Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Obama administration should cancel an experimental Medicare program that is wasting $8 billion, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
As part of the 2010 health care law, Congress eliminated Medicare payments to managed care plans, known as Medicare Advantage, and instead approved bonus payments to high-quality health providers.
The GAO found the bonuses often were not paid to health operations doing a good job, but instead to “average-performing plans.”
Given this performance, the GAO recommended the administration cancel the program, which is expected to cost an extra $6.8 billion over the first three years, and another $1.5 billion over the following seven years.
Obama officials rejected the recommendation, saying the project could still improve the quality of care for older Americans. About 12 million people are currently in Medicare Advantage plans.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
To Learn More:
G.A.O. Calls Test Project by Medicare Costly Waste (by Robert Pear, New York Times)
Medicare Advantage: Quality Bonus Payment Demonstration Undermined by High Estimated Costs and Design Shortcomings (Government Accountability Office) (pdf)
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