WASHINGTON — Medicare Advantage, the privately run insurance on which roughly 500,000 older Louisiana residents rely for health care, is facing calls for change in Congress.
Though hugely popular, critics say Medicare Advantage programs exaggerate patients’ health conditions to receive more money from the federal government. They argue that it is draining the Medicare Trust Fund, which will run out of money in 2033, according to the fund’s report released two weeks ago.
“Medicare is going insolvent, and our budget deficit is expanding. We need to stop overpaying where we can if we’re to preserve Medicare for Americans who rely on it,” said U.S. Sen Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge…