Sunday Sep 28, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- You don't have
to go to Wall Street to hear bad news.
News media reports that the average premium for seniors to pay to benefit
from Medicare drug coverage for the year 2009 will rise with the 10 most
popular plans increasing by 31 percent on average!
Avalere Health LLC predicts after analyzing data from
Medicare that the average premium will rise by 24 percent to $37 a month for
all standalone drug plans, compared to $30 past year.
Humana Inc's basic plan, which covers 1.5 million participants,
is expected to increase the monthly premium to $40.83 on average in 2009 from
$25.52 this year.
Humana has 2.7 participants
in Medicare.
UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s AARP "preferred" plan
on the other hand is expected to raise its monthly coverage premium to $37, a
15.5 percent increase from 2008. The plan enrolls 2.7 million
participants.
Overall, the Company has
5.4 million enrollees.
The drug plans are heavily subsidized by the federal
government and are offered through private insurers.
Critics have said the private plans in
Medicare cost the government more money than the government-run plans in
Medicare while the beneficiaries get less services from private insurers.
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