Many of your patients have switched their Medicare coverage from the original Medicare to the Medicare Advantage plans - often to the patient's detriment (in my opinion). Medicare Advantage plans do not always cover everything that traditional Medicare covers and sometimes there are more hoops for the physician's office to jump through to get paid. For that reason, more and more physician offices, clinics and others have chosen to NOT accept patients with the Medicare Advantage plans. The problem is that patients sometimes do not realize they are SWITCHING over to the dark side. They believe they are taking out a supplement or Medigap plan instead of completely getting rid of their original Medicare. When they show up at your office, and you ask them if they still have Medicare Part B, they believe they do. They pull out the cards to show you and one is for Part B and the other is for Part C (Advantage). Now you know that they replaced their B with C. If they don't pull out the cards, you may not know until you get denied from Part B and then you're out of luck because you may not be enrolled with their Advantage plan. 

I spent alot of time today talking with someone that sells Part C to seniors. The senior is required to sign a paper acknowledging that they are not getting a supplement, but that they are enrolling in Part C. That is required, so they are signing it. The problem is that some patients are too ignorant of what Part C is as no one has either taught them or they are unable to understand it. The problem is also that some Part C salespeople may not be explaining it thoroughly, explaining it enough or even explaining it at all. Salespeople make money by enrolling people - and there will be some amount of larceny involved at times - but not all the time. If your office waits until the patient presents before explaining that you cannot see them today because you do not take their Part C Medicare, you're waiting too long and you may deserve losing the patients. Too many offices have a reactive approach to educating patients instead of a proactive approach. Those are the ones who wait until the patient has already switched before they tell them that they made a mistake or they cannot be seen. That is foolish, in my opinion. Physician offices and clinics, if smart, will take a PROACTIVE approach and educate the patients BEFORE the patient enrolls in Part C. Now - you really should become familiar with Part C as there are some advantages (especially on the Part A side), but if you do not take Part C - perhaps you should do something to minimize your OWN loss - and that is to educate your patients PROACTIVELY. 

Here is something you can copy/paste into a note that tells folks when they can WITHDRAW from Part C. Most have no idea when they can withdraw, even though they are very well versed on when they can enroll. 

Now’s the time to switch from a Medicare Advantage plan to Original Medicare if you’re dissatisfied.
If you’re unhappy with your private Medicare Advantage health plan, an annual “dis-enrollment” period allows you to return to the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program between Jan. 1 and Feb. 14. You can also select a drug plan to go with your new coverage. You should also know that the Medicare Premium dropped to $99.90 and the deductible for Part B dropped this year to $140.00. 

A word of caution here: There are two things you can’t do during the six-week dis-enrollment period. You can’t sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan for the first time. And you can’t switch from one Advantage plan to another. If you have any questions, please ask our manager.