And the recent health care law made additional improvements to Medicare – like expanding free preventive care services and closing the prescription drug coverage “donut hole” by 2020. As a result, seniors are healthier and living longer. All analysts have accepted the fact of Medicare’s great impact, but very few have bothered to delve into the details of that impact.
Medicaid is a joint state-federal program, which didn’t cover much people when it was signed into law in the beginning. In the next 25 years, the number of people over 65 eligible for Medicare will more than double. Meanwhile, hospitals in the states that have not expanded Medicaid continue to provide large amounts of uncompensated care, and the states are missing the opportunity to leverage billions of dollars in new federal funding through the expansion. The list goes on and on as to what the ADA has done to improve the lives of so many.
As of March 2015, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported about 11.7 million people have registered for private insurance within the first two enrollment periods – and this from state and federal marketplaces.
According to CMS officials, US health spending will grow by an average of 5.8 percent annually by 2024 with smaller growth in physician services’ spending. Public exchange customers generally feel less financially prepared to handle future healthcare costs and less confident they can get affordable care when they need it, the report finds. We have to reduce overutilization of tests and interventions that don’t improve health and focus our resources on what works.
As we celebrate all Medicaid has achieved for children in Boston and across the country, we need to work together to ensure the program is stronger than ever for the next 50 years and beyond.
By providing incentives for providing quality care, as well as implementing value-based payment models, CMS is creating a new standard within the healthcare system. In order to continue to allow millions of Americans to remain independent and financially secure, we must contain cost growth, while maintaining essential benefits and protections.
The AMA opposed Medicare out of fear the government would become too deeply involved in the practice of medicine, says the elder Lee. Hospice care is now a covered benefit.
The goal is to provide care options for each stage of patient care, and make healthcare more affordable for low-income individuals who may qualify for both Medicaid and Medicare.
