The term “Medicaid issues” is rather vague, and you can let your fingers do the walking online if you are wanting to learn more about Medicaid plans. Medicare Advantage, however, is more specific. These are health insurance plans that are a part of the Medicare program, and they include things like:

• Medicare Health Maintenance Organization (HMOs)
• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)
• Private Fee-for-Service Plans
• Medicare Special Needs Plans

The interesting thing is that these plans do exist and are available under Medicare, so it is only my educated guess that Health Net was lobbying to reduce restrictions here as well, possibly opening the doors to more potential members and not barring people for health issues.

Considering that Medicare is intended to provide health care to our elderly population, trying to keep people from getting health coverage based on preexisting medical conditions is pretty absurd. You show me one 75 year old who has made it that far in life without bringing any medical baggage along with them and I’ll buy you a cookie.

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There are some health insurance companies where you feel like you are being taken advantage of at every single turn. Hidden charges show up on bills, you don’t have an easy time getting in to see your doctor, and you may spend upward of an hour trying to get the right person on the phone for customer service. This is not to say that health insurance companies exist simply to frustrate you: quite the opposite. Sometimes they just do not seem like they are doing all they can to best serve your interests as a consumer or customer. Health Net, one of America’s biggest health insurance companies serving over 6.7 million people across the country, has recently stepped up to the plate big time in the game of keeping people’s best interests (and health) at heart. In the third quarter of 2008, the insurer spent $670K lobbying with the federal government for a variety of different groups and lifting coverage restrictions.

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