2007 – July
The Public Cost of Privatized Medicare: How Medicare Advantage is hurting Medicare beneficiaries and other New York taxpayers (click to download PDF)
The privatization of Medicare is costing U.S. taxpayers billions. Private Medicare plans (known as “Medicare Advantage” or “MA” plans) have grown rapidly in the past several years. Today, about 8.5 million Medicare beneficiaries nationwide are enrolled in some form of private Medicare plan—nearly 20 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries, and a 60 percent increase from 2003. This growth is the result of decisions Congress and the Bush Administration made as part of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), which substantially increased subsidies to private insurance companies and accelerated the privatization of the Medicare system.
