(Bloomberg) — Health insurers paid by the U.S. government to provide Medicare coverage will see their rates cut by about 0.9 percent next year, the U.S. government said Friday.
The proposed cut will be the subject of heavy lobbying by the health insurance industry, and isn't expected to become final until April 6. Insurers estimate payments to the program, which allows private companies such as Humana Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. to offer Medicare plans, have been reduced by nearly 10 percent in the last two years.
Medicare is the U.S. health program for the elderly and disabled. About 15.7 million people, or 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, get coverage through the Medicare Advantage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The private program allows for lower out-of-pockets costs compared with the traditional government-run version.
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