Seniors to Pay More Out-of-Pocket for Health Care
A new letter by Medicare Chief Actuary, Richard Foster, to Senate Republicans quantifies the expected losses for seniors. Those enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans will see their out-of-pocket costs rise by $346 per year in 2011, peaking at $923 in 2017.
Thanks for this post. This is the only place I haved seen this information.
Three cheers for Rick Foster. He’s the only one telling the truth. They even have Andy Griffith on TV lying about the whole thing.
We’ll see next Tuesday if all the lies are working.
I would assume with the coverage gap under Part D being phased out there will be almost a commensurate increase in premiums.
Of course, that doesn’t include trend, etc.
Don Levit
I’ve heard numerous pundits, including Bill Adair on NPR, deny Medicare is being cut — explaining the PPACA merely reduces the future growth rate, while enrollees retain all their “core” benefits. From an economic point of view, I don’t the difference between cutting provider payments or constraining provider payments. In any case, the seniors whose out-of-pocket spending rises by $923 in 2017 probably don’t appreciate the semantics.
Seniors enrolled into an Advantage Plan are being used as pawns by the insurance companies to maintain their government subsidies.
When will corporate america stop leeching off the taxpayers.
Erik, are nonprofit Blue cross plans leeching off the taxpayers? What about Blue Cross when it is administering Medicare? What about government owned hospitals? What about the VA system?
I think everyone is leeching off the system, but it has nothing to do with the corporate form of organization. Leeching is made possible by dysfucntional, impersonal third-party bureaucracies that have suppressed normal market forces.
Greg,
Where to begin?
1) Anthem Blue Cross is not a non-profit.
2) Advantage Plans are Medicare.
3) AP’s were given a 13% subsidy to the plan sponsors.
4) The VA is a very good system that creates miracles every day.
Corporations are defined as consumers of money and profit. Nothing more nothing less. That is their only purpose.