US President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress took a sledgehammer to Medicaid over the summer, justifying the unprecedented cuts by falsely claiming the program that provides health coverage to tens of millions of low-income Americans is overrun with waste and abuse.
But a new paper published Friday in the journal Health Affairs argues that if the administration actually wanted to target waste, fraud, and abuse, it would have been much better off taking aim at Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicaid privatization.
The paper’s authors estimate that overpayments to MA plans—which are funded by the government and run by for-profit insurers—and private Medicaid managed care will likely cost US taxpayers a total of $1.92 trillion over the next 10 years. - Common Dreams
Monday, November 10, 2025
Huge costs for privatized Medicare and Medicaid
This is not meant to be critical of seniors who choose Medicare Advantage plans. They have the right to find the best deals for themselves. But the current system is clearly not viable for much longer.
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I chuckled when I saw Representative Finstad's tweet attacking Governor Walz and the MN Dept of Human Services for not catching fraudulent services attributed to Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS). Finstad never mentions / blames UCare which requested the payments. Taking a potshot at the Walz-Flanagan administration is his response (framed by the words "Once again, your hard-earned tax dollars meant to help our neighbors in need have been lost to fraud") must make him feel good while he is sure not to reference Medicare Advantage insurance companies who provide donations to his campaign.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is that I never heard Congressman Finstad complain about the over 65 pardons that Trump has granted to people who were convicted of healthcare fraud ... including 13 of those fraudsters were convicted in cases involving more than $1.6 billion in fraudulent claims filed with Medicare and Medicaid.
I can't blame anyone for signing up for a Medicare Advantage plan just as I could not blame anyone eligible who went and picked up "free cheese" that the Reagan Administration offered in the early 1980s.
This year, my current Medicare Advantage provider will not offer policies in my area ... so I am looking at a provider that will charge me $564 annually (as opposed to my old plan that had zero premium.) So, what do I get for my $564 payment ... a lot ... first, they have an out-of-pocket maximum of $6,200 where as the original Medicare does not have a maximum. The policy includes a prescription drug plan .... which ya gotta have ... failure to have one could force you to pay a Late Enrollment Penalty to the government. Purchasing a separate Part D plan (prescription drugs) with decent coverage would cost $115 annually. The plan also includes some dental ($300) and eyeglass ($75) plus a card to purchase over-the-counter items (bandages, vitamins, etc) worth $70 .... ya add it all up, and my premiums will all be recovered in benefits offered.
As a taxpayer, I am not happy with the roughly $500 billion that is paid to MA insurers, but as a participant in the plan, I feel I get my monies worth.
Of course, all that would change if they ever improved Medicare to include dental, vision and hearing.