Seniors with Medicare Advantage plans that offer medical andprescription drug coverage face sharp premium increases thisyear.

According to a new study from consulting firm Avalere Health, currentenrollees in Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans (MA-PDs) will pay,on average, $39.61 per month in 2010, an increase of 14.2 percentcompared to 2009. In contrast, the average monthly MA-PD premiumincreased by only 5.2 percent from 2008 to 2009.

"The Medicare findings are bad news for President Barack Obamaand his health care overhaul that is bogged down in Congress,"writes Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar for the Associated Press."That's because the higher Medicare Advantage premiums for 2010followed a cut in government payments to the private plans lastyear. And the Democratic bills pending in Congress call for evenmore cuts, which are expected to force many seniors to drop out ofwhat has been a rapidly growing alternative to traditionalMedicare."

Premium increases vary significantly by plan type, with thelargest jumps seen in private fee-for-service (PFFS) plans,according to Avalere. More than half of all MA-PD enrollees are inhealth maintenance organizations (HMOs) which had slightly lowerpremium increases than MA-PD plans overall (11.3 percent), thoughtheir premiums still jumped substantially from 2009 to 2010compared to the 2008 to 2009 increase of only 0.9 percent.

As a result of policies in place when 2010 MA rates were set,most plans' payments were cut by 3 to 5 percent for 2010.

According to Avalere's analysis, there are 2,430 MA-PD plans in2010, of which 1,705 were also available in 2009. If a beneficiaryhad remained in the same plan between 2009 and 2010, their premiumwould have increased on average 22 percent. The HMO and local PPOincreases were each 22 percent, while the PFFS increase was onaverage 26 percent, the SNP increase was on average 29 percent, andthe regional PPO increase was on average 76 percent.

Doing the same analysis for last plan year, there were 2,748MA-PD plans in 2009, of which 2,277 were also available in 2008. Ifa beneficiary had remained in the same plans between 2008 and 2009,their premium would have increased on average 10 percent. HMO andSNP premiums were both up an average of 5 percent, local PPOs wereup an average 3 percent, regional PPOs were down 5 percent, andPFFS premiums increased 38 percent.

"Premiums are going up - not just in the individual markets -but also for Medicare Advantage products," said Lindsey Spindle, avice president at Avalere Health, in a released statement. "Theyfit into a broader trend of increased financial pressure on theinsured through rising co-pays and increased premiums."