Robert Pear has the scoop in tomorrow morning's edition of the New York Times. His story entitled "Inquiry on Medicare Finds Improper Limits on Choices" has the details about how the Bush Administration enabled various insurers to reap huge profits by overcharging the elderly. Here's the lead:

Federal investigators said Monday that the Bush administration had improperly allowed some private health plans to limit Medicare patients' choice of health care providers, including doctors, nursing homes and home care agencies.

The investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, also said that the private plans had increased out-of-pocket costs for the elderly and had not saved money for the government, contrary to predictions by Medicare officials.

The study, the most comprehensive assessment of a demonstration project that the administration has described as the best hope for Medicare's future, focused on the program's experience with a form of managed care known as preferred provider organizations, the type of health insurance most popular among people under 65.

Medicare is spending $650 to $750 a year more for each beneficiary in such private plans than it would have spent if the same people stayed in traditional Medicare, the investigators said.

While it's disappointing that this is happening, it's hardly surprising that PPOs (the private insurers) are charging more than traditional Medicare, thus leading to insolvency in the fund. As these PPOs often offer worse coverage than traditional Medicare plans, perhaps the President's true motive in passing the Prescription Drug bill that enabled the use of these plans was to hasten the agency's bankruptcy...