Rep. Porter and Wendell Potter Discuss Medicare (Dis)Advantage 

Older people NEED full hearing, vision, and dental insurance!

Katie Porter is one of the very few politicians I give money to

Clearly, we need to have Universal Healthcare like other civilized countries have had for decades. I live on my Social Security and was put on an Advantage . It has paid for everything, even out of state emergency care. I'm sure they must be gouging the government to pay for their generous benefits.

I truly love the way Katie Porter gets to heart of the matter, explains complicated issues quickly, and works to better the lives of all people!

California needs to make sure Rep. Porter becomes Sen. Porter. She isn't a fraud who panders to corporations.

I'm a brit. Lived in Germany, now in Austria. I love Katie Porter. Can we please clone her? Please? EVERYONE needs her.

Thank you, Katie, for shedding light on this legal Medicare fraud! I had to disenroll from the only (Dis)advantage Plan offered in my county. I could not even see a primary care Physician until most of the year was already over. And I am in need of specialty care which I was never able to receive. I live across the street from the Regional hospital and I was not allowed to go there.

Yes, but I went through this with my brother-in-law regarding making a decision about this, and the problem is Medicare itself on it's own website pushes patients towards these Advantage Plans, they even send Medicare Recipients a booklet with the various Advantage Plans included in it. The Supplemental Plans are just as big a labyrinth of clauses and fine print regarding what they cover and what they don't cover and copays and fees and whatever. The problem is this... MAKE MEDICARE COVER EVERYTHING! Stop forcing American citizens to go someplace else to pick up what Medicare doesn't cover. COVER EVERYTHING, even if you have to raise the monthly fee for Medicare to do it, because what the Government has created here is a treacherous mess.

Thank you Congresswoman Katie Porter!!!! You are the very best.

Thank you both for this important information! Ralph Nader has also talked about this on his podcast. Appreciate the clear breakdown of pros and cons from those who are looking out for the people.

This is good stuff. I turned 65 in 2023, so I did a lot of research and listening to people talk about Medicare. It took me a while because I was so confused by the way advantage plans are marketed, but I finally figured out on my own that an advantage plan is NOT medicare. It shouldn't be called "Medicare." There's so much greed in this system, and I know that it's enabled by lobbyists who work for the benefit of the insurance companies and their execs and stockholders. All profit (except for paying docs and nurses very well) in the medical care industry should be made illegal. I'm no socialist--i realize that capitalism is why the US has been so successful--but medical care is now a necessity; is no longer a privilege like it was before the US became a highly organized and advanced nation. We haven't been an agrarian society for a very long time.

Horrible that these health insurances are all about gross amounts of profit off of our backs.

Katie, my reason for using Advantage is that Medicare leaves us to pay 20% of the bill. I am healthy now so it doesn’t matter, but who knows what may happen tomorrow? 20% of a massive bill would wipe us out. It’s a huge gamble that I’m not willing to make. Cap the out of pocket if you want to make basic medicare reasonable. Is my info or conclusion wrong? Would love your response.

Thank you so much, Congresswoman, for doing the work you do for all of us. Please keep up the great work! We appreciate you!!

Congresswoman Katie Porter protecting Americans by brilliantly educating about Medicare

Thank you so much, Congresswoman Porter and Mr. Potter. Much appreciated.

Health care for profit is a prescription for high death rates and suffering of hundreds of thousands for the financial benefit of a few.

Wendell Potter is absolutely brilliant on health insurance. I used to be an administrator for a medical office back when HMOs came in. He wrote a fabulous book and I even saw him and a talk he gave .

Thank you Katie. I wish all elected in our government were like you. 😊

Thank you for confirming what I have thought was true without my having to do the research!

