Medicare Advantage Spends Less on Care, So Why Is It Costing So Much? - The New York Times

The Medicare Advantage program was supposed to save taxpayers money by allowing insurers to offer older Americans private alternatives to Medicare. The plans now cover 19 million people, a third of all those who qualify for Medicare. Enrollee satisfaction is generally high, and studies show that plans offer higher quality than traditional Medicare. But the government pays insurers more than they pay out for patient care — in some years, it turns out, a great deal more....
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/07/upshot/medicare-advantage-spends-less-on-care-so-why-is-it-costing-so-much.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20170807&nl=upshot&nl_art=1&nlid=78638145&ref=headline&te=1&_r=1