Privatizing MediCare

Looks like the money the health insurance lobbying has been spending on Congress is paying off.

The New York Times reports:

For years, private insurers have offered alternatives to the federal Medicare program that are meant to give patients lower-cost options than the government coverage provides. More than 7 million people now subscribe to such plans, out of a total Medicare population of 42.5 million.

But suddenly a type of private insurance plan is gaining ground that looks very similar to the basic coverage long available to anyone with a federally issued Medicare card.

And the government is paying the private insurance industry a subsidy of 11 percent per patient, on average, to provide it.