President Johnson signing the Medicare amendment. Former President
Harry S. Truman (seated) and his wife,
Bess, are on the far right
A Medicare card, with several areas of the card obscured to protect privacy.
There are separate lines for Part A and Part B, each with its own date.
There are no lines for Part C or D, as a separate card is issued for those benefits by the private insurance company.
Medicare is a national social insurance program, administered by the U.S. federal government in 1965, that guarantees access to health insurance for Americans ages 65 and older and younger people with disabilities as well as people with end stage renal disease. As a social insurance program, Medicare spreads the financial risk associated with illness across society to protect everyone, and thus has a somewhat different social role from private insurers, which must manage their risk portfolio to guarantee their own solvency.[1]
Medicare offers all enrollees a defined benefit. Hospital care is covered under Part A and outpatient medical services are covered under Part B. To cover the Part A and Part B benefits, Medicare offers a choice between an open-network single payer health care plan (traditional Medicare) and a network plan (Medicare Advantage, or Medicare Part C), where the federal government pays for private health coverage. A majority of Medicare enrollees have traditional Medicare (76 percent) over a Medicare Advantage plan (24 percent). Medicare Part D covers outpatient prescription drugs exclusively through private plans, either standalone prescription drug plans or through Medicare Advantage plans that offer prescription drugs
In 2010, Medicare provided health insurance to 48 million Americans—40 million people age 65 and older and eight million younger people with disabilities. Medicare serves a large population of old, sick, and low-income people, many of whom would be unable to afford health care otherwise. On average, Medicare covers about half (48 percent) of health care costs for enrollees. Medicare enrollees must cover the rest of the cost. These out-of-pocket costs vary depending on the amount of health care a Medicare enrollee needs. They might include uncovered services—such as long-term, dental, hearing, and vision care—and supplemental insurance.[2]
The blue line indicates per capita Social Security expenditure (in 2010 dollars), while the red line indicates the percentage of the population aged 65 or older with an income at or below the poverty line.
In 1965, Congress created Medicare under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide health insurance to people age 65 and older, regardless of income or medical history. Before Medicare's creation, only half of older adults had health insurance, with coverage either unavailable or unaffordable to the other half. Older adults had half as much income as younger people and paid nearly three times as much for health insurance. Medicare also spurred the integration of thousands of waiting rooms, hospital floors, and physician practices by making payments to health care providers conditional on desegregation.[3]
In 1972, Congress expanded Medicare eligibility to younger people who have permanent disabilities and receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments and those who have end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Congress further expanded Medicare in 2001 to cover younger people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease). Initially Medicare consisted exclusively of Part A, which covers hospital and other inpatient services, and Part B, which covers outpatient care, physician visits, and other “medically necessary services.” Congress then added Medicare Part C (originally called Medicare+Choice, then later changed to Medicare Advantage), which allows enrollees to receive their Medicare benefits through a private plan, under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, while Medicare Part D was created under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.
The Medicare population differs in significant ways from the general population. Compared to the rest of Americans, Medicare enrollees are disproportionately white and female (due to women’s greater longevity).[4] They also have a comparatively precarious economic situation:
- Based on the last comprehensive study of the Medicare population, which occurred in 2006, the average household income of Medicare enrollees was $22,600 compared to a U.S. median income of $48,201. In 2008, 16% of Medicare enrollees were living in poverty, compared to 13% of the general population.[5][6]
- The typical senior household has $66,900 in savings, while studies suggest that the average man needs $124,000 to cover health care during retirement, while the average woman needs $152,000.[7]
- Medicare covers 75% of the cost of covered services on average and 48% of average costs for all medical services, and the typical enrollee faces over $3,000, while 10% of enrollees have over $8,300 in out of pockets costs. Women have slightly higher costs on average - $3,236 compared to $3,103, and older enrollees have substantially higher costs.[8][9][10]
Medicare enrollees also have substantial health care needs compared to the general population.
- A substantial majority of Medicare enrollees – roughly 87% have at least one chronic condition, and nearly half have three or more, compared to 21% and 7% of the general population, respectively. 47% of Medicare enrollees have some kind of activity limitation.
- 30% of enrollees visit the emergency room in a given year, 21% have an inpatient stay.
