AHIP warns Medicare Advantage cuts are 'crushing blow'

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If the U.S. Department of Health  & Human Services moves forward with its proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage, it would deal a "crushing blow" to seniors throughout the country, reported The Hilll's Healthwatch. A study conducted for America's Health Insurance Plans concluded that Medicare Advantage plans could see total cuts next year of up to 8 percent, which could raise premiums or slash benefits by an average $50 to $90 per month for members.

AHIP CEO Karen Ignagni said payment reductions implemented by HHS already have driven seniors out of the Medicare Advantage program, so this most recent 2.3 percent cut also could lower enrollments. "The impact of these cuts is real; it's not speculative," Karen Ignagni told reporters. "We'll see it in benefits, we'll see it in costs that beneficiaries have to pay, and we're very concerned … that we'll see it in disruption," she said. Article