By Susan Jaffe | December 22, 2014 | Kaiser Health News and also published in 
Starting next year, the government will offer some seniors enrolled in private Medicare Advantage insurance an opportunity to leave those plans if they lose their doctors or other health care providers.
Last year, thousands of seniors in at least 10 states were left stranded or assigned new doctors when insurers discontinued contracts with the physicians. 
Medicare Advantage policies cover 16 million seniors and are an alternative to the government-run Medicare program. Medicare Advantage members can only get care from a network of providers under contract to participate in their plan. They must remain in their plans for the calendar year, with some rare exceptions, but losing their doctor has not been among the permitted reasons. [More from KHN] [More in USA Today]