Mr. Poehling’s allegations, if true, could help explain why insurers are staying in the Medicare Advantage program even as they pull out<br />of the Affordable Care Act exchanges in some states: Medicare Advantage offers a way to get extra money from the federal government.<br />Mr. Burns also said Mr. Poehling’s complaints and similar ones held UnitedHealth<br />and other Medicare Advantage participants to higher standards than the ones used by the original Medicare program.<br />MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PROGRAM<br />ADDITIONAL PAYMENT TO INSURER FOR SELECTED CONDITIONS<br />Diabetes without complications<br />Breast, prostate and other<br />Diabetes with acute complications<br />Drug/alcohol dependence<br />Major depressive, bipolar and<br />Lung and other severe cancers<br />Metastatic cancer and acute leukemia<br />“You or I or the average person is probably appalled by this,” Mr. Poehling said.
