all in our case in SEVERAL affidavits.
I can appreciate you volunteering helping seniors with their tax returns via AARP, who also sells MA Plans to enrich their organization, but I am still not seeing where your expertise comes from on this issue, and that you keep spreading misinformation. For someone who keeps saying she is against MA, you find a way to slant your words. If you work for AARP - it is no wonder.
Hi Julie. My statements are FACT and proven from calls this organization made when calling MRC. We were at a point when people were scared they would lose their Sr. Care plan and started searching on the internet for a plan. WE FOUND MANY ORGANIZATIONS CLAIMING THEY WERE ADVOCACY OR INFORMATIONAL - GIVING OUT BAD INFORMATION! HICAP -SHIP and MRC were guilty and we had to set up follow up calls to correct them. Which our team did.
MRC - Actually had a link and outlined box on their main page touting the benefits of MA. And when we called there - they WERE PUSHING MA. We recorded the calls which is why i know we had proof of saying what we did.
HICAP - THE SAME THING. They were spewing the insurance BS so thick, we called the supervisor and scheduled a meeting AND GAVE HIM THE AETNA contract to prove to him that the info they got From AETNA was BS. We proved the Aetna lie - "that their plan is a PPO and you can see ANY Doctor you want to." YOU CAN, but you will pay for it. These offices around NY were sharing MISINFORMATION and it was NYC Retirees that fixed that!
So while you believe what you are told - we actually DIVE in and make sure we are not being lied to. Too many people don't check that. We do. Again, we have fact checked EVERYTHING. We have been doing this for over 3 years this way. That is how we learned that LeRoy and Alan are on the MRC.
Its too bad you choose to doubt me rather than respect that we fact checked what was being put out there - and if more people did that, we wouldn't be in the current situation.
That said, LeRoy Barr and Alan Lubin are BOTH on the Board of Medicare Rights and it is apparent they did not recognize the concerns of MA plans being forced on retirees or have any issues with a union privatizing a federal public health benefit - or forcing people into one so he could get a raise. He didn't care, or he didn't speak out that retirees would not have the same access to doctors and hospitals in America that accept traditional MEdicare only. He didn't speak out about retirees in Continuing Care Residential Communities that do not accept MA - leaving retirees on the hook. That once in MA, you may never get out because you would be subject to underwriting - and the cost could be prohibitive. Lower income retirees would be harmed the most. Traditional Medicare has rare prior authorizations - but MA has a lot - and they would be in the hands of unions that can no longer legally bargain for retirees.
Regarding your language describing "supplemental" benefits you absolutely are confusing people I still stand by that. Not everyone understands insurance the way you or I do. We learned that a long time ago! And still today, retirees have confusion. I asked you to be aware of how you describe MA plans and using "supplemental" benefits as I have retirees in MTA that did not know they were on an MA plan and thought they were being given something not available to them in traditional Medicare without realizing the "perks" you describe are at a DIRECT trade off of access to drs and hospitals. So yes, - many retirees think MA is a supplement so I stand by my comments to you.
So no Julie - I am not "partisan" and I do NOT bend the truth. Handle my emails and phone for a week and you will see --- I am right.
I don't see anyone else having your back in this fight and fighting for you NOW. No one is fighting your copays or protecting your federal public health benefit but NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees.
A bit rambling from one topic to another, right? and I am planning to respond, but not off the cuff. We’re both steeped up to the gills in this stuff, you for the 3 years you’ve been doing these court cases (thank you!!) and me for the decade I’ve helped people find plans in the open market that suit their very specific health care needs. This is not a one-size-fits all situation for anyone. Some people are stressed financially, some sicker, or older, or can’t make decisions for themselves anymore. Before answering your comment, I am going to ask my own contact or two at the MRC for what they think about your account, and will add those to my own when I respond, and I will go point by point. The only thing I will say now is that when you say you don’t see anyone else “having my back,” may I suggest that people have joined the fight against the city’s PPOs based on YOUR version of the health care landscape and their virtually complete ignorance of it. No fault of their own, it’s very complicated. You portray me as pushing something contrary to your position, but I am after the exact same things as you. I dislike Advantage plans, the PBMs, upcoding, prior auths, click-and-deny strategies, bad laws written by lobbyists and signed by know-nothing and/or paid for politicians, ACO Reach, in fact: everything to do with the for-profit companies taking strangling the health care industries. All I’ve ever advocated is for people to acquire and show they have deeper understanding of the components in our health care system and use more specific in the terms in motivating people to join the protest. In my latest post at Under Assault, I even gave kudos to the excellent way these Medicare parts were described in your Bentkowski case. Arthur calls my arguments a matter of semantics, Norm has implied more than once that it’s the protest that matters more than the details. I have given up making my points with both of them, and was ready just to let it be., we’d go our separate ways. Neither of them can devalue the service I’ve given over so many years to so many hundreds of seniors not protected by employer or union plans who are really floundering not knowing what to do at this juncture in their lives, or whom to turn to for help. But then you wrote into this blog, and I promise I will respond …. in a day or two.
