By Oct. 1, at least 2 million seniors will have received alarming notices: Their health plans — which they get through Medicare Advantage, the version of Medicare run by private health insurance companies — will disappear at the end of the year.
Many will be stuck without a lot of options. In some cases, no other companies in their area may offer Medicare Advantage plans to replace them. This isn’t the first time this has happened. Last year, almost 3 million seniors found themselves in similar situations.
An Arm and a Leg host Dan Weissmann and producer Emily Pisacreta looked into what happened when those cancellations hit Minnesota. The collapse of a major Medicare Advantage carrier there led to “total chaos,” according to the director of the state’s Medicare assistance agency. Everyday people stepped up to help one another in the fallout.
Plus, KFF Health News senior correspondent Julie Appleby joins to discuss the role of private health insurance companies in Medicare. She explains how these companies shape seniors’ choices, including in Medicare supplemental plans, whose premiums have skyrocketed.
Dan Weissmann @danweissmann @danweissmann.bsky.social
Host and producer of “An Arm and a Leg.”
Previously, Dan was a staff reporter for Marketplace and Chicago’s WBEZ. His work also appears on “All Things Considered,” Marketplace, the BBC, “99% Invisible,” and “Reveal,” from the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Credits
- Emily Pisacreta- Producer
- Adam Raymonda- Audio wizard
- Ellen Weiss- Editor
An Arm and a Leg is a co-production of KFF Health News and Public Road Productions.