Out Of Pocket Costs For Physician Services Under Medicare Part B PDF Download

Although private health plans were originally envisioned in the 1980s as a potential source of Medicare savings, such plans have generally increased program spending. In 2006, Medicare paid $59 billion to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans -- an estimated $7.1 billion more than Medicare would have spent if MA beneficiaries had received care in Medicare fee-for-service (FFS). MA plans receive a per member per month payment to provide services covered under Medicare FFS. For this testimony, the author examined MA plans¿: (1) projected allocation of rebates; (2) projected cost sharing; and (3) projected revenues and expenses. Charts and tables.