Representative Mark Pocan joins the show to tell us whether or not there are any GOP colleagues that he hangs out with these days. We also talk about the Save Medicare Act and why only Medicare is Medicare.
Then we debate what child actor deserves a comeback and National Cleaning Week.
Guest: Rep. Mark Pocan
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Repeat after Rep. Pocan: Only Medicare is Medicare.
Rep. Pocan along with Representatives Ro Khanna and Jan Schakowsky, reintroduced the “Save Medicare Act” in February. They’re basically trying to stop private healthcare plans from using “Medicare” in their plan titles or ads because it’s confusing people and leading them to believe that these private plans are the real deal. The bill would also give out fines to insurers that continue to do this kind of misleading advertising.
The Reps explain that “Medicare Advantage” plans aren’t actually Medicare, and they’re worried that these plans are making it harder for people to access the care they need. They want to make sure that everyone knows what is – and what isn’t – Medicare, so they’re introducing this bill to make things clearer.
The Save Medicare Act has the support of a bunch of healthcare experts and advocates. These experts claim that private insurance companies are using the Medicare brand to trick people into signing up for their plans. They also point out that these private plans are overcharging the government and denying people the care they need.
According to some reports, these private plans are submitting inflated bills and even committing fraud to make more money. The Save Medicare Act would put an end to all of this by making it harder for private plans to use the Medicare name in their advertising.
The goal is to make sure that older Americans can rely on real Medicare for their healthcare needs, without getting tricked by private insurers who are just in it for the profits.
Other Things We Talked About
