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Repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act is a top priority of the Trump Administration and the Republican leadership, which could have implications for the Medicare program. This brief provides a side-by-side comparison of the Medicare-related provisions in six bills and proposals that would repeal the ACA, excluding proposals that would not directly affect Medicare.
Under current law, physicians may choose to privately contract with their Medicare patients, though very few do. Under such arrangements, doctors can charge their Medicare patients any amount they determine is appropriate for their services rather than be bound to Medicare’s set fees and balance billing limits, so long as the patients agree, and the contract complies with requirements in current law designed to protect consumers. Some Republicans in Congress have proposed to ease restrictions…
In this Washington Post op-ed, Drew Altman discusses how Republicans' ideas to change Medicaid and Medicare and repeal the Affordable Care Act would fundamentally change the federal role in health, calling it: the biggest change in health we are NOT debating.
In a Health Affairs blog post, Tricia Neuman and Gretchen Jacobson of the Kaiser Family Foundation examine how proposals to convert Medicare to a premium support system could lead to higher Medicare premiums and cost-sharing for seniors currently enrolled in the program, even if today’s seniors are “grandfathered” and the new system is phased-in for people ages 55 and younger. The blog post explains how today’s seniors could face higher health care costs, if older…
This brief discusses how drugs provided in inpatient hospital settings are covered and reimbursed for beneficiaries in traditional Medicare under current law. This is relevant for Medicare spending on COVID-19 patients who receive Gilead’s new antiviral drug remdesivir. We discuss the implications for hospitals and the Medicare program of spending on remdesivir.
Published in a special Summer 2015 edition of the journal Generations on Medicare's 50th anniversary, these six articles by KFF staff reflect on Medicare’s history, evolution and future, including a look at lessons and challenges, the Medicare and Medicaid partnership, coverage, the role of private plans, Medicare's role for women, and the public opinion about the program.
Medicare premiums and cost sharing will account for an increasing share of Social Security benefits in the future, Medicare Trustees project.
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…
This January 2014 briefing, co-sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Alliance for Health Reform, examines what is known about the health and economic security of Medicare beneficiaries today, as well as how current and future beneficiaries may be affected by the leading proposals that aim to achieve Medicare savings.
On Nov. 28, 2017, KFF held a public web briefing on the topic of delivery system reform in Medicare. It explored the latest evidence on savings and quality among newer payments models (including ACOs, bundled payments and medical homes), and discussed future directions that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may consider in its effort to lower costs and improve care in the coming years. Panelists: Tricia Neuman, senior vice president at the Kaiser…
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