I hold in high esteem many of the long-term care leaders I’ve come across during more than 22 years covering the sector. I have spoken with many, if not virtually all, of the biggest of the big. Some pretty sharp minds in that class, no doubt.

But I’ve come to the conclusion that, as business people, they’ve all got it wrong.

In brief, they’re in the wrong racket. To all the long-term care boards, owners and hiring executives out there, I have one piece of advice: Start looking for the guys or gals running Medicare Advantage plans.

They know how to make money.

One only has to read our story today about a USC Schaeffer Center analysis that shows MA plans are being overpaid by about $75 billion. Per year. 

As our article notes, the main reason for such beautiful annual bounties is that these government-contracted plans are playing the ol’ bait and switch game to extreme. They’re telling Uncle Sam it’s going to cost $100 each (I’m paraphrasing here) to take care of its needy citizens and then enrolling some poor souls who are nowhere near such a burden.

And as far as I can tell, they’re doing this with the government’s blessing. What a gig: Have the foreman (the feds) fob off his job on you, charge him a lucrative extra percentage for doing his work and then pick his pocket for more, just for good measure.

Oh, and do this while restricting some services and cutting pay to those actually delivering the care.

Another dimension of this legal pillaging: The USC researchers noted that MedPAC was already expected that MA plans would be overpaid by $27 billion this year. So what’s another $48 billion among friends?

Despite officials’ vow to devise some kind of stop-gap measures, you can be sure the MA crowd is already game-planning around them.

Yes, who wouldn’t want one of these MA barons in their boardroom? It’s not as if any of them will be going to prison, or even indicted. They’ve figured out how to annually finagle funds worth more than the gross domestic product for 120 countries of the world. You won’t find a pink, yet alone red, face in that crowd.

Instead, you’d probably see a battalion of proud, puffed chests when this special class picture is taken. And wouldn’t one of them look good at the top of your company’s letterhead next year?

James M. Berklan is McKnight’s Executive Editor.

Opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News columns are not necessarily those of McKnight’s.