ADVANTRA FREEDOM, Medicare Scam Nightmare

I’ve worked in the Medicare health insurance market for over 26 years and I can tell you there are still a lot of crooks out there, and anybody claiming there isn’t, doesn’t really know what’s going on. That being said, there aren’t NEARLY as many as there used to be before the government got so heavily involved in marketing practices, level commissions, standardizing plans, making agents take courses and pass tests each year to sell certain products (and you have to score 90% or better). I’d say it’s at least 20-1 good guys over the crooks, but that still leaves a lot of crooks, and a few thousand idiots tend to spoil it for the rest of us doing things the right way.

If you live in the right area and can get a good comprehensive plan with very a low hospital co-pay for $0 (that’s zero dollars) or close to it, and your doctor accepts the plan, Medicare Advantage plans can be a great thing. Especially if that same area also has the higher end rates for the Medicare Supplements.

However the areas I work in, the Medicare Advantage plans cost over $100-$150 for the very best plans, while the Medicare Supplements are in the low end of the premium scale. So I sell Medicare supplements almost all the time. I have sold some Medicare Advantage plans, to people under 65 on Medicare, and to some people over 65 people whose Medicare Supplement premiums went through the roof, and their health wasn’t good enough to switch to another Supplement. The Medicare Advantage plans have no health questions. Another added bonus to a Medicare Advantage plan is, if you disenroll after the first year, you can enroll in a Plan F Medicare Supplement plan no matter what your health is. I use United World (owned my Mutual of Omaha) for people in that situation. They have the lowest premiums in our state. Some people sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan just for that reason alone (although I’ve noticed many change their mind go ahead and keep the Medicare Advantage plan because of the lower premiums.)

BTW, somebody above wrote: “The Advantra Freedom agents said they were with Medicare and would not take away my parents Medicare Part A or their Part B coverage. But the first thing they done was to cancel my parents Medicare Part A and B coverage with the hospital, doctor’s office and drug store.”

First of all, if agents claimed hey were from Medicare, and you can prove that (either by having them on tape or something in writing from the agent where he claimed that), please report them to your state’s department of insurance and to the CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid.) Not only could they lose their insurance license, they could do jail time.

As to the second part of your post, no agent can cancel anybody’s Medicare A & B. In fact, you can’t get a Medicare Advantage plan (or Medicare Part C as they also call the Medicare Advantage plan) unless you have Medicare A & B and continue to pay for it. But what happens is, Medicare Part C now becomes your only payor instead of Medicare A and B. And usually it gives you better coverage than original Medicare on most services provided. Plus it caps your total out of pocket spending for the year, something original Medicare doesn’t do. And also, neither Medicare A nor Medicare B pay for drugs at your local pharmacy. If you have a Medicare C plan, your drug coverage is usually included in that as well, so you also use that card at the pharmacy. (If drug coverage is not included in the Medicare Advantage plan then your stand alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan continues on as it did before and pays for the drugs).

One more thing about a Medicare Advantage plan. After the agent fills out the application, and explains everything about the plan, this sale can still not take place until one more thing happens. The agent must then call the company, and somebody from the company takes down all the information on this person and then asks to speak with them. The person from the company will then go over these things again, including what I talked about above concerning exactly what happens with your Medicare Part A & B (and a ton of other things I haven’t mentioned). And then the company will setup up a follow up phone call for a couple days later when then the agent will no be there. During that phone call two days later everything is explained to the propective member is great detail again and any and all questions are answered. They are also given a phone number to call in case they think of more questions later. This is all so highly regulated now it’s incredible. A Medicare Advantage plan can’t be issued in the USA unless all of this takes place. And if the company feels the person does not understand it, or the person feels they have been misled in any way by the agent, the company will then instruct the agent they can not process this application and he should re-contact the person and see if they want to re-schedule an appointment or just forget it. And if another appointment takes place, then and this time make sure an authorized reprsentative for that person can be at the next meeting.

As for Coventry Advantra, all I have ever sold for them has been their stand alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (AdvantraRx) and it’s a very good one. I’ve never had any problems from that company.

The best thing any agent can do is put the Medicare person on what is the best plan for them, and don’t worry about the commission. At this point in my business I never have to spend a dime on advertising or leads (I haven’t had to for many years actually) and I’m extremely busy all the time. If you do things the right way, that’s what will happen. Word of mouth is the best and most powerful advertisement of all. Always has been and always will be.

Most seniors, with all the choices they have to make in today’s extremely complex Medicare insurance world, would be taking out the wrong plan most of the time if left to figure it out themselves, potentially costing themselves thousands of dollars a year. And their kids are no help, and neither is their doctor - and nor should the kids or the doctors be expected to know about all of this. People who do what I do provide a very valuable service. I report about 2 or 3 agents to the department of insurance each year and I wish more agents and brokers would do the same. These clowns give us all bad name. But I’d hate to see the government throw the baby out with the bathwater.

It took you a long time to respond.

