Senate panel looks to health insurers for health savings

Jul 14 2009

"U.S. health insurers were in talks with the Senate Finance Committee Monday to discuss how to save the Medicare program $100 billion over a decade, a source familiar with the talks said," Reuters reports.

Health insurers are the latest to feel pressure "to come up with savings to follow commitments made by pharmaceutical industry for savings of $80 billion and the hospital sector for cuts of $155 billion over a decade" as policymakers look for ways to reduce the price tag associated with "extending coverage to many of the 46 million without insurance" – about $1 trillion over a decade. However, industry representatives argue "insurers have already made significant concessions, such as discontinuing rating individuals based on health status and gender."

Today's talks center on "subsidies for Medicare beneficiaries who get their coverage through private Medicare Advantage programs -- plans that "receive subsidies at a cost greater than through traditional Medicare programs."

"The White House is also now looking to medical device makers for savings to help pay for healthcare reforms, according to Bernstein Research analysts. The administration was said to be seeking as much as $60 billion over 10 years, possibly through a rebate mechanism, in initial negotiations, the analysts said in a research note" (Dixon, Richwine and Frank, 7/13).