Massachusetts Seniors Leave Medicare+Choice, Drop Medigap

An increasing number of Massachusetts seniors are dropping their Medigap policies or leaving Medicare+Choice plans, "leaving themselves vulnerable to high medical bills," according to a report released yesterday, the Boston Herald reports. Mass Home Care, an organization that promotes home-health care services, analyzed state records and found that 428,479 Massachusetts seniors had extra health coverage in 2000, down from 467,800 two years ago. The number of Massachusetts seniors in Medicare+Choice dropped by 3.3% last year, the first decline in the program's history. The Herald reports that the decline in coverage follows an increase in the cost of Medigap policies, additional premiums for managed care organizations and the departure of HMOs from certain areas. Physicians and hospitals have left Medicare+Choice because they were losing money, and managed care companies have had to add fees to certain services to offset losses. Attributing the problem to low reimbursements from the federal government, Tufts Health Plan Senior Vice President Patty Blake said, "It really is a public policy problem. Because we're going to end up in a situation where we will have more Medicare beneficiaries who will be on Medicare only and that leaves them without drug coverage, with deductibles and with no preventive care" (Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, 6/22).