United States Medicare: New York Times' Attempt to Scare Seniors Into Private Insurance Before Open Enrollment Based on Totally False Reporting of Old HHS Memo

On October 13, I wrote about a New York Times article by Robert Pear that looked like more than the usual and ongoing Gray Lady much-ado-about-nothing far-left-wing attack on Medicare Advantage. I felt that it might be the worst piece of New York Times journalism ever. Now my opinion has been confirmed. Here's the top of the first page of the HHS memo:

Compare what the memo says to what Pear said and I think you will agree. It turns out all the breathless charges by Robert Pear were based on around only 30 audits (see circle in image) conducted over a year ago and that the vague memo¹ on which Pear based his article was just kind of a standard bureaucratic "lessons learned" letter that complemented Part C Medicare Advantage insurance companies² (see underline in image) as much as it criticized them and that the memo was weeks old, and had nothing to do with the so-called Medicare open enrollment period that began October 15 as Pear implied.

The lengths that the far left will go to scare seniors is disgusting. 

¹In case the link looks unfamiliar, it is a Google-cached version of the memo. HHS makes it very hard to find on its web site. If you want to put a version of the pdf file onto your device for easier readability of the appendices, simply click on the link provided at the top of the cached page.

²Not that the insurers give a damn. They make their pretty predictable 5% profit from the government or companies that self insure no matter which option -- private vs. public, Medicare or Medicaid, Obamacare vs. unsubsidized, group vs. individual -- you choose or get assigned to