Oppenheimer analyst Carl McDonald writes: “Even though the Medicare Advantage program enrolls a disproportionate number of low income and minority beneficiaries (two key Democratic constituencies), the new Administration is essentially telling these seniors that although they are some of the most vulnerable members of society, they have been receiving too much welfare over the past few years, and that it is going to be taken away, in the form of higher premiums and reduced benefits. It is one thing to take something away from a wealthy individual that can afford to give it up, but quite another to take it from an elderly grandmother just scraping by.
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“We’re not suggesting that all Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are low income or minority, or even that most are, but it feels to us like the Democrats in Congress that are up for re-election in 2010 still don’t seem to appreciate the pushback they are going to get later this year when 11 million seniors realize their out of pocket cost sharing is going way up. Because of how quickly the benefit changes are happening relative to the Democrats taking power, it is going to be very easy for the media to blame the new Administration as the cause for the change.”
The Annals of Unintended Consequences, Part 2: Medicare Advantage Cuts
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