why we should esxpand medicare

Medicaid

expansion will promote economic security, specifically for working families. Prior to the ACA, if an uninsured family member became sick, the lack of coverage would often bankrupt and de-stabilize the family. In fact, the most bankruptcies in America were due to illness.

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What does expanding Medicaid mean for You?

Jul 11, 2012 · Medicaid is good for health (more here). Medicaid offers financial protection. Expansion costs states very little; most of the cost is covered by the federal government. More broadly, health reform saves many states money. Medicaid expansion supports the economy. Medicaid addresses the uncompensated care problem.

Should Medicare Advantage be extended to Medicaid and employer-covered populations?

Jul 30, 2014 · By opening Medicare to everyone, we could secure universal coverage and run a more efficient and just system. Medicare is far from perfect, but the flexible program stands strong. By expanding it,...

Why does Medicare matter?

Feb 14, 2018 · That better idea is expanding the successful Medicare Advantage program to both Medicaid and employer-covered populations. This Medicare program has a proven track record in preserving quality and...

Why do Democrats want to end Medicaid expansion?

Oct 19, 2021 · The core promise of Medicare for All was to expand the coverage Medicare beneficiaries currently enjoy to the millions of working families who don’t have access to affordable health care.

Why is Medicare expansion good?

More Financial Security and Opportunities for Economic Mobility. Medicaid expansion has made it easier for people to afford needed health care, studies find — reducing medical debt, problems paying bills, and evictions.Oct 21, 2020

Why should Medicare not be expanded?

Expanding government coverage at the expense of private coverage will make it harder for providers to continue shifting costs to higher-paying private patients. The result will be longer lines, less care, and decreased incentive for innovation in treatment and care.Aug 25, 2021

Why is it necessary to reform Medicare?

The most important reason is that Medicare is big enough to move the whole American health delivery system away from fee-for-service reimbursement, which rewards volume of services, toward new delivery structures, which reward quality and value.May 21, 2013

Can Medicare be expanded?

No state has the power to expand Medicare, as it is a federal program. However, states are able to expand their Medicaid programs within federal guidelines.Nov 9, 2021

Did they lower the age 60 for Medicare?

Regardless of the outcome, the eligibility age for Medicare won't change overnight. Lowering the eligibility age is no longer part of the U.S. Government's budget for Fiscal Year 2022. So, the Medicare eligibility age will not see a reduction anytime in the next year.Dec 7, 2021

Is the government lowering the age for Medicare?

More than 125 House lawmakers introduced legislation Friday that lowers the Medicare eligibility age to 60 from 65. The Improving Medicare Coverage Act — led by Reps.Sep 7, 2021

What is the Medicare reform?

The most important reform for long-term cost control is an improved structure for premium competition and beneficiary choice. Today, Medicare beneficiaries can choose to enroll in a private Medicare Advantage (MA) plan or get benefits through the traditional fee-for-service (FFS) program.Jan 28, 2021

Why is reforming the Medicare system so difficult?

The sheer scale of the US health care system is what makes reform so difficult. If the US health system, measured in dollars, were a country, it would be the 4th largest country in the world, larger than the economies of Germany, India, and the United Kingdom.Feb 10, 2021

What are some reforms of Medicare?

8 Medicare and Medicaid reforms that would have the biggest impact on federal spendingEstablish caps on federal spending for Medicaid. ... Reduce federal Medicaid matching grants. ... Change the cost-sharing rules for Medicare and restrict Medigap insurance. ... Increase the premiums for Parts B and D of Medicare.More items...

Does Medicare cover dental?

Dental services Medicare doesn't cover most dental care (including procedures and supplies like cleanings, fillings, tooth extractions, dentures, dental plates, or other dental devices). Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, care in a skilled nursing facility, hospice care, and some home health care.

Who is Medicare through?

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal agency that runs Medicare. The program is funded in part by Social Security and Medicare taxes you pay on your income, in part through premiums that people with Medicare pay, and in part by the federal budget.

What is the Medicare budget?

PROJECTIONS FOR MAJOR HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS FOR FY 2021MEDICARE (Net of Offsetting Receipts)$683 BillionMEDICAID$519 BillionPREMIUM TAX CREDITS AND RELATED SPENDING$68 BillionCHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM$16 Billion

What is the only major nation in the industrialized world that does not guarantee health care as a right to its people

As Sanders said, “The United States is the only major nation in the industrialized world that does not guarantee health care as a right to its people.”. What America is doing on health care isn’t working for either men or women.

Is Medicare for all effective?

Expanding Medicare for all is the fairest, most effective and straightforward way to ensure universal coverage in America. With Medicare, seniors have greater access to care. Yet most people deal with an overly complex system that fails to provide the same benefits our seniors receive.

Does Obamacare offer protections?

Lawmaker's heated Obamacare accusation. To be sure, Obamacare does offer greater protections and support for working women to obtain basic insurance. But with the fluctuating and often excessive premiums, deductibles and co-pays, these bills remain onerous. Accesses to in-network physicians remain restricted.

How much of Medicare is covered by Medicare Advantage?

One idea is to look to a program that has been working: the Medicare Advantage program. It has grown rapidly and now covers more than 30% of all Medicare beneficiaries. It also has one of the highest customer satisfaction rates of any health insurance plan.

What is Medicare contract?

