<blockquote>Medicare Advantage is simultaneously <strong>more</strong> costly to the public, yet its enrollees receive <strong>less</strong> care.<br><br>Medicare Advantage plans employ two strategies to drive up overpayments from the government:<br><br>(1) Diagnostic upcoding (making patients "look" more sick on paper, which determines payments.)<br>(2) Avoiding truly sicker (read: unprofitable) enrollees.<br><br>These strategies generated more than half a <strong>trillion</strong> dollars in overpayments for MA plans between 2007 and 2024, according to one analysis from the nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.<br><br>Despite these overpayments, MA enrollees actually receive <strong>less</strong> care on average than those in traditional Medicare - by 9%.<br><br>How? Through managed care techniques like prior authorizations, network restrictions, and provider incentives to curtail care.</blockquote>
