Seniors pay more for Medicare
– to subsidize insurance companies

Sep 27, 2004

The Bush Administration recently announced that premiums paid by senior citizens and the disabled for Medicare-B will increase by 17 per cent, or $11.60 per month. It is the largest premium increase in Medicare's history. It makes the new premium $78.80 per month, or $945 a year.

Part of the increase goes for increases to hospitals, clinics, doctors, etc. But part will go to subsidies to private insurance companies. The subsidies were snuck into the legislation that created the new Medicare drug plan passed last year.

It costs private insurance companies more to provide insurance, because they have higher administrative costs than Medicare, so the politicians are making it easier for the insurance companies to compete with Medicare.

Seniors will pay the costs for this as part of the increase in premiums, whether they receive their insurance from a private company or not.

This is nothing but a blatant robbery of retirees – in order to step up the privatization of Medicare.