Republicans Question Effort To Expand MA Plan Bonuses

A provision in the federal health reform law that would expand quality bonus payments to lower-scoring insurers in the Medicare Advantage program has drawn skepticism from two leading Republicans in Congress. In a joint letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp (R-Mich.) questioned whether the administration's support for MA bonuses could represent "a thinly veiled use of taxpayer dollars for political purposes."

• "Obama Administration Eases Pain of Medicare Cuts" (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 4/19).