Medicare Companies ‘Stealing’ $140 Billion From Patients, Democrat Says

Bob Lorinser, a congressional candidate in Michigan, launched a blistering attack against Medicare Advantage, calling it a “scam” and accused “for-profit insurance companies” of stealing billions from Americans, according to a note posted on X.

Lorinser is running for the congressional seat from Michigan’s first district, which includes parts of northern Michigan and upper peninsular areas and is currently competing in the primary as a Democrat. The seat is at the moment being held by Republican Representative Jack Bergman.

“Medicare Advantage is a scam. It is not Medicare,” Lorinser posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. “It allows corporations to make profit off denying legimate claims. Nearly 20% of claims were denied despite meeting Medicare coverage rules.”

Newsweek contacted Lorinser’s campaign via email for comment on Wednesday.

Medicare Advantage plans, which are different from original Medicare, acquired the name in the early 2000s as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. The health plans typically come from private companies that have contracts with Medicare. As of 2023, nearly 31 million Americans are part of these plans, making up about half of people eligible for Medicare, according to health policy organization KFF.

Lorinser alleged that the profit insurance companies were “stealing $140 billion from American patients every year.”

He added: “We have a choice. Because it saves taxpayer money with only a 2% administrative cost, we must demand Medicare for All and eliminate Medicare for profit.”

He was referring to a plan favored among a particular section of the Democratic Party that wants to expand Medicare-like health programs to all Americans. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont has been a big proponent of the plan.

Democratic representatives Pramila Jayapa from Washington and Debbie Dingell from Michigan co-introduced legislation in 2021, in an attempt to Medicare for All law of the land. The act was geared towards expanding Medicare to give Americans health benefits in a single-payer program.

“Medicare For All will build an inclusive health care system that won’t just open the door to care for millions of our neighbors, but do it more efficiently and effectively than the one we have today,” Representative Dingell said at the time.

Republicans have been critical of the proposal arguing that it should not be the government’s role to provide healthcare.

Polls do suggest, though, that Americans are partial to having the government be involved in making sure that Americans have health services. Gallup found, in a survey released earlier this year, that 57 percent think “the government should be responsible to ensure coverage for all Americans” while 40 percent were against such a move.

The differences were largely explained along partisan lines—88 percent of Democrats said it was the government’s responsibility that Americans have healthcare while only 28 percent of Republicans felt that way.

But at the same time, 53 percent of those surveyed preferred a private healthcare system with 43 percent supporting a government-run approach.