Day: December 10, 2009

Private health insurance companies that offer alternative Medicare coverage funnel billions of dollars toward company profits and marketing efforts rather than to patient care, U.S. Democrats said in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of insurers, including Humana Inc and UnitedHealth Group Inc, offer such plans known as Medicare Advantage as an alternative to traditional fee-for-service Medicare coverage for the elderly and disabled.

Violence in Afghanistan will likely climb in the short-term, along with internal government turmoil, U.S. General David Petraeus told Congress on Wednesday, urging lawmakers to reserve judgment for a full year on President Barack Obama’s new war strategy.

Petraeus, who as head of U.S. Central Command is in charge of drawing down forces in Iraq and overseeing a new surge of 30,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, said he expected increased fighting in Afghanistan in the spring and the summer.

He also said the Afghan government’s expected moves to combat corruption likely would result in “greater turmoil within the government as malign actors are identified and replaced.”