I am so happy that I live in Canada with Universal Health Insurance. We do have some issues with wait times and people having a hard time finding a primary care physician, but overall we get the care we need when we need it. My dad needed triple heart bypass surgery and two defibrillator/pace-makers implanted. At no time did he, or anyone in the family have to worry about what was covered, if coverage would run out, or whether or not the insurer would increase premiums or cut him off. There were no co-pays or other out of pocket expenses. And we did not have to worry what was in the fine print. His doctors talked to each other, to him and to the family. They DID NOT, at any point have to talk to an insurance company or even their own hospital administration to authorize his costly treatment.The doctors and the patient made the decisions. Thanks to our remarkable health care system, we had dad in our lives much longer than we first thought and none of us had to worry about how to pay for his care. BTW, Canadians love Katie Porter also,

Can you also talk about the Medigap cost which can be pretty expensive and does not include Medicare part B

I have never had Medicare Advantage, but I get phone calls all the time to review my program. They lie.

So what are we supposed to do? If you can't afford Medicare or Medigap you are forced to go to a Medicare Advantage program. There is no other insurance through my employer that I can even come close to affording. And I don't even get eye or dental.

I hope to be able to vote for you for POTUS someday. It's been many years since I've felt that my vote wasn't a moral compromise.

I have called it Medicare Disadvantage since I enrolled at age 65. I am now almost 75. The reason I chose Mediare Disadvantage was precisely because of vision and limited dental coverage. Fix those two issues, and Medicare would work for most of us seniors. Wendel is correct in saying there are so many hoops to jump through to receive any specialized treatment. Usually, it is just denied. I could wtite a saterical book on the subject. Its all a big joke. The joke is on we older citizens who could never afford medical insurance, and mistakenly believed that turning 65 would solve the problem. We really need a universal health care system in this for profit nation. It's never cared about the ordinary working class citizen. The myth continues and people become disillusioned, then vote against their own best interest in choosing a con artist like D.J. Trump, or believe the Rethuglicons in office care one whit about their welfare. Vote Blue. Katie is a champion. ❤

You always learn something watching Rep Porter. She is a very good teacher, breaking things down for people to understand easily

Thank you for being so clear and informative. Getting after the complex prescription medication industry and going after predatory insurance companies needs to happen in tandem. Please continue to push for truth and equity in healthcare (for the whole person - body, dental, vision, hearing)!

I wish you was an option for president

I've not have bad service with my Medicare Advantage plans.

Oh Katie, Adam Schiff is a wonderful public servant, but this country needs you in the Senate and ultimately as President.

Thank you for having this conversation. As a nurse, I’ve seen the the patient costs of choosing Medicare (DIS)Advantage plans. Over and over again.

Right at that age and wanted to know more; and here was Katie Porter informing us!! Another reason to vote her into the Senate.

Thanks for explaining this important topic. I never realized that we have the choice for traditional medicare. Break up the best giant corporations.

Most informative thing on Medicare I've seen. Thank you.

Thank you Katie you are so wonderful!

The insurance companies are absolute evil leeches. Keep up the great work, Rep. Porter!

Thank you Katie Porter for ALL you do! Thank you for sharing.

Put a woman in the White House!!!

I am Canadian and I am a BIG FAN and wish we had someone like you here working for us!!! 💚💚💛💛💙💙🧡🧡❤❤

That is a very important point, that if you go with an ADVANTAGE plan and want to change back to traditional Medicare and want a supplemental insurance policy, you then HAVE to go through MEDICAL UNDERWRITING (for the supplement)! They can deny your supplemental coverage for just about anything. My husband was overweight and they wouldn’t let him get a supplemental policy, at that point.

Health insurance premiums is what's preventing my wife and I to retire as we have been planning. This keeps us in good paying jobs that could be done by younger people with kids if we didn't still have to have them. We never imagined or could have planned for an insurance system that was going to cost us $1800 per month in premiums at only 60 years of age. This is effecting the economy for us and our adult kids. It's keeping them from being able to advance too.

THANK YOU for always explaining things in normal words for regular people so we can actually understand what it is all about.

this is a good video and a great explination

Just love you and your whiteboard, Katie! The company I once worked for hired another company to come up with algorithms to help cut costs. This was the restaurant industry, and I was appalled. What a glorious waste of money! I am good with math so I created my own formulas to do things like labor, ordering, etc. It was so accurate, I could tell you what time to the minute I would run out of product, even in special circumstances. The company came to my restaurant (lowest costs in the country) to get those formulas. So I know how to do this. I decided to find out what would happen if an honest entity took over healthcare for this country. Doctors would be paid more than they are under our current system, and everyone would be covered. In the end, I figured out it would cost us 1/3 of what it does now, even considering the current inflated costs of healthcare. It's time. Let's do it!

