Health plans aren't happy with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' 2004 Medicare+Choice payment rates. Published quietly on the CMS Web site May 12, the rates give plans the bare minimum required by law for most covered beneficiaries, according to the American Association of Health Plans. AAHP says the rates will go up by a mere 2 percent for most beneficiaries, far below the rate at which health care costs are rising. The payment rates "exacerbate the funding shortfall that has limited the vast potential of this important program," AAHP President Karen Ignani maintains. To see the rates, go to www.cms.hhs.gov/healthplans/rates/default.asp.