Medicare Advantage choices just shrank for millions ahead of the Dec. 7 deadline. John Oliver and Suze Orman say ditch it — but are they right?

On top of that, Part D subsidies are expiring at the end of this year, which are in place to cap the premiums seniors pay for prescription drug plans. About half of plan recipients will likely be faced with a higher cost of care as a result, an administration official told ABC News.

That’s a lot to consider ahead of the Dec. 7 enrollment deadline. And it could be why comedian John Oliver and personal finance expert Suze Orman have long since made arguments against Medicare Advantage (MA).

But here’s how to make your own call.

Why Oliver and Orman are sounding the alarm

Last year, “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver devoted a critical 31-minute segment to MA, arguing that the program is “woefully insufficient,” riddled with denials and delays, and costly to taxpayers.

Oliver accused major insurers of inflating patient risk scores to drive up federal payments and using restrictive networks and prior authorizations to limit care.

“When you take all this together, you get a system where the incentives are clearly set up for insurance companies to make you look as sick as possible on paper, while doing as little as possible to help you when you actually need it,” he summarized.

Personal finance expert Suze Orman has also been criticizing MA. In a widely shared post, she argued that original Medicare is “better” and warned that major insurers — including UnitedHealthcare and Humana — were going to terminate or consolidate plans for 2026, leaving older adults vulnerable to unexpected changes in premiums, networks and benefits.

Orman urged MA enrollees to carefully review their annual notice of change and consider switching back to traditional Medicare while they still can.

Medicare Advantage has flaws, but it’s affordable and improving

Despite the backlash, some MA users insist the plans work well for them because of their financial costs.

“I’ve had MA for eight years, and I’ve never spent more than $200 or $300 in a given year on copays,” one Reddit user wrote.

Another said John Oliver “could harm a lot of folks” by implying MA is universally bad. These users argue that while MA has flaws, it remains the only affordable route for many.

On LinkedIn, former CVS Health and UnitedHealth executive Adam Korn questioned Oliver’s criticism.

Korn pointed out that:

• Two-thirds of customers are satisfied with their coverage — whether MA or traditional Medicare.
• MA includes annual out-of-pocket caps, which Original Medicare does not.
• MA plans offer supplemental benefits such as dental, vision, hearing, transportation and meal delivery support.

For many low-income or chronically ill seniors, MA provides more comprehensive support than the traditional program.

Why the debate matters

Over 66 million Americans rely on Medicare, and over 35 million are enrolled in Medicare Advantage.

Private insurers offer Medicare Advantage (Part C) and typically bundle hospital, medical and drug coverage, plus extras. It limits doctors to a network —and going out-of-network can be costly — but it caps annual out-of-pocket expenses.

Nearly all doctors accept original Medicare. But it:

• covers only 80% of most medical (Part B) costs.
• offers no out-of-pocket maximum.
• often requires older adults to buy Medigap and Part D plans to avoid steep bills.

You can switch from MA to traditional Medicare during open enrollment, which runs until December 7.

If you do switch, you may also need to purchase a Medigap policy.