Comparison of Medicare Premium Support Proposals

Download or read book Comparison of Medicare Premium Support Proposals written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In response to concern about increases in the federal debt and deficit, prominent policymakers and commissions have proposed reducing federal spending on entitlement programs, including Medicare. One of the most frequently discussed proposals would transform Medicare from a defined benefit program, in which beneficiaries are guaranteed coverage for a fixed set of benefits, to a defined contribution or "premium support" program, in which beneficiaries are guaranteed a fixed federal payment to help cover their health care expenses. The idea of transforming Medicare into a system of premium supports, establishing fixed contributions per Medicare beneficiary, has been raised intermittently since the early 1980s, and more recently, a number of proposals have been advanced in the context of reducing the federal deficit and debt. Premium support proposals differ in a number of ways, including how federal payments on behalf of beneficiaries would be determined; whether Medicare fee-for-service would remain an option; what protections would be provided for low-income beneficiaries; and the extent to which the proposal would rely on a federal cap on Medicare spending to help constrain the growth in program spending. These differences have important implications for beneficiaries, Medicare program spending, health care providers, and health plans. This document provides a side-by-side comparison of the most recent proposals for transforming Medicare into a premium support program that have been put forth by policymakers and commissions as part of broad-based deficit- and debt-reduction packages.