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Source Intermediate projections from 2005-2018 annual Reports of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds
With rising concern over increases in prescription drug costs, the Trump Administration has proposed what it calls a “5-part plan” that would change several features of the Medicare Part D drug benefit. This brief describes the Administration’s five Part D proposals and discusses the potential implications for people with Part D prescription drug coverage and Medicare program spending, based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
This brief examines key Medicare provisions included in "The Path to Prosperity: Restoring America's Promise," a long-term budget proposal released by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan on April 5, 2011, which outlines a strategy for reducing federal spending and reducing the national debt over time. The Medicare provisions are among the many significant changes to programs affecting the elderly and disabled in the "Path to Prosperity" proposal. The central Medicare proposal would transform the program…
Most of the Public Lacks Confidence that President Biden, Congressional Democrats or Republicans Will Do the Right Thing on Drug Prices Allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug companies to lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries and people enrolled in private plans – a key cost-saving proposal in the Democrats’ massive reconciliation bill – is favored by large majorities across political partisans, even after they hear arguments from both sides, a new KFF Health…
Earlier this week, the Biden Administration announced the final Medicare Advantage rates for 2023, which are projected to result in an average increase in Medicare Advantage plan revenue of 8.5% compared to 2022 - the highest average expected increase in recent years. Payments to Medicare Advantage plans as a share of total Medicare spending on Part A and Part B services have increased from 26% in 2010 to 45% in 2020, and are expected to…
Medicare premiums and cost sharing will account for an increasing share of Social Security benefits in the future, Medicare Trustees project.
In April 2011, as part of its 2012 budget resolution, the U.S. House included a proposal to reduce Medicare spending by transforming the program into a system sometimes called "premium support" or vouchers. Such an approach also has been a central element of other proposals by national leaders seeking to reduce the federal deficit and national debt. This Kaiser Family Foundation brief reviews the evolution of the premium support concept, examines key policy decisions and…
As part of several debt-reduction and Medicare-reform proposals, some policymakers propose to prohibit Medicare supplemental insurance policies (known as Medigap) from covering all of enrollees' out-of-pocket Medicare costs, which some believe leads to higher use of services and higher Medicare spending. Such changes would expose Medigap enrollees – currently about one in six Medicare beneficiaries – to a larger share of Medicare's cost-sharing requirements. This analysis commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation examines three potential…
This brief presents the most current data available on the Medicare supplemental insurance (Medigap) market, including enrollment and premiums by state and plan type, analyzes how many beneficiaries have first dollar coverage (particularly Plans C and F), and describes recent Medigap proposals that have emerged as part of efforts to reduce Medicare spending and the national debt.
Several major deficit-reduction and entitlement reform proposals include raising Medicare's age of eligibility from 65 to 67 as a way of improving Medicare's solvency. This Kaiser Family Foundation report estimates the expected effects of such a change on the federal budget, as well as on affected seniors' out-of-pocket costs, employers, Medicaid and others in light of the major changes in coverage enacted under the 2010 health reform law. The study estimates that raising Medicare’s eligibility…
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