[villagetinker]

I just received this from NRLN, please read and take action, it appears we could lose Medicare.........I do not believe the original links will work on the pasted document, so I highlighted the link that can be pasted.




NRLN Action Alert
Stop New Plan to
Destroy Medicare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under President Biden's administration is moving ahead with Direct Contracting (DC), an ill-conceived plan announced, but not fully implemented by December 2020 under President Trump's administration. We must demand that President Biden and Congress kill the program.

The DC plan is aimed at the 41 million in original Medicare who would be auto-enrolled in a private plan. Furthermore, investor-backed startup so-called Direct Contracting Entities (DCEs) can be Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), commercial insurers, and even Medicare Advantage (MA) new or existing MA plans. This could mean that the 24.9 million enrollees in MA plans might be converted to original Medicare to come under DCEs. More details later. The Health Affairs publication reported that already the pilot program includes 53 DCEs in 38 states and that 23 of them are investor owned. A second wave of new DCEs are expected to be announced in January 2022.

It is urgent that you respond to this NRLN Action Alert to tell the President and your members of Congress to stop CMS' implementation of DC. If you have never responded to an NRLN Action Alert before, THIS IS THE ONE YOU DON'T WANT TO IGNORE. Click here to access this most important Action Alert. Click here for more details about DC.

Medicare Advantage (MA) has shown that private insurance is not cost effective. Our government paid $41.8 billion to private insurance companies to offer MA plans in 2021 alone and $450 billion over 24 years. Our tax dollars were used to buy vision, hearing and dental benefits and cost sharing, but these benefits were denied to the 40 million participants in original Medicare. Private plans have never been competitive. This year payments to private insurers for MA plans were 104% compared to the cost of original Medicare Fee-for-Service per enrollee. MA plans have never been 100% or below.

While seniors can switch from an MA plan to original Medicare by their decision, they will be involuntarily placed into DCEs without their knowledge or permission.

DCEs will be paid monthly by the CMS to cover a specified portion of a patient's medical care. This is a terrible shift from original Medicare's direct reimbursements to healthcare providers. DCEs are allowed to pocket the funding they don't spend on healthcare. This is a prescription for private insurers to skimp on healthcare for original Medicare patients.

I urge you to take a few minutes right now to email the NRLN's sample letter, with your comments added, to your Representative, Senators and President Biden.

Bill Kadereit Bob Martina
NRLN President NRLN VP - Grassroots

If the "Click here" in the first paragraph does not work for you follow these easy steps:

1. If you have a problem with the link above, then go to http://newtemplate.nrln.org/action-alert/#/home/. Click on the "TAKE ACTION" button below the Stop New Plan to Destroy Medicare. Next, enter your street address and zip code, and click "GO". It will present the sample letter for you to email to President Biden and your Representative and Senators. If you have a problem with this link, go to National Retiree Legislative Network – NRLN - National Retiree Legislative Network and click on "Respond to an Action Alert" in the red bar near the top of the NRLN website home page. When the Action Alert appears, click on the "TAKE ACTION" link. Enter your street address and zip and click "GO" and follow the steps to email the NRLN's sample letters.

2. When you have accessed the sample letter, to the left of the letters are windows to type in your contact information required by members of Congress so they know they are receiving an email from a constituent. If you have sent previous NRLN emails to your members of Congress your contact information may be automatically displayed.

3. Add your personal comments to the letter.

4. Click on the "Preview" button and the letters addressed to your two Senators and Representative will appear. Their names will be automatically added in the letter's greeting. Check to make sure the letters appear correct and then click "Send".

5. If you receive a non-responsive or an evasive answer from your Representative or Senator to this Action Alert, don't hesitate to ask him/her to be more specific and address the issue in your email. Either do a "Respond" to his/her email or click here and scroll down to use the NRLN's Compose Your Own Message to reply to your member of Congress at Action Alert - National Retiree Legislative Network.










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[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I'm not understanding why the NRLN waited until December to warn everyone about this. Why all of a sudden are they so concerned? This has been in the making since 2019, and was scheduled to become effective January 2021. You've had all this time to express concern, get in touch with your state's representatives in Washington, stage protests to urge your own state reps here in Florida to take action.

