BSW is marketing their Medicare Advantage program. It is financially advantageous to them to be the MA provider, not to engage with another insuring party.

Medicare Advantage can be very restrictive for specialist care and medications. Perhaps cost effective for those who want to see a doc every time they have sniffles or gas, not so great if there is a condition that is not "by the book" or computer screen, these days.

Medicare Advantage providers are financially incentivized to load up the patients' diagnoses. The "sicker" their patient load the higher Medicare reimbursement. That can easily lead to over prescribing, too. For those who are not defensive consumers of medical care it can create a sense of diminished well being that may not be warranted.

All of these comments are based upon research and first hand experience.

While I completely understand the financial incentives for MA, I tell my patients to get MA if they think they are going to be healthy up until the day before they die. It's a great deal in that situation. Otherwise it can be very limiting and many find that out when it's later not sooner. As a strategy for Medicare, it's a disaster that lines the pockets of insurance companies and causes difficulty for patients and physicians. Again - i understand the financial incentives and if you are in a position where that weighs strongly it's what one should sign up for.