MEDICARE HMO PULLOUTS: Some Seniors Get Redumped
Some of the seniors who recently found out they would be getting dumped by their health plan were previously dumped, "part of a coterie of older Americans wandering sadly from health plan to health plan," the Wall Street Journal reports. In addition to the inconvenience and stress of having to find new doctors, the problem can be especially tricky for older adults with chronic conditions like kidney disease, who are barred from Medicare HMOs once they begin dialysis. They may find themselves essentially locked into fee-for-service Medicare if they are dumped from an HMO once theY begin treatment. Seniors may also find their attempts to enroll in a new HMO stymied by limited enrollment periods or waiting lists (Jeffrey/Rundle, 7/20).
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