Waiting until you're only a month away after you've had more than a year to try and stop it seems pretty foolish.

[njbchbum]

Lots of info on Direct Contracting Entities [DCEs] here direct contracting entity timeline 2022 at DuckDuckGo

Original 53 participants here The 53 participants in CMS' direct contracting model be sure to click on Review the full list here at the end of the list

[njbchbum]

A lot of alphabet salad and information here - but it's too late for me to understand!
Direct Contracting Summary - McDermott+Consulting

[Dana1963]

It’s common knowledge that ONE PARTY considers it an entitlement both Soc Sec and Medicare. If those can remember a certain Presidents speech to the Villages an Executive order protecting Medicare he fooled you.
It’s easier to blame the current administration. I know this may seem political but so what!

[Boomer]

I hope this thread stands because there are so many of us here on Medicare -- and we need to know what this is about. Village Tinker is the OP. That should make this thread worth our attention. VT is known for his credibility and helpfulness. VT is not a pot-stirrer. He is trying to get the word out on this, although it could well be too late. We need to be aware of any potential changes to Medicare. Medicare is government, and government is political, so there is no way around it. But I have to speak up on this one. It’s our Medicare we’re talking about.

(Dear Moderators: There will be those among us who will try to get this thread closed on the technicality that it is political -- because it will be extremely difficult for many in TV to face the fact that this thing was set up by the previous administration. Therefore, I predict there will be attempts by some posters to shut down this discussion -- either by getting rude or by complaining to the moderators. Or maybe the thread will just fade out naturally because it could be that the silence will be deafening -- from those who "believed.")

The Plot (er, Plan) to Privatize Medicare:

Remember? It was October 3, 2019. The man himself was in The Villages, at the Sharon, to give a speech, to put on a show, for the biggest group of seniors that couild be gathered in one spot anywhere. Right here in TV.

After his speech, the executive order was signed -- with a great flourish -- playing to that adoring audience who felt so honored by the visit and especially by getting to see that order "to protect and improve Medicare" signed right in front of them.

That order was titled "Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation's Seniors." (Executive Order 13890) What could possibly go wrong? Right?

And the crowd cheered and swooned in their devotion and loyalty.

That situation was a classic, dark illustration of irony -- or a nod to Shakespeare -- because right here, at the Sharon, seniors in that audience were being "hoist by their own petard" -- they had put the power behind what they were seeing in front of them -- selling them out. (This time it was a time-bomb so it took a while -- a couple of years. Now, here we are, wondering what hit us, or is about to, and if we can do anything about it.)

I knew at the time the order was signed that something was up and it possibly could be the step to the privatization of Medicare. More lining of pockets on the backs of seniors.

What made it so easy was the fear that had been so effectively fanned by throwing around that "Medicare for All" routine. That high profile phrase, being chanted and pounded constantly, was scaring and angering some people — while ironically providing the perfect cover to try to sneak privatization in the back door.

As the plot thickens, it looks like our choice of the type of plan we want -- how much control we choose to turn over to a corporation -- could be taken completely out of our hands. (Adoring fans or not.) I sure hope I am wrong.

You can Google the title of that order, "Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation's Seniors," and find it on federalregister.gov where you can read it in its entirety. . .read it and weep.

Seniors were being had on that day, two years ago, in October, in The Villages -- hook, line, and sinker. . .What a show it must have been.

Yours truly,
Cassandra Boomer (Medicare Primary, Plan F Supplement, by choice. . .but for how long?)

[MrFlorida]

Political posts are not allowed, so I can't comment.....

[rustyp]

PERSPECTIVE ALERT:

52 million seniors are on Medicare
AARP has an active membership of 38 million
NRLV claims to represent 2 million retirees

What does represent VS actual membership mean ?
NRLV "represents" mostly union based retirees from approx 100 corporations. There are upwards of 32 million businesses in the USA.

Myself - I won't loose any sleep over this until AARP, United Health, or The Villages Health Care starts raising the red flag.

[Babubhat]

No idea who Nrlv is. Put in the round file