Obamacare cuts to Medicare will cost seniors $900 a year

The Hill:

The health insurance industry fighting proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage payments argued they will raise seniors' out-of-pocket costs next year.

America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a trade group, blasted the reductions with a report Thursday finding that beneficiaries could pay as much as $900 more in 2015 if the cuts take effect.

The report by consulting firm Oliver Wyman concluded that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans could see a 5.9 percent total cut to their payments next year as a result of changes proposed by federal health officials.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) floated a 2015 cut of roughly 2 percent on Friday. The number was less than many insurers expected, causing major gains for several insurance stocks this week.

Still, AHIP President Karen Ignagni said the CMS is putting seniors' well-being on the line.

"Many seniors have experienced fewer benefits and higher out-of-pocket cuts as a result of last year's cuts," she told reporters on a call. "What we're focused on is the impact on beneficiaries."

Moody's Investor Service also said Thursday that next year's proposed rates represent a credit-negative for insurers.

There is widespread disagreement about the value of cutting payments to Medicare Advantage, an increasingly popular alternative to traditional Medicare that covers roughly one-third of the program's beneficiaries.
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This is another example of Democrat wealth transfer policies that effect those who use Medicare Advantage.  They would rather help those with no insurance, I guess rather than those who have paid into the system and come to rely on the Advantage program.  Those seniors who opposed Obamacare are proven right again.