Cutting Overpayments to Private Medicare Plans Can Help Fund Children’s Health Coverage
Thursday, July 05, 2007
- Organization: California Budget Project
July 5, 2007
Cutting Overpayments to Private Medicare Plans Can Help Fund Children's Health Coverage
A new California Budget Project Budget Brief, "Cutting Overpayments to Private Medicare Plans Can Help Fund Children's Health Coverage," shows that the federal Medicare Program - which provides health coverage to seniors and persons with disabilities - pays private Medicare plans substantially more than it would to cost to treat the same beneficiaries in the traditional Medicare Program. In 2005, California's private Medicare plans received $1 billion in overpayments. Eliminating these overpayments could save more than $50 billion over five years, which Congress could use to help expand coverage for children when it reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
This Budget Brief is available at www.cbp.org.
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From the California Budget Project
1107 9th Street, Suite 310
Sacramento, CA 95814
Jean Ross, Executive Director
ph: (916)444-0500 fax: (916)444-0172
Email: cbp@cbp.org
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