The federal government is overpaying private insurers like Humana by billions of dollars, who manage Medicare Advantage plans. These plans are supposed to meet the medical needs of seniors and people with disabilities, but, as opposed to traditional Medicare, these most vulnerable citizens’ choices of providers are limited and their claims are often denied. What these private insurers have done is engage for years in a scheme to over-bill the government by billions of dollars. In 2022 alone the federal government overpaid by $20.5 billion. The most concerning aspect of this practice is that it is part of a political and corporate agenda to completely privatize Medicare. Intense lobbying and cash flow by the private insurers have so far prevented any effective change to these industry practices.
Read the full story by Matthew Cunningham Cook and Andrew Perez for Portside, published June 1, 2023, here:https://portside.org/2023-06-01/20-billion-scam-heart-medicare-advantage
