I am a patient of Dr. Casper's, but am not in the UHC Advantage plan. I wonder if I went to his office if I'd be allowed to read the letter. Probably not.
At any rate, there always seems to be confusion about how an Advantage plan works vs. a Medigap or supplemental plan. My understanding is that Medicare takes the Part B premium paid by certain taxpayers on Medicare and "gives" it to an insurer (UHC). UHC then sets up an Advantage plan and recruits doctors who will accept a certain $ amount for their services. Any monies not paid out constitute profit for UHC. If all the money plus co-pays goes to provide care there is no profit, the insurance plan goes insolvent, and the stockholders get upset.
On the other hand, many or most of those eligible for Medicare have Supplemental (Medigap) plans. Supplemental subscribers pay a monthly premium to an insurer. The provider submits a claim to Medicare who pays 80% of the claim and the insurer pays the remaining 20%. Medicare takes the "hit" to its budget in case of a deficit, not the insurer.
Logically, it would seem that UHC/Dr. Casper pulled the plug, unless UHC drafted a contract with Medicare that shifted the deficits to Medicare?
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