- Roughly two-thirds of seniors require some form of long-term care over their lifetimes, and 18% are enrolled in a nursing home for at least a year.[11]
- Medicare enrollees also have high incidence of cognitive impairment (31%),[12] and on average, seniors have lower health literacy than other age groups (29% have below basic health literacy, while among all other age groups, no more than 13% have below basic literacy). This means that nearly a third of seniors lack the basic skills needed to “obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.”[13]
Vulnerability among Medicare enrollees and people with private health insurance
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a component of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), administers Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). Along with the Departments of Labor and Treasury, CMS also implements the insurance reform provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The Social Security Administration is responsible for determining Medicare eligibility and processing premium payments for the Medicare program.
The Chief Actuary of CMS is responsible for providing accounting information and cost-projections to the Medicare Board of Trustees to assist them in assessing the financial health of the program. The Board is required by law to issue annual reports on the financial status of the Medicare Trust Funds, and those reports are required to contain a statement of actuarial opinion by the Chief Actuary.[14][15]
Since the beginning of the Medicare program, CMS has contracted with private companies to operate as intermediaries between the government and medical providers.[16] These contractors are commonly already in the insurance or health care area. Contracted processes include claims and payment processing, call center services, clinician enrollment, and fraud investigation.
Medicare has several sources of financing. Part A largely is funded by revenue from a 2.9 percent [payroll tax] levied on employers and workers (each pay 1.45 percent) established by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and the Self-Employment Contributions Act of 1954. Until December 31, 1993, the law provided a maximum amount of compensation on which the Medicare tax could be imposed each year.[17] Beginning January 1, 1994, the compensation limit was removed. A self-employed individual must pay the entire 2.9% tax on self employed net earnings, but may deduct half of the tax from the income in calculating income tax.[citation needed] Beginning in 2013, the 2.9% hospital insurance tax will continue to apply to the first US$200,000 of income for individuals or $250,000 for couples filing jointly and will rise to 3.8% on income in excess of those amounts.[18] Parts B and D are funded by premiums paid by Medicare enrollees and general fund revenue. In 2011, Medicare spending accounted for about 15 percent of the federal budget, and this share is projected to increase to over 17 percent by 2020.[19]
Although the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which Congress passed in 2010, significantly improved the finances of Medicare, the retirement of the Baby Boom generation—which by 2030 is projected to increase enrollment from 48 million to more than 80 million as the number of workers per enrollee declines from 3.7 to 2.4—and rising overall health care costs pose substantial financial challenges to the program. Medicare spending is projected to increase from $560 billion in 2010 to just over $1 trillion by 2022.[20] In response, policymakers recently have offered a number of competing proposals to reduce Medicare costs.
In general, all persons 65 years of age or older who have been legal residents of the United States for at least 5 years are eligible for Medicare. People with disabilities under 65 may also be eligible if they receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Specific medical conditions may also help people become eligible to enroll in Medicare.
People qualify for Medicare coverage, and Medicare Part A premiums are entirely waived, if the following circumstances apply:
- They are 65 years or older and U.S. citizens or have been permanent legal residents for 5 continuous years, and they or their spouse has paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years.
- or
- They are under 65, disabled, and have been receiving either Social Security SSDI benefits or Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits; they must receive one of these benefits for at least 24 months from date of entitlement (first disability payment) before becoming eligible to enroll in Medicare.
- or
- or
Those who are 65 and older must pay a monthly premium to remain enrolled in Medicare Part A if they or their spouse have not paid Medicare taxes over the course of 10 years while working.[21]
People with disabilities who receive SSDI are eligible for Medicare while they continue to receive SSDI payments; they lose eligibility for Medicare based on disability if they stop receiving SSDI. The 24 month exclusion means that people who become disabled must wait 2 years before receiving government medical insurance, unless they have one of the listed diseases .
Some beneficiaries are dual-eligible. This means they qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. In some states for those making below a certain income, Medicaid will pay the beneficiaries' Part B premium for them (most beneficiaries have worked long enough and have no Part A premium), as well as some of their out of pocket medical and hospital expenses.
In 2008, Medicare provided health care coverage for 45 million Americans.[22] Enrollment is expected to reach 78 million by 2030, when the baby-boom generation is fully enrolled.[22]
Medicare has four parts: Part A is Hospital Insurance. Part B is Medical Insurance. Medicare Part D covers prescription drugs. Medicare Advantage plans, also known as Medicare Part C, are another way for beneficiaries to receive their Part A, B and D benefits. All Medicare benefits are subject to medical necessity.
