The Days of Wine and Rules
Sep 02, 2015
We were planning an anniversary party. My wine collector husband wanted to serve some bottles from our collection to the guests. The marketing manager at the first venue we visited said we couldn’t do that because of state laws. Okay. Then, we visited a second place. When we asked about serving our wine, the marketing managed said, “No problem.” The hotel would charge a corkage fee. As we left the hotel, I said, “Do you recall crossing the State line?” If the first hotel only wanted to sell its wine, it should have said, “Our policy does not allow that.” Don’t blame it on State law.
This can happen with Medicare, too. A client contacted us about “recent changes in Medicare regulations” that mean he now has copayments for doctors’ visit he didn’t pay last year. I informed him there were no rule changes. Medicare doesn’t set visit rates for Medicare Advantage plans; it was simply his Medicare plan revising its payment structure. It was probably easier for the plan representative to blame the cost increases on Medicare.
Learn more about Medicare Advantage plans at https://www.65incorporated.com/topics/medicare-advantage/ and https://www.medicare.gov/sign-up-change-plans/medicare-health-plans/medicare-advantage-plans/medicare-advantage-plans.html.