The problem is between insurors and Medicare/Congress. My Advantage Plan is fine. I don't need access to every doc in the universe because my network has lots of experts. I don't need expensive medications, I do like dental (haven't paid much in several years). So please don't buy these bogey-man arguments, Rep. Porter.

I started MA when I turned 65 because of the dental care I needed but couldn’t previously afford. I was otherwise in excellent health, had not to a doctor in over twenty years. Because it was covered I found an excellent GP who works out of a clinic run by a very good hospital within walking distance of my home. Had my first physical and got an A. However I was diagnosed with breast cancer just six months later. My care has been phenomenal, yes I have had some co-pays but they were less than what straight Medicare would have cost. If I had gone with just Medicare and all the additional money you have to pay to get coverage for things I would be in debt now.

Katie Porter, I wish there were more people in congress and the senate like you, looking out for the consumers. However, I have not seen the issues with medicare advantage that you're warning us about. I needed surgery less than a year ago and my wife is currently going through cancer treatment and there were no hassles in either case. We were both taken care of. I just wish that more people in this country (younger than 65) could receive the care that us retired people receive for similar costs to us.

Love your proposed bill. If properly monitored MA would be better.

I'm very thankful that I have VA health care. One of our biggest failures as a country is the inability to overcome the heath care lobbies and adopt a single payer, every American covered health care system. The current system hurts our country in so many ways including the high per capita cost which hurts our international competitiveness, poor health outcomes with lower life expectancy, higher infant and maternal mortality, etc, lack of employment mobility for fear of heath care loss, fear of bankruptcy, etc, etc. the list of failures goes on.

❤❤❤ Thank you Katie!!!

Bless you, Katie. More people need to hear about these things. I just turned 65 and caught on, but only after online research.

Thank you, I learned so much.

Thank you. Nearing the months before age 65 and needed to understand this.

I love you, Katie Porter . . . and your little whiteboard

Thanks for all the hard work you do on behalf of Californians and all Americans, Rep. Porter. You have my enthusiastic vote in your Senate bid.

That’s a great idea however why our congressman and senators offered free healthcare because they are government workers. Let’s get rid of that and have them pay just like everybody else does.!

Great job Katie and Wendell.

I was spending $3600 a year for supplemental insurance on the traditional Medicare program. Now, on Medicare advantage I am saving $3400 a year on those expenses. That more than cover is my deductible, which I barely met on the traditional plan. I am fortunate that I live in an area that has two medical networks in the Medicare advantage HMO. Also I have minimal to nonexistent prescriptions. So, it all depends on your circumstances whether or not Medicare advantage is better for you.

Thank you for the clarity between the plans.

Rep. Porter, I respect you and will vote for you but this is an oversimplification of the issues. 1) Medicare (MCR) is not always widely accepted by all physicians. Just check availability in OC. 2) Medicare generally pays physicians very poorly and does not always reimburse timely. 3) Medicare should spend more than 1.7% in Admin. costs. The additional costs should be spent reducing fraud. 4) Physicians accepting MCR have not been fully vetted and are not contractually required to follow procedures, process, and formulates. This can lead to non-evidenced based care being prescribed or performed and overprescribing scheduled drugs. There is no routine quality, peer review, or risk management review of straight MCR physicians/providers. My background as a Calif. RN with an MBA and my experiences in hospital; nursing management; quality/compliance and risk management; plus directorship of a large, oncology group and surgical center allows me to know that what you've pointed is over simplified. Choosing between MCR and MCR Adv. is very complicated and requires self-education. I worked in the non-HMO environment all my life but chose an HMO, Medicare Adv. plan for myself when I retired.

Thank you for sharing this information with us and for fighting for us to get better care. It is much appreciated. Many blessings to you and your family.

Katie is the real deal. Just listen to her. She is amazing.

Thank you for clarifying Ms. Porter😅

it's simple, Katie, if the government would just give us the same benefits ie: drugs, dental, vision, low co-pays etc. we would not go with advantage plans. So why don't they?