The original program included Parts A and B. Part D was introduced January 1st, 2006; before that, Parts A and B covered prescription drugs in a few special cases.
Part A covers inpatient hospital stays (at least overnight), including semiprivate room, food, and tests.
Part A covers brief stays for convalescence in a skilled nursing facility if certain criteria are met:
- A preceding hospital stay must be at least three days, three midnights, not counting the discharge date.
- The nursing home stay must be for something diagnosed during the hospital stay or for the main cause of hospital stay.
- If the patient is not receiving rehabilitation but has some other ailment that requires skilled nursing supervision then the nursing home stay would be covered.
- The care being rendered by the nursing home must be skilled. Medicare part A does not pay for custodial, non-skilled, or long-term care activities, including activities of daily living (ADL) such as personal hygiene, cooking, cleaning, etc.
The maximum length of stay that Medicare Part A will cover in a skilled nursing facility per ailment is 100 days. The first 20 days would be paid for in full by Medicare with the remaining 80 days requiring a co-payment (as of 2012, $144.50 per day). Many insurance companies have a provision for skilled nursing care in the policies they sell.
If a beneficiary uses some portion of their Part A benefit and then goes at least 60 days without receiving facility-based skilled services, the 100-day clock is reset and the person qualifies for a new 100-day benefit period.
Part B medical insurance helps pay for some services and products not covered by Part A, generally on an outpatient basis. Part B is optional and may be deferred if the beneficiary or his/her spouse is still working and has group health coverge through that employer. There is a lifetime penalty (10% per year) imposed for not enrolling in Part B unless actively working and receiving group health coverage from that employer.
Part B coverage begins once a patient meets his or her deductible ($140 in 2012), then typically Medicare covers 80% of approved services, while the remaining 20% is paid by the patient.[23]
Part B coverage includes physician and nursing services, x-rays, laboratory and diagnostic tests, influenza and pneumonia vaccinations, blood transfusions, renal dialysis, outpatient hospital procedures, limited ambulance transportation, immunosuppressive drugs for organ transplant recipients, chemotherapy, hormonal treatments such as Lupron, and other outpatient medical treatments administered in a doctor's office. Medication administration is covered under Part B if it is administered by the physician during an office visit.
Part B also helps with durable medical equipment (DME), including canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and mobility scooters for those with mobility impairments. Prosthetic devices such as artificial limbs and breast prosthesis following mastectomy, as well as one pair of eyeglasses following cataract surgery, and oxygen for home use is also covered.[24]
Complex rules are used to manage the benefit, and advisories are periodically issued which describe coverage criteria. On the national level these advisories are issued by CMS, and are known as National Coverage Determinations (NCD). Local Coverage Determinations (LCD) apply within the multi-state area managed by a specific regional Medicare Part B contractor, and Local Medical Review Policies (LMRP) were superseded by LCDs in 2003. Coverage information is also located in the CMS Internet-Only Manuals (IOM), the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the Social Security Act, and the Federal Register.
With the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Medicare beneficiaries were given the option to receive their Medicare benefits through private health insurance plans, instead of through the original Medicare plan (Parts A and B). These programs were known as "Medicare+Choice" or "Part C" plans. Pursuant to the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, "Medicare+Choice" plans were made more attractive to Medicare beneficiaries by the addition of prescription drug coverage and became known as "Medicare Advantage" (MA) plans. Medicare Advantage plans are offered through private companies known as Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAO). Each of them under the contract from CMS are required to provide an effective compliance program to prevent Fraud, Waste and Abuse issues in healthcare settings.
Traditional or "fee-for-service" Medicare has a standard benefit package that covers medically necessary care members can receive from nearly any hospital or doctor in the country. For people who choose to enroll in a Medicare Advantage health plan, Medicare pays the private health plan a fixed amount every month. Members typically also pay a monthly premium in addition to the Medicare Part B premium to cover items not covered by traditional Medicare (Parts A & B), such as prescription drugs, dental care, vision care and gym or health club memberships.[25] In exchange for these extra benefits, enrollees may be limited in the providers they can receive services from without paying extra. Typically, the plans have a "network" of providers that patients can use. Going outside that network may require permission or extra fees.
