March 10 (Reuters) – A congressional committee’s investigators found the average American senior’s Medicare premiums last year were about 10% higher due to alleged overpayments to private Medicare Advantage plans, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Medicare Part B premiums that most seniors pay were partly pushed up by controversial health-insurer practices such as […]
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Committee says seniors paid higher premiums due to alleged Medicare overpayments, WSJ reports
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March 10 (Reuters) – A congressional committee’s investigators found the average American senior’s Medicare premiums last year were about 10% higher due to alleged overpayments to private Medicare Advantage plans, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Medicare Part B premiums that most seniors pay were partly pushed up by controversial health-insurer practices such as adding diagnoses to trigger higher payments, according to the Joint Economic Committee, a bipartisan group of lawmakers that advises Congress on financial matters, according to the report.
The committee plans to release the report on Tuesday, WSJ said citing a spokeswoman.
The Joint Economic Committee did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Medicare is a U.S. government program for individuals aged 65 and older or those with disabilities. The government reimburses private health plans, called Medicare Advantage, a set amount for each patient but pays more if patients are sicker.
Government investigators have been probing how health insurers’ billing practices have contributed to Medicare Advantage costs.
(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)