Private Plans: A Bad Choice for Medicare

Publication Date: September 2003

Publisher: Families USA

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Type: Other

Abstract:

Some in Congress propose to increase subsidies for private health plans to encourage those plans to play a bigger role in Medicare; the House Medicare prescription drug bill proposes to subject the entire Medicare program to competitive bidding with private plans, beginning in 2010. Both are steps towards privatizing a successful and popular public program. Those advocating a greater role for private plans contend that they will save Medicare money; offer enrollees more and better choices; and deliver higher quality care. That sounds good, but will these proposals achieve those results? So far, the evidence has shown that, for seniors and people with disabilities--particularly those living in rural areas--Medicare works better than private plans.