- List of Federal laws that each MAO or Part D sponsor must follow
Medicare Advantage plans are required to offer coverage that meets or exceeds the standards set by the original Medicare program, but they do not have to cover every benefit in the same way. If a plan chooses to pay less than Medicare for some benefits, like skilled nursing facility care, the savings may be passed along to consumers by offering lower co-payments for doctor visits. Medicare Advantage plans use a portion of the payments they receive from the government for each enrollee to offer supplemental benefits. All plans limit their members’ annual out-of-pocket spending on medical care, at the most with a $6,700 limit. Some plans offer dental coverage, vision coverage and other services not covered by Medicare Parts A or B, which makes them a good value for the health care dollar, if you want to use the provider included in the plan's network.
Because the 2003 payment formulas overpay plans by 12 percent or more compared to traditional Medicare,[26] in 2006 enrollees in Medicare Advantage Private Fee-for-Service plans were offered a net extra benefit value (the value of the additional benefits minus any additional premium) of $55.92 a month more than the traditional Medicare benefit package; enrollees in other Medicare Advantage plans were offered a net extra benefit value of $71.22 a month more.[27] However, Medicare Advantage members receive additional coverage and medical benefits not enjoyed by traditional Medicare members, and savings generated by Medicare Advantage plans may be passed on to beneficiaries to lower their overall health care costs.[25] Other important distinctions between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare are that Medicare Advantage health plans encourage preventive care and wellness and closely coordinate patient care.[28]
Medicare Advantage Plans that also include Part D prescription drug benefits are known as a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan or a MA-PD.
Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans grew from 5.4 million in 2005 to 8.2 million in 2007. Enrollment grew by an additional 800,000 during the first four months of 2008. This represents 19% of Medicare beneficiaries. A third of beneficiaries with Part D coverage are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. Medicare Advantage enrollment is higher in urban areas; the enrollment rate in urban counties is twice that in rural counties (22% vs. 10%). Almost all Medicare beneficiaries have access to at least two Medicare Advantage plans; most have access to three or more. Because of the 2003 law's overpayments, the number of organizations offering Fee-for-Service plans has increased dramatically, from 11 in 2006 to almost 50 in 2008. Eight out of ten beneficiaries (82%) now have access to six or more Private Fee-for-Service plans.[29]
Each year many individuals disenroll from MA plans. A recent study noted that about 20 percent of enrollees report that "their most important reason for leaving was due to problems getting care."[30] There is some evidence that disabled beneficiaries "are more likely to experience multiple problems in managed care."[31] Some studies have reported that the older, poorer, and sicker persons have been less satisfied with the care they have received in MA plans.[32] On the other hand, an analysis of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality data published by America’s Health Insurance Plans found that Medicare Advantage enrollees spent fewer days in the hospital than Fee-for-Service enrollees, were less likely to have "potentially avoidable" admissions, and had fewer re-admissions. These comparisons adjusted for age, sex and health status using the risk score used in the Medicare Advantage risk adjustment mechanism.[33][34]
In December 2009 the Kaiser Family Foundation published a report that summarized the CMS ratings of Medicare Advantage organizations on a five star scale. The ratings were based on data from CMS, the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) data, and the Health Outcomes Survey (HOS). New plans did not receive ratings, because data was not available. Almost six out of ten (59%) of MA plans did receive ratings, and these plans represented 85% of the enrollment for 2009. The average rating was 3.29 stars. Twenty-three percent of enrollees were in a plan with four or more stars; 20% were in a plan with fewer than three stars.[35]
Twenty percent of Black-American and 32 percent of Hispanic-American Medicare Beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans in 2006. Almost half (48%) of Medicare Advantage enrollees had incomes below $20,000, including 71% of minority enrollees.[36] Others have reported that minority enrollment is not particularly above average.[37] Another study has raised questions about the quality of care received by minorities in MA plans.[38]
The Government Accountability Office reported that in 2006, the plans earned profits of 6.6 percent, had overhead (sales, etc.) of 10.1 percent, and provided 83.3 percent of the revenue dollar in medical benefits. These administrative costs are far higher than traditional fee-for-service Medicare.[39]
Medicare Part D went into effect on January 1, 2006. Anyone with Part A or B is eligible for Part D. It was made possible by the passage of the Medicare Modernization Act. In order to receive this benefit, a person with Medicare must enroll in a stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) or Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD). These plans are approved and regulated by the Medicare program, but are actually designed and administered by private health insurance companies. Unlike Original Medicare (Part A and B), Part D coverage is not standardized. Plans choose which drugs (or even classes of drugs) they wish to cover, at what level (or tier) they wish to cover it, and are free to choose not to cover some drugs at all. The exception to this is drugs that Medicare specifically excludes from coverage, including but not limited to benzodiazepines, cough suppressant and barbiturates.[40][41] Plans that cover excluded drugs are not allowed to pass those costs on to Medicare, and plans are required to repay CMS if they are found to have billed Medicare in these cases.[42]
It should be noted again for beneficiaries who are dual-eligible (Medicare and Medicaid eligible) Medicaid may pay for drugs not covered by part D of Medicare, such as benzodiazepines, and other restricted controlled substances.