This is such important information, why do you not have the man miked? Terrible sound. Thank you, Katie, for putting a light on this topic. We need to get rid of DISadvantage plans.

Thank you Katie. Why do our representatives who we provide with the best health care in the world continue to get away with this unacceptable situation? Is it greed in the form of paybacks, or that they don't care?

I just checked to find that I do have an advantage plan. I had no idea! I'm usually not an idiot, so I'm wondering where this fact escaped me. Thank you Katie! Now what to do about it...

When every doctor worth his salt understands that poor dental health can have a very serious effect on a persons health - WHY is dental coverage not included in basic Medicare. Another question is - how many people are aware that if you do not sign up for part B and D when you first get Medicare and collect Social Security - and you didn't have other insurance - you will be charged a penalty when you finally do. Yes, if you could not afford insurance because you were just too poor - you are penalized if you later find some way to afford D and/or B. The penalty is hundreds of dollars a year deducted from your Social Security check.

Thank you!!!

How come medigap plans are for profit also?

This definitely needs Federal attention and maybe also the attention of the United Nations. This is much like the historic buriels of Native American children eho had been taken and rhen somehow died or were killed at Indian Schools.

I pay over $350 a month for my Medicare advantage plan that I chose because I have some major health issues. I’ve had so many emergency surgeries and my plan covered pretty much everything. This situation is daunting and I hope Ms Porter gets her bill passed so there is true transparency.

Thank you! This is the most straightforward video I've seen so far on this subject!

I work in a hospital. Trying to explain to Medicare advantage recipients that their Medicare is not actually a supplement to their advantage plan is like pulling teeth. They will argue until the cows come home. It astounds me how many people pay all this money for this coverage and they have absolutely no clue what their coverage entails.

Thank you for this!

This channel should have 100 million followers. Katie for President Mom! We need more real Americans who want to fix the wealthy corruption in Congress or WE are all doomed!

Thank you Katie Porter, we need more like you! What was so tempting about the advantage programs is the flex card that helps pay for dental & vision & having serious eye problems I needed that. The only thing was they sent me to the worst doctors ever!!

When I was introduced to the Medicare Advantage plan by an insurance broker I didn’t know what it was all about. I was never told I couldn’t go back to the original Medicare plans. I was looking for dental & eye care that regular Medicare doesn’t cover. I have a very low income & qualify for my Medicare fee to be covered & my prescriptions are no cost or a very low amount.

Katy - you need to get this out in your upcoming Senate debate !!! Good luck!

Is there no difference between nonprofit and for-profit health insurance companies, the way they handle Medicare Advantage?

One other factor is Out Of Pocket caps. For instance, my current Advantage plan has a max $1000 OOP per year cap. Original Medicare has no OOP cap. Your cost is 20% forever. When I had cancer 6 years ago, my bill was over $500,000. I got sick in January and finished treatment in November, so it was luckily all in a one year period. At the time, my ACT plan (was under 65 then) had a $5,500 OOP; The OOP and monthly premiums combined cost me a total of about $13,000 for the event. If I had original Medicare, it would have cost over $100,000. For such an event, my current MA plan would cost the $1,000 OOP, plus the monthly premium. (2 k for the year) Total $3,000. That's $3K vs $100K. So if you have high risk healthcare possibilities, Advantage Plans could be better.

No for profit health insurance sure be able to use the name medicare.

Thank-you for caring Katie!!

I was forced to get a Medicare Advantage Plan because I barely survive on my social security. I have no money for the deductibles or premiums of traditional medicare. The Advantage Plan pays these things so all my medical care is free to me. I know I am going to be in trouble later when I need hospitalization and more expensive care.

She’s such a great teacher & a fine person of integrity 🙏.

Here’s a lawmaker that earns her salary. Unlike many of her congressional colleagues who are only pursuing political agendas that have no benefit to society.

Too poor to afford a Medicare supplement.

