Speaker: J.B. Silvers, PhD, CWRU Weatherhead School of Management and School of Medicine

Medicare is being “privatized” via Medicare Advantage (MA), the corporate alternative to traditional Medicare. MA is publicly financed but run by private insurance corporations. The administrative cost of Medicare: 2%; MA’s administrative cost: 20-40%. MA is used by almost 50% of the Medicare population and accounts for 55% of total Medicare spending (427 billion). Is comprehensive reform on the way?