Government
Medicare managed care payments
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 26, 2006
Per-beneficiary payments to Medicare Advantage plans are 11% higher on average than what the government pays for seniors enrolled in the fee-for-service portion of the program, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reported.
In 2004, the last time MedPAC determined average managed care payments compared with fee-for-service payments, private insurers participating in Medicare were found to be receiving an average per-beneficiary payment that was 7% higher than the regular rate.
The commission said in its latest report that this figure would have been even higher had it accounted for the relatively better health of Medicare managed care patients.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/06/26/gvbf0626.htm.