Medicare reversed payment cuts, and not many are happy about it

Medicare's recent reversal of a proposed payment cut to private health plans – the second such reversal in two years – hasn't won a lot of rave reviews. Insurance analysts say they still anticipate lower payments to private Medicare Advantage plans in 2015. Some editorial pages and supporters have criticized the Obama administration and lawmakers for easing off on Medicare Advantage cuts ordered by the president's health-care law. The Affordable Care Act calls for cuts to the Medicare Advantage program, which critics say subsidizes private insurers to cover Medicare beneficiaries at a higher cost to taxpayers. But the politics of cutting Medicare are no doubt getting in the way.