Over the last several months I had heard it all. Medicare Advantage is going away. The days of the Balanced Budget Act are back. Time to call in the dogs and put out the fires. But wait, a 3.3% increase to reimbursement rates? What happened to the 8% reduction? Looks like all the anxiety over Medicare Health Plans was for not.
Time and time again we have seen this play out in similar fashion. Government programs are introduced or adjusted, and instead of detracting from the potential of the market, it creates more opportunity than ever before. This phenomenon goes all the way back to the inception of the Medicare trust fund, to the standardization of Medicare supplements, to the MMA, and now Health Reform known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Contrary to initial reactions, history shows us that these laws have created enormous opportunities for agents and agencies who are prepared.
