Insurer Group, Lawmakers Clash On Medicare Advantage Plans

[Celebration]

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100604-711126.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

The health insurance industry's trade group Friday condemned Democratic lawmakers for asking the Department of Health and Human Services to guard against premium increases and benefit cuts in privately managed Medicare Advantage plans.

A group of key House and Senate committee and subcommittee chairmen earlier in the day released a letter dated Thursday asking HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to carefully evaluate any effort by Medicare Advantage plans to raise premiums or cut benefits for next year.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont) said in a release that insurers shouldn't use the recent health overhaul, which calls for cutting billions of dollars in Medicare Advantage payments over the next several years, as an excuse to do so. Baucus and colleagues said health insurers should have to justify any proposed changes in premiums or benefits in such plans.

Medicare Advantage plans must submit their bids for 2011 by Monday, the lawmakers noted. They cited a recent regulatory review in California that uncovered errors in WellPoint Inc.'s (WLP) request for a large rate increase in individual health plans there as "an example of the kind of review that would protect Medicare beneficiaries and the program from unjustified premium increases or benefit changes."

Health insurers have warned that Medicare Advantage cuts would result in higher premiums or trimmed benefits.

[Scuba]

1. Profits before people....

...the health insurance industry takes 30% of our healthcare dollars and ADDS NO VALUE TO THE PROCESS.

Health insurance execs are mass murderers for money.