Remember back in 2003 when the insurance industry said that the creation of the Medicare Advantage program — which allows Medicare patients to receive their health coverage through private plans — would save both the government and patients money?
Scratch that.
Democrats have been cheering the recent AARP endorsement of health reform legislation, with good reason. The group represents roughly 40 million Americans, granting it plenty of lobbying clout and power around election time. But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) isn’t impressed. Branding AARP as “that liberal, Democratic group,” McCain More…
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wants a “further review” in the wake of new White House guidelines reversing an earlier policy that prohibited health insurers from urging Medicare beneficiaries to oppose the Democrats’ health reforms, which include clipping more than $100 billion from Medicare Advantage plans.
The More…
It’s no news that Republicans are up in arms over the recent White House decision to bar insurance companies from encouraging their customers to oppose the Democrats’ health reform plans. But today they upped the ante.
In a letter to the White House, Republican leaders have threatened to More…
Medicare Advantage is at the forefront of congressional bickering. Again. Indeed, a large chunk of yesterday’s health reform debate in the Senate Finance Committee revolved around the contentious MA program. And the debate is continuing straight into this morning.
But to understand the controversy, it’s important to understand what Medicare More…
While the Senate Finance Committee is still working on opening statements, the storm surrounding the Medicare Advantage program — in which the government buys insurance for Medicare patients from private insurance companies — is blowing up.
That’s because the agency that runs Medicare announced yesterday that More…
Following up on Dave’s post, Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa), the Republican point-man on Senate health reform legislation this year, says he’s still interested in forging a bipartisan health reform deal — so long as the bill can win an overwhelming majority in the upper chamber. More…
The Democratic push to slash tens of billions of dollars for private insurers who cover Medicare patients has been met on Capitol Hill by something unusual: a relative silence, even from supporters of the program.
In past years, the Democrats’ proposals to cut subsidies to the popular but controversial Medicare More…
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