Private Medicare plans get billions for veterans who get VA care

One advert exhibits two older males speaking jovially on a entrance porch, “Vietnam veteran” seen on certainly one of their hats. One other exhibits an older man in army regalia, arms crossed, smiling proudly on the digicam. 

Underneath names like “Patriot Plan,” “Braveness MA,” and “Honor” plan, the entire main non-public Medicare insurers are courting veterans straight, promoting plans that their advertisements say complement their Veterans Affairs protection with advantages like dental and imaginative and prescient. These Medicare Benefit plans are fairly in style — virtually 42% of all Medicare-eligible veterans had one in 2022. 

The sharp development of MA plans amongst veterans over the previous decade alarms well being coverage researchers, who see the federal authorities successfully paying twice for a similar affected person’s care. That’s as a result of Medicare pays MA plans a set month-to-month price for every individual they enroll. That cash is meant to cowl all their Medicare-eligible companies, whether or not they get care or not. The issue happens when the VA, additionally a part of the federal authorities, pays for care the MA plan may have lined.