Cuts are expected in the subsidies that the government pays health insurers to run private Medicare programs in 2010, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

In Feb. 2009, Medicare officials announced that they planned a 5 percent cut in payments after formula adjustments, according to the report. Insurers and medical societies had six weeks to provide regulators with arguments against this plan before the rates were finalized.

More than 10 million people are covered under Medicare Advantage plans, the privatized version of Medicare, according to the report. If payment cuts are little or remain unchanged from the proposed rate, insurers may raise premiums or copays by $50-$80 a month, according to the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Recently, the Obama administration set limits on the amount that seniors covered under Medicare Advantage plans can spend on out-of-pocket charges.

Read the Wall Street Journal's report on the 2010 Medicare Advantage subsidy cuts.

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