Medicare Advantage

TV is flooded these days with commercials encouraging everyone to sign up for Medicare Advantage. What is MA and why are they doing this?

First of all, a bit of history. For more than 30 years, Congress has debated whether the private insurance industry could deliver Medicare benefits more efficiently than the federal government. In 2003, these efforts evolved into what is now known as Medicare Part C or, more commonly, Medicare Advantage.

MA plans, operated by private insurance companies, cover services provided by Parts A & B of traditional fee-for-service Medicare, as well as most of the co...