Neither Part A nor Part B pays for all of a covered person's medical costs. The program contains premiums, deductibles and coinsurance, which the covered individual must pay out-of-pocket. A study published by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2008 found the Fee-for-Service Medicare benefit package was less generous than either the typical large employer PPO plan or the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Standard Option.[43] Some people may qualify to have other governmental programs (such as Medicaid) pay premiums and some or all of the costs associated with Medicare.
Most Medicare enrollees do not pay a monthly Part A premium, because they (or a spouse) have had 40 or more 3-month quarters in which they paid Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes. Medicare-eligible persons who do not have 40 or more quarters of Medicare-covered employment may purchase Part A for a monthly premium of:
- $248.00 per month (as of 2012)[44] for those with 30-39 quarters of Medicare-covered employment, or
- $451.00 per month (as of 2012)[44] for those with fewer than 30 quarters of Medicare-covered employment and who are not otherwise eligible for premium-free Part A coverage.[45]
All Medicare Part B enrollees pay an insurance premium for this coverage; the standard Part B premium for 2012 is $99.90 per month. A new income-based premium schema has been in effect since 2007, wherein Part B premiums are higher for beneficiaries with incomes exceeding $85,000 for individuals or $170,000 for married couples. Depending on the extent to which beneficiary earnings exceed the base income, these higher Part B premiums are $139.90, $199.80, $259.70, or $319.70 for 2012, with the highest premium paid by individuals earning more than $214,000, or married couples earning more than $428,000.[46] In September 2008, CMS announced that Part B premiums would be unchanged ($96.40 per month) in 2009 for 95 percent of Medicare beneficiaries. This was the sixth year without a premium increase since Medicare was established in 1965.[47][48]
Medicare Part B premiums are commonly deducted automatically from beneficiaries' monthly Social Security checks. They can also be paid quarterly via bill sent directly to beneficiaries.
Part C and D plans may or may not charge premiums, at the programs' discretion. Part C plans may also choose to rebate a portion of the Part B premium to the member.
Part A — For each benefit period, a beneficiary will pay:
- A Part A deductible of $1,156 (in 2012) for a hospital stay of 1–60 days.
- A $289 per day co-pay (in 2012) for days 61-90 of a hospital stay.
- A $578 per day co-pay (in 2012) for days 91-150 of a hospital stay, as part of their limited Lifetime Reserve Days.
- All costs for each day beyond 150 days[46]
- Coinsurance for a Skilled Nursing Facility is $144.50 per day (in 2012) for days 21 through 100 for each benefit period.
- A blood deductible of the first 3 pints of blood needed in a calendar year, unless replaced. There is a 3 pint blood deductible for both Part A and Part B, and these separate deductibles do not overlap.
Part B — After a beneficiary meets the yearly deductible of $140.00 (in 2012), they will be required to pay a co-insurance of 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for all services covered by Part B with the exception of most lab services which are covered at 100%, and outpatient mental health which is currently (2010–2011) covered at 55% (45% copay). The copay for outpatient mental health which started at 50% is gradually being stepped down over several years until it matches the 20% required for other services. They are also required to pay an excess charge of 15% for services rendered by non-participating Medicare providers.
The deductibles and coinsurance charges for Part C and D plans vary from plan to plan.
