Grand Theft - Medicare

As the graphic above indicates, Washington state is home to at least a dozen Direct Contracting Entities that scoop up unaware Traditional/Original Medicare recipients so these entities can “legally” filch funds that otherwise would be destined for actual Medicare patient care. Like Medicare Advantage, these companies are often run by hedge funds or other Wall Street poltroons, poseurs, and mountebanks. Although they will tell you that their mission is to improve the quality of care under Medicare, their primary purpose is making money by denying or limiting service to you, your loved ones, and your friends. We have our very own “WANTED” entity right here in Whatcom County that I wrote about a while back - “The Blob” or Peace Health’s Latest Expansion Gambit. It gets worse.

Eleven more of these entities have already been established in our state, among the 100+ established nationwide. Just take a look at the spreadsheet, (see ATTACHED FILES below) and pay special attention to the items highlighted in yellow indicating their presence in Washington. As you read this, your name may already have been placed on the rolls of one of these organizations. Whether or not you have been snarfed up without your knowledge depends upon who your primary care provider is. So phone your provider right away to determine if he or she falls under one of these contracting entities. You may have to dig, as some primary care providers might not even know they are now controlled by a contracting entity such as… we'll pick one at random…let's say PraxisCare! Their list of practices includes Northwest Medical Associates, headquartered in Vancouver, WA. Are you under Northwest Medical Associates?  If so, you need to find out if you were moved from your original Traditional Medicare into the DCE that is PraxisCare, and by extension Northwest Medical Associates. 

If you go to the PraxisCare website, this will greet you:

“PraxisCare is honored to be one of the few organizations chosen by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to be part of a new program called Direct Contracting. This new program builds on years of innovative program design to bring the best model of care for patients. PraxisCare is partnering with providers and practices across the United States to provide Medicare members with better care focused on quality and the patient experience through our combined group called a Direct Contracting Entity.”

You can watch this video to get a sense of what these Direct Contracting Entities do. (Senator Warren's Exchange Three at Hearing on Protecting and Expanding Medicare Coverage) I encourage you to view the entire video - it's only nine minutes of your time. After that, you can do your own research to find out if your primary care provider is part of this pendunculated Medicare program designed to cheat some of the most vulnerable in our country out of their full measure of health care, which is what these Direct Contracting Entities do (now also called ACO Reach). Risibly, as PraxiCare says, they are “honored” to have been chosen to participate in this skimming exercise. Say what? They are proud of this bunkum. Shame on them and the other 11 Direct Contracting Entities in our state.

This current round of privatization of Medicare began under Trump, as Warren says on the video, and continues now under Biden who is doing squat to terminate this very, very bad concept for running Medicare. 

Bizarro World has come to the U.S. 

Unfortunately, only YOU are able to determine if you have been victimized by this predatory program. As I mentioned above, call your primary care doctor and ask if his practice is under one of the DCEs highlighted in yellow on the spreadsheet located under ATTACHED FILES below. You can also register a complaint, if necessary, by contacting your representative or senator in Washington, DC. Call the White House and tell them you DO NOT want the privatization of Medicare. I don't have Uncle Joe's direct number but this will get the job done: Click Here.