Medicare is being privatized right before our eyes

Vox - Medicare is undergoing a subtle but fundamental transformation from government program to public benefit provided by private companies, a shift with major implications for both patients and taxpayers.The driver of that change, an alternative version of the program known as Medicare Advantage, has been the subject of scrutiny in recent weeks...Underlying all of those concerns is the fact of Medicare Advantage’s explosive growth. Almost half of people on Medicare, 31 million Americans, are now enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, nearly double the share of 10 years ago. It is widely assumed that Medicare Advantage will cover a majority of the program’s beneficiaries within the next few years.