Health Policy Commons^™

Payments To Medicare Advantage Plans Exceed Fee-For-Service Costs: Options For Medicare Savings From 2008 Through 2012, Brian Biles, Emily Adrion

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) and the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 include provision intended to increase the role of private health plans in Medicare. These provisions set Medicare Advantage plan payment rates at levels higher than average costs would be in tradition free-for-service Medicare in every county in the nation. The total amount of extra payments to Medicare Advantage plans resulting from these provisions is projected to total over $8 billion in 2008 and $70 billion over the five year period, 2008 to 2012.

This briefing paper outlines the specific MMA and DRA provisions that generate …

The Continuing Cost Of Privatization: Extra Payments To Medicare Advantage Plans: Updated Tables For 2007: February 2007 Ma Plan Enrollment, 2007 Ma And Ffs Payment Rates, Brian Biles, Emily Adrion

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

What Is Fair? Choice, Fairness And Transparency In Access To Prescription Medicines In The United States And Australia, Ruth Lopert, Sara J. Rosenbaum

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

The importance of prescription drugs to modern medical practice, coupled with their increasing costs, has strengthened imperatives for national health policies that ensure safety and quality, facilitate affordable access, and promote rational use. Australia has made universal and affordable prescription drug coverage a priority for decades, within a policy framework that emphasizes equity and increasing transparency in coverage design and payment decisions. By contrast, the U.S. lacks such a national policy. Furthermore, federal Medicare reforms aimed at making appropriate drug coverage affordable and accessible employs two icons of the U.S. perception of fairness--the right to choose and the right to …