Medicare open enrollment is just around the corner. So, the season for enrolling in Medicare for the 2025 healthcare year starts soon. I have been shopping around for Medicare Advantage plans since many of those are up early for browsing and research. Now, let me take a step back and tell you some details that have happened recently that affect the health insurance marketplace. First, insurance premiums are going to be lower for 2025. That might sound good at first, but lower profits mean cuts to benefits. This is the private insurance company way. The second thing that happened was that private insurance companies, such as Aetna, moved into the market for the 2024 year expecting it to be very profitable, but it wasn't. They missed their projected earnings, so the investors dropped the axe and pressured management to get profitable again or else! So, anyway, back to my search for a Medicare Advantage plan. My 2024 Aetna Medicare plan is no longer available as an option in 2025, and although the new Aetna plans are cheaper, they are also worse off as far as benefits go. More specifically, I want a $0 deductible plan with healthcare and a $0 drug deductible plan. What is currently supported in my 2024 plan. These plans are junk! They aren't designed to benefit the insured. They are designed to kick people off their plans and make them go elsewhere. Get rid of the expensive individuals to save money. Aetna has made no secret of this. The head of Aetna promised investors that 10-20% of the current customer base would leave the plans in 2025. Well, it looks like it will work. Now, I must make painful compromises in choosing among the new 2025 Aetna plans. Many of the other insurers in the Medicare Advantage marketplace are untrustworthy in their network coverage, and I won't use them. Others have learned their lesson that Medicare Advantage isn't profitable and offer their own junk plans. Fortunately, I'll only be in Medicare for another year or two before I'm disqualified. Then it's back to square one. Maybe next, I will try the Essential plan in New York State. See how that goes.
Isn't this the problem with government price-fixing? If there was profit to be made, and these companies were not losing money, you would think the companies would be rushing to try to get customers. But we see the opposite, where the companies are not making much of any effort at all to try to attract and keep customers.
I feel like I should apologize to Aetna. I didn't notice that my existing plan 2024 has extra help available to help me pay for things. Now, I just need to find out if I qualify for extra help in 2025. It's from a low-income benefit. It will drop the health deductible and the drug deductible down to $0.
Some people argue that if private insurance can't do its job, because it's too expensive, that the government should take over the healthcare industry...
