The book 1984 written by George Orwell in 1948 drew a picture of a future Society where misinformation, fake news, and propaganda are used to control people. Misinformation is rampant today and not only on the news and social media sites either. We have had many complaints from clients saying they called the Hospital/Provider/Lab/Billing Department/Dr. Office and were told ‘they don’t take my Insurance’. We call the same numbers and often times they admit to us that they accept the clients plan.

Medicare Supplemental plans are secondary plans that work together with Medicare as the primary coverage. The client is covered in full as long as it medically necessary and the provider accepts Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans also work with Medicare but as the primary coverage. Many companies, Like United Health Care, have Medicare Advantage Plans and Medicare Supplement Plans. We help others understand the clear differences and benefits they both can provide.

Is it bad training, lack of training or caring, a misunderstanding between what is a Medicare Advantage Plan and what is a Medicare Supplemental plan? Most of the times it is the mention of UHC (United Health Care) by the client to the person on the phone that has the office worker respond with “that insurance company is not accepted”. On the contrary, we see that some insurance companies may be accepted as out of network vs. in network and may cost the client more in co-pays to go there. Sometimes, especially with HMO plans that by design have network coverage only, it is true that they may not be accepted. Other times it is the Brand name confusion of the insurance company. For example; while UHC Medicare advantage plan may not be in-network it could be out-of-network. The provider who doesn’t accept the Medicare Advantage plan in-network would still accept the no-network Medicare Supplement. The provider who accepts Medicare will accept the Medicare supplemental plan.

If they don’t accept your plan - what else can you do?

Ask your doctor to refer you to a physician that accepts Medicare. It is very likely they have a recommendation for a local doctor and are sending patients there already.

Use CMS's Medicare’s Online Directory Link: Physician Compare Link. Physician Compare puts up-to-date information about providers at your fingertips any time you need it, and it allows you to compare them. They update general information on Physician Compare twice a month. But because information can change at any time, you should always contact the provider or group to verify general information.