Some people elect to purchase a type of supplemental coverage, called a Medigap plan, to help fill in the holes in Original Medicare (Part A and B). These Medigap insurance policies are standardized by CMS, but are sold and administered by private companies. Some Medigap policies sold before 2006 may include coverage for prescription drugs. Medigap policies sold after the introduction of Medicare Part D on January 1, 2006 are prohibited from covering drugs. Medicare regulations prohibit a Medicare beneficiary from having both a Medicare Advantage Plan and a Medigap Policy. Medigap Policies may be purchased by beneficiaries who are receiving benefits from Original Medicare (Part A & Part B).
Some have suggested that by reducing the cost-sharing requirements in the Medicare program, Medigap policies increase the use of health care by Medicare beneficiaries and thus increase Medicare spending. One recent study suggests that this concern may have been overstated due to methodological problems in prior research.[49]
Medicare contracts with regional insurance companies who process over one billion fee-for-service claims per year. In 2008, Medicare accounted for 13% ($386 billion) of the federal budget. In 2010 it is projected to account for 12.5% ($452 billion) of the total expenditures. For the decade 2010-2019 medicare is projected to cost 6.4 trillion dollars or 14.8% of the federal budget for the period.[50]
For institutional care, such as hospital and nursing home care, Medicare uses prospective payment systems. A prospective payment system is one in which the health care institution receives a set amount of money for each episode of care provided to a patient, regardless of the actual amount of care used. The actual allotment of funds is based on a list of diagnosis-related groups (DRG). The actual amount depends on the primary diagnosis that is actually made at the hospital. There are some issues surrounding Medicare's use of DRGs because if the patient uses less care, the hospital gets to keep the remainder. This, in theory, should balance the costs for the hospital. However, if the patient uses more care, then the hospital has to cover its own losses. This results in the issue of "upcoding," when a physician makes a more severe diagnosis to hedge against accidental costs.[citation needed]
Payment for physician services under Medicare has evolved since the program was created in 1965. Initially, Medicare compensated physicians based on the physician's charges, and allowed physicians to bill Medicare beneficiaries the amount in excess of Medicare's reimbursement. In 1975, annual increases in physician fees were limited by the Medicare Economic Index (MEI). The MEI was designed to measure changes in costs of physician's time and operating expenses, adjusted for changes in physician productivity. From 1984 to 1991, the yearly change in fees was determined by legislation. This was done because physician fees were rising faster than projected.
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 made several changes to physician payments under Medicare. Firstly, it introduced the Medicare Fee Schedule, which took effect in 1992. Secondly, it limited the amount Medicare non-providers could balance bill Medicare beneficiaries. Thirdly, it introduced the Medicare Volume Performance Standards (MVPS) as a way to control costs.[51]
On January 1, 1992, Medicare introduced the Medicare Fee Schedule (MFS), a list of about 7,000 services that can be billed for. Each service is priced within the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) with three Relative Value Units (RVUs) values largely determining the price. The three RVUs for a procedure are each geographically weighted and the weighted RVU value is multiplied by a global Conversion Factor (CF), yielding a price in dollars. The RVUs themselves are largely decided by a private group of 29 (mostly specialist) physicians—the American Medical Association's Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC).[52]
From 1992 to 1997, adjustments to physician payments were adjusted using the MEI and the MVPS, which essentially tried to compensate for the increasing volume of services provided by physicians by decreasing their reimbursement per service.
In 1998, Congress replaced the VPS with the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). This was done because of highly variable payment rates under the MVPS. The SGR attempts to control spending by setting yearly and cumulative spending targets. If actual spending for a given year exceeds the spending target for that year, reimbursement rates are adjusted downward by decreasing the Conversion Factor (CF) for RBRVS RVUs.
Since 2002, actual Medicare Part B expenditures have exceeded projections.
In 2002, payment rates were cut by 4.8%. In 2003, payment rates were scheduled to be reduced by 4.4%. However, Congress boosted the cumulative SGR target in the Consolidated Appropriation Resolution of 2003 (P.L. 108-7), allowing payments for physician services to rise 1.6%. In 2004 and 2005, payment rates were again scheduled to be reduced. The Medicare Modernization Act (P.L. 108-173) increased payments 1.5% for those two years.