Great story, well told
Thank you Floriane!
Thank you Arthur. Excellent analysis. And after the way some UNITY folks treated Marianne and our lawyer, they stayed for quite a while after the meeting to answer questions because she does know more than they (UNITY) do.
Thanks Pat. The real distinction here, the one that makes it so difficult for Unity folks to converse with Marianne, is that she is telling the truth and they are not. I'm really gobsmacked that they hang onto these lies for dear life.
Thank you for this column! I think the best reaction to Unity's actions at the RTC meeting is a controlled fury that inspires one to keep carefully thinking how to counter their very harmful actions, especially as to healthcare and to donate to those making such fight in our behalf. This column is a very good starting point in showing the dirty tactics Unity is willing to employ and what they really are.
Thanks Alan. What they really are is desperate, it appears.
Among the best articles yet on this matter. Thank you Arthur for your honesty and the revelations that keep coming. You are truly a union member who knows the meaning of what a union is supposed to be and voting for the right leaders is the one essential way to attain it.
Thanks for your kind words, Kathy.
This is one hell of a piece Arthur. Thanks for giving form to the 'values' Unity Caucus follows, and kudos to the Unity insider who had the heart to leak those revealing emails. Unity Leadership should see it as empowering to learn and work with the likes of Marianne & Jake. Instead, as you so accurately describe (& those receipts prove), where Unity Leaders and Defenders lack in knowledge, they make up for it by engaging in insults and being manipulative. Can't tell you how encouraged I feel to know about the growing opposition within, and how Karma has been having its way. Unions and the facts matter!
Thank you Laura. I worked on this one for a while. I think Unity has failed to understand what they need to do. Maybe next time I'll tell them. They've never faced a loss of this magnitude, and knowing how to react does not appear to be in their DNA.
Believe me, right now they are trying to find this hero who sent Norm their game-plan. Many of these Unity plants were in back of me where I sat. Every time I would clap, they would sit with angry looks on their face. So I clapped even more wildly.
Oh I must add it lois imperative we attend every RTC meeting to make sure we keep control and win every vote.
I'm pretty sure we can do that. I'll be there for sure.
Thank you! I am so angry since Melissa Williams - the OT/PT rep was blocked from getting any headway on our contract. This article was eye opening. Were they saying that they were going to pump the chat full of insults to make the audience think that people were already outraged? Was that so that people in the audience don't put their actual questions in there?
Also, I wish I understood more about the contract - the dental changes. I am angry but it would be great to have a synopsis on what is happening because honestly I don't really have a handle on our benefits. That's my request for a future post :)
Thanks Naomi. We can speculate on the intentions or motives of those who wrote that stuff, but it's pretty clear they think that's how to win people over to their side. As for dental changes, as far as I know there have been none for 8 years. Unity complains that we ask for changes. It was awful what they did to Melissa, and frankly, they are not treating Bennett much better. But he goes in there every day and does his best for us.
Very good exposure! The Union high salary hacks are exposing themselves!
Well, someone they sent it to is, anyway. But yes, it's remarkable. It clearly shows they have no interest in representing us, and no respect for the representation we chose.
I won’t go into what I happen to know about a prominent Unity member, now a prominent Unity retiree/capo, who seems to have zero compunction regarding his private behaviors while in service, or his public adherence and ability to perform whatever dirty tactics his Unity overlords demand - which I happen to have direct knowledge of, from the person who attempted to - without the restraint needed, publicly and in dramatic self-immolation, blow the whistle on the whole Unity cabal from the “fish stinking from the head” leadership on down...ANYWAY Unity needs to watch its damn step. The fact that they are losing their constituents to, wow, FACTS not fiction, and that there ARE whistleblowers willing to unmask their tactics IS AN AMAZING AND UNPRECEDENTED SIGN of how The Truth Will Set You Free, eventually. Holy moly, Batman!!! Wondering if Madame Randi is squirming in her Hamptons abode???? (Ugh. Sorry. Needed to rant. Hope I haven’t offended any of Arthur’s readers...)
