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Home > Medicare Monitor > Archives > 2008 > February > 08 > Entry
Republicans: Medicare Advantage saves money
Riding to the defense of the embattled Medicare Advantage program, Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee have sent out an e-mail claiming that “Medicare Advantage (MA) offers better benefits, at lower costs to beneficiaries, than the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program.”
The e-mail points to a recent study by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation titled “The Value of Extra Benefits Offered by Medicare Advantage Plans in 2006.”
Here’s what the Kaiser folks said about their study: “The report’s analysis confirms that on average Medicare Advantage plans provided extra benefits above what traditional Medicare covers in 2006, but finds the value of extra benefits lower for private fee-for-service plans than for other Medicare Advantage plans.”
Republicans zeroed in on the finding that MA beneficiaries have lower out-of-pocket costs than those enrolled in traditional fee-for-service Medicare.
Specifically, the Republicans noted the study found: “For the sickest beneficiaries, with the highest rates of annual out-of-pocket spending, average out-of-pocket costs in traditional Medicare are at least $6,353. In contrast, these same beneficiaries would have spent just $2,160 in a coordinated care MA plan and just $3,113 in an MA private fee-for-service plan. This means sickest and highest cost beneficiaries stand to save up to 66 percent compared to what they would have spent in traditional Medicare.”
Comments
By Diane
February 8, 2008 3:10 PM | Link to this
What the Republicans aren’t boasting about is the fact that these “savings” come at a high cost to all Medicare enrollees, whether they are in an MA plan or not. They, along with taxpayers, are subsidizing these private MA plans. Meanwhile, the MA insurers are reaping huge profits. Of course Medicare can’t compete with that. Let’s see these plans compete on a level playing field and then wait to hear the silence as the boasting about savings goes silent. Oh, and the Republicans fail to mention that many providers are not included in private MA plans which leaves seniors scrambling to try and find a new physician.