How Many Pinocchio’s Can Sebelius Chalk Up in One Week?
Obama loves Medicare Advantage?
Enrollment is up and premiums are down in Medicare Advantage (MA) as a result of the healthcare law, the federal health department reported Wednesday. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued projections that MA enrollment will increase by 11 percent over the next year while premiums hold steady. Sebelius attributed a 28 percent rise in MA enrollment and 10 percent drop in MA premiums since 2010 to the Affordable Care Act, which remains politically divisive.
In fact, the only reason enrollment is up is because the Obama administration is using “bonus money” to prop up these plans before ObamaCare cuts kick in after the election. Over the next ten years, Medicare spending will be reduced by $716 billion, and of the amount, Medicare Advantage programs will lose $156 billion. Medicare’s Chief Actuary predicts that one of every two enrollees will lose their coverage once these cuts become effective. By one estimate:
By 2017, Medicare beneficiaries who would have enrolled in Medicare Advantage under prior law will lose an average of $1,841 due to the MA changes alone and $3,714 when the effects of the entire bill…are considered.
That’s not only shameful, it borders on malice to promise people they can keep their coverage while actively planning to dump them once they are no longer politically relevant.
People need to realize what is going on with the new healthcare law.
This really is an atrocious misuse of authority.
“The reduction in benchmarks will necessarily make MA plans less generous for patients. This translates into a loss in benefits (or money) for patients who stay in MA plans. This loss may prompt some patients to switch to FFS, which will entail a loss of value relative to their options under prior law.” – http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/09/reductions-in-medicare-advantage-payments-the-impact-on-seniors-by-region
Actually the unintended consequence of the Part C Medicare Advantages cuts in PPACA is that millions of us seniors currently on Medicare A/B/C will revert to Medicare A/B with Medigap and D (not possible by consumer choice in all states because not all Medigap necessarily guaranteed issue from C; but no problem if the C plan goes belly up as predicted or the consumer moves which is typical of retirees). As that transition happens, A/B solvency will get worse due to demographics. This is only one of the many unintended consequence effects of PPACA related to Medicare (and I’m sure there are many more related to non seniors)
+1 Alex, that is exactly what is happening. Notice how those actuarial estimates never make it into the evening news?
Who do Krugman and Sebelius think they are fooling? Seniors? Well, perhaps. But that’s because they don’t know any better. They are trusting policies that have no foundation, and…if the pattern persists…they are going to leave the elderly out of the equation, with no coverage and no way to seek affordable care.