Private fee-for-service (PFFS) Medicare Advantage plans will be paid an average 16.6 percent more in 2008 compared to what the same enrollees would have cost in the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund.

Private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will be paid an average 12.4 percent more per enrollee in 2008 compared to what the same enrollee would have cost in the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund.

Many recent studies have found that Medicare spending across the country varies greatly. But despite these spending differences, aggregate health outcomes tend to be the same no matter which region a person lives in. Because of this, some policy makers have determined that there is no value to the excess costs in high-spending areas.