The promise of Medicare Advantage has always been "more for less" — extra benefits like vision and dental at a lower cost to the government. But according to the latest Joint Economic Committee report, the math is heading in the opposite direction. By exploiting "coding intensity" and risk-adjustment loopholes, private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are now costing the taxpayer 20% more than original Medicare for the same level of care.
This fiscal gap doesn't just impact the federal deficit; the alleged overpayments trigger a mandatory "premium pass-through" that forces those in original Medicare to subsidize the gym memberships and dental perks of their neighbors in MA plans.
