Medicare Advantage Strikes Out

If Democrats on the Hill needed more ammunition to give them the gumption to cut Medicare Advantage payments, the New York Times provides it this morning with a damning story about unscrupulous insurance agents pulling vulnerable seniors out of traditional Medicare and putting them in private health maintenance organizations. The story features insurance agents forcing their ways into seniors' homes; lying about "being from Medicare"; and sticking poor seniors with high co-pays that had previously been paid by Medicaid.

Medicare Advantage gets about 12 percent more than the average Medicare payment for each enrollee. The agents get hundreds of dollars off the top for every person they enroll. The insurance companies add an extra layer of administration and profits to the nation's total health care bill. The evidence overwhelmingly points to Congress eliminating the extra money paid to the insurance industry for selling these plans. If the plans don't save traditional Medicare money, there is absolutely no reason for Medicare (dis)Advantage to exist.