In 2006, the SGR mechanism was scheduled to decrease physician payments by 4.4%. (This number results from a 7% decrease in physician payments times a 2.8% inflation adjustment increase.) Congress overrode this decrease in the Deficit Reduction Act (P.L. 109-362), and held physician payments in 2006 at their 2005 levels. Similarly, another congressional act held 2007 payments at their 2006 levels, and HR 6331 held 2008 physician payments to their 2007 levels, and provided for a 1.1% increase in physician payments in 2009. Without further continuing congressional intervention, the SGR is expected to decrease physician payments from 25% to 35% over the next several years.
MFS has been criticized for not paying doctors enough because of the low conversion factor. By adjustments to the MFS conversion factor, it is possible to make global adjustments in payments to all doctors.[53]
There are three ways for providers to participate in Medicare. “Participating” providers take "assignment," which means that they accept Medicare’s approved rate for their services as payment in full. Some doctors do not take assignment or “participate,”, but they also treat Medicare enrollees and are authorized to charge no more than a small fixed amount above Medicare’s approved rate. A small minority of doctors are "private contractors," which means they opt out of Medicare and refuse to accept Medicare payments altogether. These doctors are required to inform patients will be liable for the full cost of your services out-of-pocket in advance of treatment.[54]
The vast majority of providers accept Medicare assignments, (97 percent for some specialties)[55], and most physicians accept at least some new Medicare patients.[56]
Chemotherapy and other medications dispensed in a physician's office are reimbursed according to the Average Sales Price,[57] a number computed by taking the total dollar sales of a drug as the numerator and the number of units sold nationwide as the denominator.[58] The current reimbursement formula is known as "ASP+6" since it reimburses physicians at 106% of the ASP of drugs. Pharmaceutical company discounts and rebates are included in the calculation of ASP, and tend to reduce it. In addition, Medicare pays 80% of ASP+6 which is the equivalent of 84.8% of the actual average cost of the drug. Some patients have supplemental insurance or can afford the co-pay. Large numbers do not. This leaves the payment to physicians for most of the drugs in an "underwater" state. ASP+6 superseded Average Wholesale Price in 2005,[59] after a 2003 front-page New York Times article drew attention to the inaccuracies of Average Wholesale Price calculations.[60]
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This section contains information which may be of unclear or questionable importance or relevance to the article's subject matter. Please help improve this article by clarifying or removing superfluous information. (August 2011) |
"Physicians in geographic Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and Physician Scarcity Areas (PSAs) can receive incentive payments from Medicare. Payments are made on a quarterly basis, rather than claim-by-claim, and are handled by each area's Medicare carrier."[61][62]
Red line represents private insurance cost growth while the blue line represents Medicare costs
Medicare differs from private insurance available to working Americans in that it is a social insurance program. Social insurance programs provide statutorily guaranteed benefits to the entire population (under certain circumstances, such as old age or unemployment), benefits which are financed in significant part through universal taxes. In effect, Medicare is a mechanism by which the state takes a portion its citizens' resources to guarantee health and financial security to its citizens in old age or in case of disability, helping them cope with the enormous, unpredictable cost of health care. In its universality, Medicare differs substantially from private insurers, which must make decisions about who to cover and what benefits to offer in order to manage their risk pools and guarantee that costs do not exceed premiums.
Because the federal government is legally obligated to provide Medicare benefits to older and disabled Americans, it cannot cut costs by restricting eligibility or benefits, except by going through a difficult legislative process. Although cutting costs by cutting benefits is difficult, the program can also achieve substantial economies of scale in terms of the prices it pays for health care and administrative expenses and, as a result, private insurers’ costs have grown almost 60% more than Medicare’s since 1970.[63] Medicare’s cost growth is now the same as GDP growth and expected to stay well below private insurance’s for the next decade.[64]
Because Medicare offers statutorily determined benefits, its coverage policies and payment rates are publicly known, and all enrollees are entitled to the same coverage. In the private insurance market, plans can be tailored to offer different benefits to different customers, enabling individuals to reduce coverage costs while assuming risks that they will not need care that is not covered. But insurers have far fewer disclosure requirements than Medicare, and studies show that customers in the private sector can face major difficulties determining what care is covered[65] and at what cost.[66] Moreover, since Medicare collects data about utilization and costs for its enrollees – data which private insurers treat as trade secrets - it provides researchers with key information about the performance of the health care system.
