A good piece in The Weekly Standard about how research that shows that shifting every senior to Medicare advantage would save Medicare 9 percent of total spending in 2009 dollars. That comes to about $800 per person. Now it seems that the same authors of the study -- Obama supporters -- are claiming that seniors would have to pick up the slack..
My question is: so what? Has the Obama administration already raised premiums for about 1 in 15 seniors because the are wealthier? Yes. Will premiums go up over all in old style Medicare? Yes. Are co-pays in real dollars increasing across the board? Yes.
Meanwhile, here's what GAO said about Medicare advantage:
"Enrollment is up for Medicare Advantage plans, the private plan alternative to Medicare's traditional fee-for-service program, and premiums for beneficiaries are down, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The GAO report, released December 1, found enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans increased by about 6%, from 7.9 million to 8.4 million beneficiaries, from April 2010 through April 2011, and the premiums seniors paid for these plans decreased 14%, saving them nearly $50 million. The average monthly premium decreased from $28 to $24 (http://tinyurl.com/7jf2cxp)."
Let's set aside the fact that most seniors in old style Medicare have supplemental insurance that pays for everything else Medicare doesn't pay for. The fact that seniors are increasingly shifting to a more competitive -- Ryan-Wyden-like -- Medicare that offers more and charges less is a good thing. Right? The proponents of single payer Medicare want to take away that existing choice and not expand it. And that's good?
Claiming that seniors would have to pick up the cost of lower priced Medicare plan is not just incorrect factually. It is the opposite of true.
My question is: so what? Has the Obama administration already raised premiums for about 1 in 15 seniors because the are wealthier? Yes. Will premiums go up over all in old style Medicare? Yes. Are co-pays in real dollars increasing across the board? Yes.
Meanwhile, here's what GAO said about Medicare advantage:
"Enrollment is up for Medicare Advantage plans, the private plan alternative to Medicare's traditional fee-for-service program, and premiums for beneficiaries are down, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The GAO report, released December 1, found enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans increased by about 6%, from 7.9 million to 8.4 million beneficiaries, from April 2010 through April 2011, and the premiums seniors paid for these plans decreased 14%, saving them nearly $50 million. The average monthly premium decreased from $28 to $24 (http://tinyurl.com/7jf2cxp)."
Let's set aside the fact that most seniors in old style Medicare have supplemental insurance that pays for everything else Medicare doesn't pay for. The fact that seniors are increasingly shifting to a more competitive -- Ryan-Wyden-like -- Medicare that offers more and charges less is a good thing. Right? The proponents of single payer Medicare want to take away that existing choice and not expand it. And that's good?
Claiming that seniors would have to pick up the cost of lower priced Medicare plan is not just incorrect factually. It is the opposite of true.