Phew! Cg
Well, you haven't offended me, at least. Would love to see an honest-to-goodness, open Unity whistle-blower. It seems an opportune moment to craft an alternative to this nonsense.
I wasn’t able to use the chat feature during the RTC meeting . I thought it was disabled
Isn’t the chat always disabled during UFT Town Halls?
I honestly don't know. If I'm attending a UFT meeting, I'm taking notes. I have no time to check. That said, I've stopped attending the town halls as they are almost always redundant, with Mulgrew saying the same he does in other meetings, except even longer. Also, he excluded retirees from the last Town Hall.
Chat was disabled. The Q&A feature was available and there were real time replies to any questions posted.
That, then, is yet another example of a Unity member opining on a topic about which he knows nothing.
Have to tell you I’m not sure about what you say about Marianne: “I’ve never known her to spread misinformation.” I don’t know what she’s been saying to other people but in an email to me she made not one but two statements that from my long experience working in the Medicare area (and being HIICAP-certified for years) are totally wrong. (1) The “Medicare Rights center is also the same place that pushes Medicare advantage plans.” Not. It’s an informational and advocacy group that is entirely neutral. It produces an informational website that clarifies Medicare’s website enormously, it’s called Medicare Interactive. I dare Marianne to prove the MRC is anything but neutral on Medicare delivery. (2) She told me: “by you describing Medicare advantage as supplemental, you're confusing people”. Yeah, but only if they don’t listen or speak the English language. I dislike Medicare Advantage intensely, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not the point. Those plans cover costs that Orig. Medicare does not cover, and they offer extras. In THAT sense they are “supplemental” — an adjective. I never said that they were a “supplement” - like Medigaps or our hybrid union plan Senior Care. A true Medigap is in this sense a “supplement” - a noun. (PS : our Senior Care is a negotiated plan and not a true open market Medigap: it has a health deductible of $50 and handles Part A differently from Original Medicare/Medigap delivery. And when the copays get put back in 2025, that will be different as well: true Medigaps don’t have copays.) Marianne is knowledgeable and articulate, but she’s very partisan. Maybe she has to be to get this done, and I’m grateful for her work. Truly am. But she does bend the truth when she thinks she needs to.
Well, Julie, since we're deep into semantics here, you cannot dispute that I have never known her to spread misinformation. As for what you have known, I personally would not describe or view MA as a supplemental either. What springs to my mind as supplemental is Medigap. While MA may provide things standard Medicare does not, like the stuff Joe Namath talks about on TV, the fact is it fails to provide things Medicare does. I just had a standard surgery for a non-standard reason, and because I have real Medicare, Aetna got no veto over my procedure. I know nothing about the Medicare Rights center, but I am absolutely not neutral. For my money, Medicare with a supplemental plan is superior to MA, full stop. That's why I'm all in battling to keep it.
First, you’re not reading Adjective Noun discussion. Secondly, let’s leave out the “supplemental extras” for a moment. II had the UFT’s HIP HMO for a decade. Got a total thyroidectomy outpatient surgery and 5 colonoscopies (!, polyp removals)plus all therapies — at NO COST, with NO DENIALS of the prior auths the MDs had to put in for. NOT ONCE. Therapies also, NONE denied. If I had had straight Medicare, I would have paid 20% of every single one of those expensive procedures. But the HIP HMO “supplemented” — it picked up the remaining costs Medicare would have left on the table. In THAT sense “supplemental.” I never once considered that HMO to be a “supplement” NOUN. It acted supplementally. What is everyone’s problem with that? It’s because the NYC retirees are making weird allegations for political reasons. I agree with their goal, but not the confusion they themselves are creating. Leave Joe Namath out of it, please. That’s where the darn hyperbole gets in the way. If you don’t know about the MRC, it’s an important resource for people with no retiree insurance. I am battling to keep pure Medicare also — but keeping in mind that the exact same companies that offer Advantage plans are ones supplying supplements NOUN in the form of open market Medigaps and hybrids like Sr. Care. Same companies also offer the drug plans… like our Express Scripts pharmacy benefit manager. The whole industry is so corrupt, it’s breathtaking.
