For several years I have researched and written about how Medicare Advantage (MA) has been using federal government subsidies to offer special benefits that are denied to original Medicare enrollees. In my latest position paper (August 17, 2022), I noted that MA will cost taxpayers $53 billion in 2022 and the projection is that by 2030 the costs will be $100.8 billion!

The 2022 MedPAC report to Congress stated: “Aggregate Medicare payments to Medicare Advantage plans have never been lower that FFS Medicare spending.” MA payments per enrollee were 104% of original Medicare’s FFS (Fee-for-Service) in 2022.

I reported in the paper that MedPAC’s 2022 Annual Report claims that “The current state of quality reporting [insurers’ Quality Bonus Plan] is such that the Commission’s annual updates can no longer provide an accurate description of the quality of care in MA.”

I note the above information as a precursor to what I want to share with you from an October 8 New York Times article with the headline ʻThe Cash Monster Was Insatiableʼ: How Insurers Exploited Medicare for Billions. (I am not sharing a link to the article because the Times requires a subscription to read articles. The full text of the article is not being provided because it would be a violation of the Times’ copyright.)

The New York Times review of dozens of fraud lawsuits, inspector general audits and investigations by watchdogs shows how major health insurers exploited the Medicare Advantage program to inflate their profits by billions of dollars.