Watch out Costco shoppers. The SCAN Group and Costco are partnering to deliver more Medicare options, reports Page Minemyer for Fierce Healthcare. Don’t be seduced into joining a SCAN Medicare Advantage plan, unless you are willing both to see only a limited number of physicians within a limited geographic area and to deal with prior authorization hassles.
Unlike most Medicare Advantage plans, SCAN is a non-profit organization. Consequently, it might offer better care than the for-profit Medicare Advantage plans. However, there is no good data to suggest it does. And, over the last decade, we have seen evidence that the non-profit health insurers operate much like the for-profit insurers. They need to in order to compete.
As SCAN’s CEO appreciates, Costco shoppers could very well sign up with SCAN’s Medicare Advantage plans because they so trust Costco. But, if they do, they are giving up the freedom they have in traditional Medicare to see the doctors and hospitals they want to see when they want to see them. They are also opting to deal with prior authorization and other bureaucratic hassles that come with Medicare Advantage enrollment. They should assume that their Medicare Advantage insurer will second-guess and sometimes overrule their treating physicians regarding the care you need.
There’s no question that the upfront costs of Medicare Advantage plans are little to nothing and you can save money in Medicare Advantage if you need little or no care. But, there’s also no question that you are gambling with your health, often forsaking access to cancer centers of excellence and top specialists should you develop a complex condition.
