Payments to doctors are already scheduled to be reduced, but Congress always passes an exemption. This happens even without health care reform.
Here is a fact check on the AHIP paid spin:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_go_co/us_health_insurers_fact_check###
With a series of beleaguered-looking elderly people on camera, a soothing female voice says accurately that Congress has proposed cutting more than $100 billion from Medicare Advantage. The program, administered by private companies that provide extra services like eye and dental care, serves about a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries, more than 10 million people.
Then the announcer adds, "The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says many seniors will see cuts in benefits." Words flash on the screen for three seconds saying, "50 percent reduction in extra benefits."
The announcer's words are true — but could be easily misunderstood to mean that basic Medicare coverage is at risk.
The budget office's director, Douglas Elmendorf, has said that as a result of the proposed cuts, the extra benefits Medicare Advantage recipients receive would be halved over the next decade. But the ad leaves unspoken that under the Finance bill, Medicare coverage for doctors, hospitals and other basic services would remain fully intact, with no reduction in benefits.
The ad also fails to mention the reason senators targeted Medicare Advantage for savings: The program is expensive for the government to administer, costing about 14 percent more per recipient than regular Medicare.
###