The 2016 Medicare Trustees Report: Is Medicare Doomed?

The June 22 release of the annual Medicare Trustees Report has, as usual, elicited conflicting responses. Some have focused on the positive—Medicare spending per enrollee has continued to grow at a historically slow rate—while others have emphasized the negative — the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is now projected to run out of resources in 2028, two years earlier last year’s projection. Both of these responses are legitimate, and both are incomplete representations of the situation the program faces. As it enters its second 50 years, Medicare has been successful in assuring the health and economic security of the nation’s elderly and disabled. It has been influential in shaping the U.S. health system, improving the quality of care, and contributing to medical progress. At the same time, Medicare faces considerable challenges. In Medicare—as in the rest of the health system—rising costs are an ongoing concern. Medicare’s benefit package, while rated highly by beneficiaries on access to care and protection from financial hardship and medical debts, falls short on financial protection for beneficiaries with low incomes and serious health problems. Fragmentation of coverage into different plans for hospital, physician, and prescription drug benefits is confusing for beneficiaries and undermines coordination of patient care; and because Medicare covers only a portion of medical expenses, most beneficiaries supplement Medicare with othe...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Costs and Spending Featured Long-term Services and Supports Medicare Payment Policy Public Health Aging Long-Term Care MACRA Medicare Advantage Source Type: blogs