A Huge Threat to the U.S. Budget Has Receded. And No One Is Sure Why.

[mama]

26. I'm not an expert, but as I understand it

The government pays Medicare Advantage plans a set amount to provide medical services. If your expenses go beyond that amount, they will be nickle and diming you so that they don't lose money. All is good as long as you don't need much medical care.

I learned about it when my Mom was refused some services at the end of her life.
We had always followed the advice of my late father's employer. For years it was traditional Medicare with a supplement which the company helped provide. When they switched to the Medicare Advantage plan, we trusted that it was okay. But they stopped paying for her nursing home after 4 weeks when she was clearly near the end of her life, because she wasn't showing "improvement".

When it came time for us to apply, we did a lot of research and chose traditional Medicare with a good supplement. It's good for us because we like to travel, but it does cost us an additional 215/month. But we know we'll never be left with a huge bill, because the copays and out-of-pocket max are reasonable.