Apparently NYT reporters can't. An article in Monday's NYT on a new Medicare guidebook that seems to promote private plans reports that "senior Democrats" complain that these plans raise the cost of the program. Well, senior Democrats might complain about the higher costs of the HMOs, PPOs and other private plans that have been incorporated into the Medicare program, but the evidence comes from independent assessments from the Congressional Budget Office and elsewhere. In other words, the allegation that private sector plans raise costs for Medicare is not a partisan charge, it is a well-established fact based on independent analyses. There may still be reasons to support these private plans, but the Times should inform readers that they do in fact raise the cost of the program.
--Dean Baker