Please PLEASE get the Democrat Party to pick YOU for POTUS!!! We WILL lose to any GOP candidate if DNC runs with President Biden. #Katie2024😊

I am a retired State of CT worker (after 32 years working for the State). I am covered by a ‘Medicare Advantage’ plan (Ætna), paid for by the State (they also re-imburse me for my Medicare B premium). Including dental, prescriptions (with a small co-pay), vision (glasses), et al. Fortunately, I’m pretty healthy, so I haven’t ‘trsted’ the coverage. It covers all I need SO FAR (I’m 67…and plan to live many more years). As I understand it, this plan is better for me than Medicare would be. It may cost more, but the cost is borne by the State, not me. I would LOVE there to be a complete ‘Medicare for all’ plan, similar to what most CIVILIZED countries have (most of Europe, etc.).

Hey Bernie what do you think of my Katie,😅 I know Bernie's loving all of it❤❤❤❤❤❤ everybody gets three hearts fantastic job thank you for all your work,

Every year I pay for my part D, (1200.00 a & year for the plan), and 5300.00 out of pocket. Medications covered when you pick a plan & somewhere between January - March plans change their formulary & I'm paying out of pocket for my medications.

Thank you Rep. Porter for making this ULTRA IMPORTANT VIDEO. I am one of those seniors who was duped into signing up for Medicare Advantage. What a MISNOMER that is. I had asked prior to signing up for it, if each of my doctors was in Network. Of 5 docs, they said 4 were in network, the other was one I rarely use. I also asked if my Physical Therapist was in Network and they tole me "Yes". That was a lie. I had scheduled 12 physical therapy sessions begining the first wk. of Jan. On the day of my first appointment the PT called to say they noticed I had switched plans and that they were OUT of NETWORK. My choice was pay $200 per visit or not go at all. I live below poverty level and had to cancel those appointments. Furious, I called Medical Advantage to say they gave me FALSE info & their reply was "we're sorry". Well "sorry" doesn't cut it. Fortunately, I decided to DIS-ENROLL from Medicare Advantage, but was told I could not resume traditional Medicare for one month. This is such an important video. I wish I was in Calif. so I could vote for Katie Porter, who is always on the side of people like me. I want the right to choose my own doctors and will be happy to resume Traditional Medicare as I've gotten excellent and cost free care from them for years. The supposed "advantages" are hype, yes they give you money for food, rides to doctor & small amounts for glasses or dental, but it NO WAY COMPARES to having to use Their doctors, who are not at all the most qualified, especially for seniors. Again, Katie Porter you are truly a hero. Pass this video on to every friend, help others avoid being lied to by Medicare Advantage.

You are disgusting for supporting illegal criminals and justifying Laken Riley's death. Im ashamed for ever being a registered Democrat in California.

Thank you Katie Perry. This is a very valuable conversation that needs to happen on a broader scale. From across the country I'm fuming. What I knew you confirmed. What I didn't know requires further questions.

We should address the problem with Medicare part B, where you must pay 176.00 simply to be a part of the medical side of Medicare. Then, you are up to 80% coverage. Then you must buy Medicare gap coverage. Many people can't afford this and get sucked into Medicare Advantage plans. Once you figure in Part D expenses for prescriptions, dentist coverage, regular people can't afford traditional Medicare. Get private insurance providers OUT of Medicare altogether!

I have Medicare and VA Healthcare. Had a stroke last June. The VA paid what Medicare didn't. Of course a doctor sent me a bill for $1700 more, but the letter from the VA had said, "veteran's portion=$0", so I filed the bill in the trash. Oh, and I'd never answer an ad that promised me free money 🙄🤭 Oh! And the VA gives me whatever medication I need, no matter what it is. I can pick it up at the pharmacy or they will mail it...it's free.

Thank you Katie for all you do you are amazing hope you can get this Medicare fixed for all of us ❤

Shouldn’t you compare Medicare Advantage to Medicare Supplemental plans? Those are the 2 options seniors have to pay for the 20% that Medicare doesn’t pay for.

Sure I agree with your option of Advantage plans. But traditional Medicare you have to buy supplements B, C, D, F , N (missed some). The whole system is a circle jerk that always works out to the benefit of the private provider's. We need Universal Healthcare Coverage, get the profit motives out of healthcare. Just realize that United Health Inc came out of Blue Cross provider's. Now they are the largest provider's in this space.