Medicare bonuses to offset cuts under new healthcare law

From the Los Angeles Times: Washington—
— Millions of seniors in popular private insurance plans offered through Medicare will get a reprieve from some of the most controversial cuts in President Obama’s healthcare law. In a policy shift critics see as political, the Health and Human Services Department will award quality bonuses to hundreds of Medicare Advantage plans. The $6.7-billion infusion could head off service cuts that would have been a headache for Obama and Democrats in next year’s elections for the White House and Congress. More than half the roughly 11 million Medicare Advantage enrollees are in plans that are rated average. The insurance industry says the bonuses will turn what would have averaged out as a net loss for the plans in 2012 into a slight increase. In a recent letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, two prominent GOP lawmakers questioned what they termed the administration’s “newfound support” for Medicare Advantage.
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