While we're seeing this iceberg of increased medical costs heading toward us under the Canadian's switch to Aetna, folks like Aetna and major GOP contributors are making out like bandits. For them, Medicare Advantage is to their advantage in a humongous way.
To read it for yourself, go to
http://www.acorn.net/bjretirees/medicare.htm
on the BJ Retirees website.
Samples:
1. The government is giving money to the Aetnas of this country, but a lot of the money isn't reaching the Medicare patients the way it did under the previous system when there were no Aetnas middlemen.
2. Medicare Advantage plans cost the taxpayers 12% more then the previous Medicare setup. About $10 billion per year more.
3. Congress refused to let Medicare negotiate drug prices the way it did other health care costs. You've seen your Medicare statements where a procedure charge was $900 but Medicare approved only $550 and then paid 80% of that with you or your secondary coverage paying the rest. Doesn't happen with prescription prices.
I guess if it gets bad enough, the common folks among us who once opposed universal health care might have second thoughts.
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