The Nation has an excellent little article that we need to take note of and to make sure the congress does not cave to the insurance companies.
In the next few weeks Congress will decide whether to cut $54 billion in overpayments to Medicare insurers, igniting a battle that may well determine whether the program survives. On one side are Medicare supporters, who want it to continue as a successful social insurance program. On the other is the insurance industry, which is spending millions and lobbying hard to put Medicare on a fast track to privatization, a goal long sought by fiscal conservatives and their allies in right-wing think tanks.
The seeds of the conflict were sown in 2003, when Congress passed the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), which gives seniors a prescription drug benefit that is sold and administered by private insurers, not the government. This drug benefit, known as Part D, opened new markets for insurers, some of which have profited handsomely from the government's gift. The story of one of those companies, Humana, a forty-six-year-old carrier based in Louisville, Kentucky, shows what's at stake.
http://www.thenation.com/docprem.mhtml?i=20070716&s=lieberman