I’ve worked in the Medicare health insurance market for over 26 years and I can tell you there are still a lot of crooks out there, and anybody claiming there isn’t, doesn’t really know what’s going on. That being said, there aren’t NEARLY as many as there used to be before the government got so heavily involved in marketing practices, level commissions, standardizing plans, making agents take courses and pass tests each year to sell certain products (and you have to score 90% or better). I’d say it’s at least 20-1 good guys over the crooks, but that still leaves a lot of crooks, and a few thousand idiots tend to spoil it for the rest of us doing things the right way.

After what happened to my parent, I don't believe you! They're all crooks!!!

BTW, somebody above wrote:

“The Advantra Freedom agents said they were with Medicare and would not take away my parents Medicare Part A or their Part B coverage. But the first thing they done was to cancel my parents Medicare Part A and B coverage with the hospital, doctor’s office and drug store.”

I wrote that ... and it DID HAPPEN to my parents!!!

First of all, if agents claimed hey were from Medicare, and you can prove that (either by having them on tape or something in writing from the agent where he claimed that), please report them to your state’s department of insurance and to the CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid.) Not only could they lose their insurance license, they could do jail time.

I DID report it, to every elected official in our district, both state and federal. I hope they DO GO TO JAIL!!!

As to the second part of your post, no agent can cancel anybody’s Medicare A & B. In fact, you can’t get a Medicare Advantage plan (or Medicare Part C as they also call the Medicare Advantage plan) unless you have Medicare A & B and continue to pay for it. But what happens is, Medicare Part C now becomes your only payor instead of Medicare A and B. And usually it gives you better coverage than original Medicare on most services provided. Plus it caps your total out of pocket spending for the year, something original Medicare doesn’t do. And also, neither Medicare A nor Medicare B pay for drugs at your local pharmacy. If you have a Medicare C plan, your drug coverage is usually included in that as well, so you also use that card at the pharmacy. (If drug coverage is not included in the Medicare Advantage plan then your stand alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan continues on as it did before and pays for the drugs).

You're a liar! That's exactly what happened. You need to talk to the Social Security Office, and hear just how many people they had to help out of the Advantra Freedom mess! Advantra Freedom has now changed names in Mississippi, because of their crooked business transactions. My mother's old Medicare Part B Company, DID PAY FOR her drugs at our local pharmacy.

One more thing about a Medicare Advantage plan. After the agent fills out the application, and explains everything about the plan, this sale can still not take place until one more thing happens. The agent must then call the company, and somebody from the company takes down all the information on this person and then asks to speak with them. The person from the company will then go over these things again, including what I talked about above concerning exactly what happens with your Medicare Part A & B (and a ton of other things I haven’t mentioned). And then the company will setup up a follow up phone call for a couple days later when then the agent will no be there. During that phone call two days later everything is explained to the propective member is great detail again and any and all questions are answered. They are also given a phone number to call in case they think of more questions later. This is all so highly regulated now it’s incredible. A Medicare Advantage plan can’t be issued in the USA unless all of this takes place. And if the company feels the person does not understand it, or the person feels they have been misled in any way by the agent, the company will then instruct the agent they can not process this application and he should re-contact the person and see if they want to re-schedule an appointment or just forget it. And if another appointment takes place, then and this time make sure an authorized representative for that person can be at the next meeting.

BULL!!!! That's NOT WHAT HAPPENED AT OUR HOUSE with my parents. That might be what's suppose to have happened. But that's NOT WHAT HAPPENED!!!

... People who do what I do provide a very valuable service. I report about 2 or 3 agents to the department of insurance each year and I wish more agents and brokers would do the same. These clowns give us all bad name. But I’d hate to see the government throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I REPEAT .... I DON"T BELIEVE YOU, OR TRUST YOU!!! If you work for that company ... MAY YOU SUFFER LONG ... IN HELL!!!

EXCUSE ME! I assumed you are the same person as Briansurance but under another pen name. Your response is too similar to his.

But I don't believe either one of you two.

You wrote: “It took you a long time to respond.”

Uh, I just stumbled across this website for the first time in my life last night. I was just trying to help. But I can see by your responses you’re the most irrational person I’ve ever encountered on the internet and in fact might be insane. Everything I wrote above is 100% accurate. Your total lack of knowledge on the subject of Medicare parts A, B, C, D is astounding yet you scream from the rooftops as if you know everything and you are right. I could explain to you more about this but why should I bother based on what you just wrote to me. I have no doubt your parents were probably scammed based on the things you wrote, but your reaction to me and what I wrote is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. May God have mercy on the souls of the people that actually have to be around you in real life.

You have NO IDEA how much HELL ... ADVANTRA FREEDOM put my parents through. May every house you come to ... hand you a copy of this post.

And may every person that's been cheated by those crooks, write every elected official they have, also.

If you're smart ... you'll work for another company, ... one that can be respected.

Your total lack of reality about what your company actually does, is amusing.