Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While most of Medicare's 46 million beneficiaries are covered by the traditional fee-for-service (FFS) program, about one in four beneficiaries receives benefits through private health plans under the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. Under the FFS program, Medicare pays health care providers for each covered service they furnish. While Medicare sets the price it pays, the volume of services--and, as a consequence, total spending--remains largely uncontrolled. In contrast, MA plans have more control over both the price they pay to providers and the quantity of services they deliver. As of September 2010, more than 11 million beneficiaries were enrolled in approximately 3,900 MA plans sponsored by 181 parent MA organizations (MAO). MAOs generally offer beneficiaries one or more plans to choose from--with different coverage, premiums, and cost sharing features--in the areas they serve. Also, MA plans may provide additional benefits not offered under FFS Medicare, such as reduced cost sharing or vision and dental coverage. Medicare pays plans a fixed amount per enrolled beneficiary monthly. In 2010, Medicare payments to MA plans totaled an estimated $115 billion. In June of each year, MA plans submit bids to the Centers …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) expands health insurance to millions of individuals, including many parents. New insurance options for parents raise a question about whether providing health insurance to parents benefits their children. The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) asked GAO to assess (1) the extent a parent's health insurance status is associated with a child's health insurance status, use of services, and parental satisfaction with their child's care; and (2) how selected states' parent coverage under Medicaid and CHIP may change given upcoming expansions. To examine the association between a parent's and a child's health insurance status, GAO analyzed data from 3 years of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2005-2007), a nationally representative survey. GAO categorized parent and child health insurance status as private, public, or uninsured, and analyzed nine parent/child insurance combinations. GAO also analyzed relevant, peer-reviewed literature. To examine how states may change their Medicaid- and CHIP-funded parent coverage, GAO reviewed CHIPRA and PPACA, and interviewed officials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) …