Every time one of those shady MA ads come up (like on YouTube) I grind my teeth because their claim that “you are missing out on Part C! That you’re entitled to!” Which is so incredibly misleading no wonder so many have been hoodwinked into leaving traditional Medicare for privatized MA plans! They know people will be confused!
If our Senior Care as currently negotiated could be improved then our negotiating committee should make that our next priority. In the meantime we must fight off the vultures who see NYC retirees as the huge cash cow we are.
In January we'll all be paying $15 co-pays every time we use a service. I'm fairly certain every retiree in the city will think of Unity every time they reach in a pocket to pay. Our negotiating committee seems to be the MLC, and as far as I can tell they work for the city, not us.
This is the most insane description I have ever read! Your HiP ViP HMO didn't "supplement" anything... It REPLACED your traditional medicare!!! No one is making any "allegations for political reasons." We cite and source what we say. You would NEVER have had to have paid the 20% Medicare didn't cover because Senior Care covers that. Are you sure you understand insurance? There are the reports and findings by the HHS OIG, the DOJ the federal government including Congress!!! And while the same companies offer MA do offer Medigaps - they want to sell the MA plan because brokers get 3 times the commission. YOU get screwed if you ever want to leave if you don't leave in less than a year. THESE ARE FACTS.
Stop getting your knickers in a twist. I can “supplement” my diet with extra salad. Salad is not a “supplement.” There’s nothing wrong with saying that Advantage plans cover some of the costs Medicare leaves on the table. In this sense an Advantage plan is “supplemental” — but it is not and never will be a “supplement.” I am “in” Medicare in both delivery systems, it’s the delivery of the Medicare benefits that’s handled differently. OF COURSE the HIP VMO (an Advantage plan that includes drugs through the rider) replaces a Medicare/supplement/rider drug plan delivery system. But it does “supplement” straight Medicare in two ways: picking up costs I would have had to otherwise pay if I only had straight Medicare, and throwing in some extras (e.g., telehealth, fitness program, etc.) Senior Care is a negotiated delivery system — not quite a standard Medigap, but very similar. OF COURSE it pays the 20% for Part B leftover, and OF COURSE it pays the leftover Part A costs. OF COURSE brokers get larger commissions with the MAPs. (But PS: you do NOT get “screwed” in NYS, which has very different rules for Medigaps (guaranteed issue rights, open enrollment, you can change Medigaps every month in NYS and CT). I know exactly what I have, thank you. One delivery system “supplements” straight Medicare in one way, and the other delivery system “supplements” it in another way. They are two different structures. OBVIOUSLY. But there’s nothing wrong in saying that both delivery systems give you more than what straight Medicare gives you, and in that sense, they “supplement” it, i.e “add” to it. That’s all I’m saying.
If you are choosing with this response to stick to your story that MA "supplements" medicare there is no reason to even continue to have a conversation with you as you cannot say that with an honest face if you are NOT ADMITTING THAT THE "BENEFITS THAT SUPPLEMENT" MEDICARE ARE IN EXCHANGE FOR ACTUAL HEALTHCARE!!
There are 4 states with guarantee issue rights, NY, Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut. EVERYWHERE ELSE, YOU CAN BE SCREWED. And what you are also not accepting is that if you are getting screwed by your MA plan, you are most likely dealing with illness sever enough that now your plan is also a burden and not allowing you access to the care you need.
For example in your "senior voice" you describe PA for medical necessity, when in fact it is abused for the purpose of retaining profits in MA - and yes, while it is done IN SOME instances in Traditional Medicare, if for example there were to be an issue, it is the DR who is on the hook, not the patient. In that sentence, you are very wrong. We hired Medicare EXPERTS in our litigation - this is all in our case in SEVERAL affidavits.
I can appreciate you volunteering helping seniors with their tax returns via AARP, who also sells MA Plans to enrich their organization, but I am still not seeing where your expertise comes from on this issue, and that you keep spreading misinformation. For someone who keeps saying she is against MA, you find a way to slant your words. If you work for AARP - it is no wonder.
Your first sentence is correct. It is not worth having a conversation. Your accusations are unbearable. I’m out.
Again, I know what I know. You know what you know. Also, I'll say what I like, just as you say what you like.
Hi Julie. My statements are FACT and proven from calls this organization made when calling MRC. We were at a point when people were scared they would lose their Sr. Care plan and started searching on the internet for a plan. WE FOUND MANY ORGANIZATIONS CLAIMING THEY WERE ADVOCACY OR INFORMATIONAL - GIVING OUT BAD INFORMATION! HICAP -SHIP and MRC were guilty and we had to set up follow up calls to correct them. Which our team did.
