Medicare Advantage was meant to curb federal health care spending. It's costing more instead

WASHINGTON — Medicare Advantage, which funnels government health care benefits through privately-run, managed-care insurers, has grown so fast that within months it's expected to be the dominant form of coverage for seniors.

That's largely because the plans, most of them HMOs, offer lower out-of-pocket costs, plus added benefits not covered by original Medicare, such as dental, vision and prescription drugs. Some Advantage plans even throw in gym memberships.

The one thing that Medicare Advantage has not done is curb the government's health care spending, even though that was a big selling point in Washington when it was approved in the mid-1990s as Medicare Part C.

Today Medicare spends considerably more for an Advantage member than it does for a comparable enrollee in original Medicare Parts A and B.

As a result, a program born out of a desire to deliver better care and more choices for seniors while reducing government costs is instead generating hefty income for private health insurers and keeping Medicare on