A main point to having private versions of Medicare ran by for-profit health insurance companies as an alternative option to Traditional Medicare is to save the taxpayer money by taking advantage of efficiencies gained in private competition and private flexibility while also giving Medicare beneficiaries more choices in their senior health insurance benefit.
That main point has been a total failure. Compared to Traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage, the private version of Medicare since 2003, has cost more per similar beneficiary every year since its creation. One of the main points of letting private health insurance companies make profits from our Medicare program is to save the taxpayer money, and on the face of it, that has been a consistent failure!