Whoa, total surprise.
(Everyone seems to like the NY Times today... )
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/health/policy/22medicare.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
What do you think best explains this? Curious about your thoughts.
Did the Federal government really just do a great job negotiating?
Do insurers think that with more people enrolling in plans, overall costs will lower due to increased risk-spreading?
Did plans that that don't want to comply with the increased benefits drop out, leaving cheaper plans in the market?
. . .
1 comment:
This article definitely surprised me as well. I think all your thoughts on the explanations for the decrease in Medicare Advantage (MA) premiums are on the mark. However, it seems like the most important reason is the new CMS ability to negotiate and reject bids as a result of the health care reform. This most likely started the ball rolling for CMS officials to negotiate better rates with MA insurers.
Though this decrease in MA premiums surprised me, I think it is about time. On average, CMS pays 14% more for MA beneficiaries than regular Medicare beneficiaries. Hopefully this is only the beginning of CMS’ attempt to close this cost differential.
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