Sierra Health, the leading health plan in Nevada, is already losing money in its 2007 senior Medicare Part D prescription drug program.For 2007, Sierra offered two primary Part D programs--a basic Part D drug plan and an enhanced plan that covers senior's medication in the "gap" or "donut hole." This "gap" lies between the first layer of coverage and the catastrophic insurance that Part D
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Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) Finds Medicare Advantage Plans “Overpaid” by 12%
Told you so—Part Deux.On top of this week’s CBO report saying Medicare could save $65 billion by equalizing Medicare Advantage payments made to HMOs with the traditional Medicare plan, MedPAC dropped the second shoe saying the very same thing in their annual report released yesterday.MedPAC is a commission created by Congress to advise on Medicare payment policy. It is composed of 17 members from
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If Medicare Advantage Rates Are Going to Be Cut, Why Have the Big Medicare HMO Stock Prices Been Up Since the Election?
That question came from Matt Holt today over at his blog: The Health Care Blog.Good question.As any regular reader of this blog knows, I have been arguing that the Democratic Congress is going to cut Medicare Advantage payments to HMOs as soon as they get their hands on the federal budget.If that is a good bet, why wouldn't Medicare HMO stocks be reflecting that risk? Instead, they have generally
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CBO Pours Gasoline on the Democratic Plans to Cut Medicare Advantage Payments to HMOs
Told you so.For some time I have been warning that the Medicare Advantage payments to HMOs are going to be "target number one" when it comes time for Democrats to reshuffle the federal health care spending priorities after 12 years of Republican Congressional rule.For the last year, a number of estimates have put the "over payments" to HMOs when compared to the traditional Medicare plan at around
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Deja Vu in Massachusetts--We've Been Down this Road Before--The Massachusetts Health Care Plan and Health Care Costs
The good news is that the health policy world is full of new and exciting health care reform proposals.The bad news is that while these plans focus on the all important access problems (the uninsured) they almost ignore the underlying problem that makes so many people uninsured in the first place--health care costs.With the federal government (The National Health Statistics Group at CMS)
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Barack Obama is a Rookie on Health Care Policy Reform
Barack Obama was recently quoted as saying he would institute a system of universal health care by the end of his first term. He provided no other details for what would be the Obama Health Care Reform Plan.He is apparently new at this--health care reform policy and fixing America's health care problems.Apparently, he doesn't understand it is the details that matter when it comes to health care
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Does the Massachusetts Health Plan Make Mit Romney Vulnerable Among Conservatives?
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is working hard to boost his popularity among conservative Republicans. He seems to be saying all the right things for conservatives. That, plus the longstanding suspicion conservative Republicans have had for both Rudy Giuliani and John McCane have given Romney a shot at the party's powerful conservative wing.Romney has a certain amount of health care
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Congressman Waxman Ought to Ask AARP How Much Money It's Making on Medicare Part D
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Henry Waxman recently sent a letter to the CEOs of the 12 largest Part D insurers. In it, he asked them to provide the Committee with information on their Part D profit, drug discounts, rebates, and administrative costs.Two of these insurers--Kaiser Permanente and Highmark--are "not-for-profit" insurers.I am more curious about another "
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President Bush Has a Proven Strategy to Fix the Individual Health Insurance System!!!
The Bush administration has already implemented an individual health insurance system that is voluntary, community rated, and excludes no one--no matter what their age or health status.President Bush's recent proposal to reform the health insurance system (see post) is based upon greater use of the individual health insurance system. He would eliminate the employee tax exemption on
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Rural Health Care and Medicare Advantage Plans--A Sacred Cow for Both Republicans and Democrats?
If you have been reading this site for any time you know that I believe the Democrats are going to cut Medicare Advantage payments to the HMOs the first time they get their hands on the federal budget (see earlier post).But I also think there may be an exception to what will generally happen to Medicare Advantage (MA) HMOs--payments to plans operating in "rural" areas.The original Medicare
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