Medicare contracts with these entities to deliver coordinated care for the Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, which has led to the mergers of many delivery systems.

Why is health care out of control?

The Medicare and Medicaid programs underfund the cost of care in most of America. A few states, because of quirks in the Medicare law of 1965, fare better than others.

Why would healthcare costs be better managed?

And health care costs would be better managed because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would accelerate value-based payments to providers and cost shifting from Medicare-covered populations to populations covered by employer-sponsored commercial insurance plans would be eliminated.

Do commercial insurers pay for mistakes?

But the financial incentives actually reward the errors. Commercial insurers continue to pay for mistakes and poor care by paying providers based on utilization of procedures and hospital admissions, no matter what the reason for service is. This is called fee for service, and it’s literally killing us.

Will the federal insurance exchanges rein in costs?

The federal and state insurance exchanges have failed to rein in costs. Now, with the rollback of the mandate that individuals must purchase health insurance, the number of uninsured in the country will climb. Meanwhile, continued federal funding of the subsidy for insurance for the poor is uncertain.

Is Medicaid rolled into Medicare Advantage?

Rolling Medicaid into Medicare Advantage would create a single standard for the plan and increase provider participation. Employers.

How does Medicare help?

It is pushing for better delivery of health care, with initiatives to improve quality and coordination, prevent avoidable readmissions to the hospital and reduce infections caught while at the hospital.

Why is the Medicare program important?

And it helps insulate beneficiaries from rising health care costs. People enrolled in the program may still pay thousands of dollars a year for health care, but their access to health care is vastly better than before the program existed.

What is Medicare for older people?

Medicare is a lifeline that puts health care in reach of millions of older Americans. But it does much more: By helping older Americans stay healthy and independent, Medicare eases a potential responsibility for younger family members. Knowledge that Medicare's protections will be there when needed brings peace of mind to people as they get older. ...

When was Medicare enacted?

When Medicare was enacted in 1965 nearly 1 in 3 seniors lived in poverty. Older people were more likely to be poor than any other age group. Yet in its first 10 years, Medicare helped cut their poverty rate in half.

Does Medicare pay for hospice?

Finally, for the terminally ill, Medicare offers a hospice benefit that helps individuals get compassionate, end-of-life care, typically in their own home. Medicare can lead the way to better care for everyone.

Does Medicare cover health insurance?

Here are some of the many ways Medicare matters: Medicare guarantees affordable health insurance. Before Medicare, almost 1 in 2 older Americans had no health insurance and faced a bleak future if they got seriously ill.

What will Medicaid expansion do?

Medicaid expansion will promote economic security, specifically for working families. Prior to the ACA, if an uninsured family member became sick, the lack of coverage would often bankrupt and de-stabilize the family. In fact, the most bankruptcies in America were due to illness. [3] .

Why is expansion important for health care?

Expansion allows for states to try innovative solutions to address health quality, cost, and coverage.

How many states are denying healthcare coverage?

Twenty-two states are currently denying healthcare coverage to nearly seven million Americans. [1] . The intransigent opposition to the Affordable Care Act from state leadership, primarily in the South and Midwest, has unfairly burdened their residents and created a missed opportunity.

How many states have opted in to Medicaid?

Currently, 28 states and the District of Columbia have opted-in. The states that have refused to expand Medicaid are denying their residents basic healthcare and are harming their state economies in the process.

Is Medicaid expansion good for the states?

From Chambers of Commerce to hospital organizations, broad coalitions of organizations have realized that Medicaid expansion is not only good for individuals and working families, but it is good for the states.

Is Medicaid expansion a positive thing?

Regardless of one’s opinion on other components of the ACA, the economic and social arguments for Medicaid expansion are overwhelmingly positive. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that coercing states to expand Medicaid under the ACA was illegal.

Why should we not expand Medicaid?

1. Medicaid harms the poor. The Medicaid program actually harms the people it is intended to serve.

What happens if one state doesn't expand Medicaid?

The expansion is an entitlement; if one state doesn’t expand, the money stays in the federal coffers (or reduces the amount Washington must borrow). 3. Medicaid’s access problems will get worse as more doctors drop out. Coverage is not the same thing as care.

How many people would be enrolled in Medicaid by the end of the decade?

If all states were to go along with the optional Medicaid expansion, nearly 90 million people would be enrolled in the program by the end of the decade, including those newly-eligible under the ObamaCare optional expansion.

Why is Medicaid a disincentive?

Medicaid imposes a huge disincentive on the poor to find work because they fall out of the program once they start earning better incomes. If states choose not to expand Medicaid, able-bodied adults who seek work and who successfully cross the poverty line should have the option of subsidized private insurance.

How much would it cost to expand Medicaid?

Expanding Medicaid would cost states an additional $118 billion through 2023, according to a recent congressional report. [8] . The additional spending surely would crowd out funds for education, transportation, parks, public safety, and other vital state needs.

When was Medicaid created?

Medicaid — the joint federal and state program designed to finance health care for the poor — has not been fundamentally changed since it was created in 1965 . Legislators know Medicaid desperately needs to be modernized for the 21 st century, and even President Obama argued the case during the debate over ObamaCare.

How many states will see an increase in Medicaid?

Even under current spending projections, 40 states will see an increase in their costs if they expand Medicaid. After the first three years of the 100% federal match, state costs will continue to climb, dwarfing any projected savings.