MRC - Actually had a link and outlined box on their main page touting the benefits of MA. And when we called there - they WERE PUSHING MA. We recorded the calls which is why i know we had proof of saying what we did.
HICAP - THE SAME THING. They were spewing the insurance BS so thick, we called the supervisor and scheduled a meeting AND GAVE HIM THE AETNA contract to prove to him that the info they got From AETNA was BS. We proved the Aetna lie - "that their plan is a PPO and you can see ANY Doctor you want to." YOU CAN, but you will pay for it. These offices around NY were sharing MISINFORMATION and it was NYC Retirees that fixed that!
So while you believe what you are told - we actually DIVE in and make sure we are not being lied to. Too many people don't check that. We do. Again, we have fact checked EVERYTHING. We have been doing this for over 3 years this way. That is how we learned that LeRoy and Alan are on the MRC.
Its too bad you choose to doubt me rather than respect that we fact checked what was being put out there - and if more people did that, we wouldn't be in the current situation.
That said, LeRoy Barr and Alan Lubin are BOTH on the Board of Medicare Rights and it is apparent they did not recognize the concerns of MA plans being forced on retirees or have any issues with a union privatizing a federal public health benefit - or forcing people into one so he could get a raise. He didn't care, or he didn't speak out that retirees would not have the same access to doctors and hospitals in America that accept traditional MEdicare only. He didn't speak out about retirees in Continuing Care Residential Communities that do not accept MA - leaving retirees on the hook. That once in MA, you may never get out because you would be subject to underwriting - and the cost could be prohibitive. Lower income retirees would be harmed the most. Traditional Medicare has rare prior authorizations - but MA has a lot - and they would be in the hands of unions that can no longer legally bargain for retirees.
Regarding your language describing "supplemental" benefits you absolutely are confusing people I still stand by that. Not everyone understands insurance the way you or I do. We learned that a long time ago! And still today, retirees have confusion. I asked you to be aware of how you describe MA plans and using "supplemental" benefits as I have retirees in MTA that did not know they were on an MA plan and thought they were being given something not available to them in traditional Medicare without realizing the "perks" you describe are at a DIRECT trade off of access to drs and hospitals. So yes, - many retirees think MA is a supplement so I stand by my comments to you.
So no Julie - I am not "partisan" and I do NOT bend the truth. Handle my emails and phone for a week and you will see --- I am right.
I don't see anyone else having your back in this fight and fighting for you NOW. No one is fighting your copays or protecting your federal public health benefit but NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees.
A bit rambling from one topic to another, right? and I am planning to respond, but not off the cuff. We’re both steeped up to the gills in this stuff, you for the 3 years you’ve been doing these court cases (thank you!!) and me for the decade I’ve helped people find plans in the open market that suit their very specific health care needs. This is not a one-size-fits all situation for anyone. Some people are stressed financially, some sicker, or older, or can’t make decisions for themselves anymore. Before answering your comment, I am going to ask my own contact or two at the MRC for what they think about your account, and will add those to my own when I respond, and I will go point by point. The only thing I will say now is that when you say you don’t see anyone else “having my back,” may I suggest that people have joined the fight against the city’s PPOs based on YOUR version of the health care landscape and their virtually complete ignorance of it. No fault of their own, it’s very complicated. You portray me as pushing something contrary to your position, but I am after the exact same things as you. I dislike Advantage plans, the PBMs, upcoding, prior auths, click-and-deny strategies, bad laws written by lobbyists and signed by know-nothing and/or paid for politicians, ACO Reach, in fact: everything to do with the for-profit companies taking strangling the health care industries. All I’ve ever advocated is for people to acquire and show they have deeper understanding of the components in our health care system and use more specific in the terms in motivating people to join the protest. In my latest post at Under Assault, I even gave kudos to the excellent way these Medicare parts were described in your Bentkowski case. Arthur calls my arguments a matter of semantics, Norm has implied more than once that it’s the protest that matters more than the details. I have given up making my points with both of them, and was ready just to let it be., we’d go our separate ways. Neither of them can devalue the service I’ve given over so many years to so many hundreds of seniors not protected by employer or union plans who are really floundering not knowing what to do at this juncture in their lives, or whom to turn to for help. But then you wrote into this blog, and I promise I will respond …. in a day or two.