Medicare also has an important role driving changes in the entire health care system. Because Medicare pays for a huge share of health care in every region of the country, it has a great deal of power to set delivery and payment policies. For example, Medicare promoted the adaptation of prospective payments based on DRG’s, which prevents unscrupulous providers from setting their own exorbitant prices.[67] Meanwhile, the ACA has given Medicare the mandate to promote cost-containment throughout the health care system, for example, by promoting the creation of accountable care organizations or by replacing fee-for-service payments with bundled payments.[68]
Medicare and Medicaid Spending as % GDP
Over the long-term, Medicare faces significant financial challenges because of rising overall health care costs, increasing enrollment as the population ages, and a decreasing ratio of workers to enrollees. Total Medicare spending is projected to increase from $523 billion in 2010 to $932 billion by 2020. From 2010 to 2030, Medicare enrollment is projected to increase from 47 million to 79 million, and the ratio of workers to enrollees is expected to decrease from 3.7 to 2.4.[69] However, the ratio of workers to retirees has declined steadily for decades, and social insurance systems have remained sustainable due to rising worker productivity. There is some evidence that productivity gains will continue to offset demographic trends in the near future.[70]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has written that "future growth in spending per beneficiary for Medicare and Medicaid—the federal government’s major health care programs—will be the most important determinant of long-term trends in federal spending. Changing those programs in ways that reduce the growth of costs—which will be difficult, in part because of the complexity of health policy choices—is ultimately the nation’s central long-term challenge in setting federal fiscal policy."[71]
Overall health care costs are expected to increase by 5.8 percent annually from 2010 to 2020, in part because of increased utilization of medical services, higher prices for services, and new technologies.[72] Health care costs are rising across the board, but the cost of insurance has risen dramatically for families and employers as well as the federal government. In fact, since 1970 the per-capita cost of private coverage has grown roughly one percentage point faster each year that the per-capita cost of Medicare. Since the late 1990s, Medicare has performed especially well relative to private insurers.[73] Over the next decade, Medicare’s per capita spending is projected to grow at a rate of 2.5 percent each year, compared to private insurance’s 4.8 percent.[74] Nonetheless, most experts and policymakers agree containing health care costs is essential to the nation’s fiscal outlook. Much of the debate over the future of Medicare revolves around whether per capita costs should be reduced by limiting payments to providers or by shifting more costs to Medicare enrollees.
Several measures serve as indicators of the long-term financial status of Medicare. These include total Medicare spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), the solvency of the Medicare HI trust fund, Medicare per-capita spending growth relative to inflation and per-capita GDP growth; and general fund revenue as a share of total Medicare spending.
This measure, which examines Medicare spending in the context of the U.S. economy as a whole, is expected to increase from 3.6 percent in 2010 to 5.6 percent in 2035 and to 6.2 percent by 2080.[75]
This measure involves only Part A. The trust fund is considered insolvent when available revenue plus any existing balances will not cover 100 percent of annual projected costs. According to the latest estimate by the Medicare trustees (2011), the trust fund is expected to become insolvent in 13 years (2024), at which time available revenue will cover 90 percent of annual projected costs.[76] Since Medicare began, this solvency projection has ranged from two to 28 years, with an average of 11.3 years.[77]
The Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which the Affordable Care Act or "ACA" created, will use this measure to determine whether it must recommend to Congress proposals to reduce Medicare costs. Under the ACA, Congress established maximum targets, or thresholds, for per-capita Medicare spending growth. For the five-year periods ending in 2015 through 2019, these targets are based on the average of CPI-U and CPI-M. For the five-year periods ending in 2020 and subsequent years, these targets are based on per-capita GDP growth plus one percentage point.[78] Each year, the CMS Office of the Actuary must compare those two values, and if the spending measure is larger than the economic measure, IPAB must propose cost-savings recommendations for consideration in Congress on an expedited basis. The Congressional Budget Office projects that Medicare per-capita spending growth will not exceed the economic target at any time between 2015 and 2021.[79]
This measure, established under the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), examines Medicare spending in the context of the federal budget. Each year, MMA requires the Medicare trustees to make a determination about whether general fund revenue is projected to exceed 45 percent of total program spending within a seven-year period. If the Medicare trustees make this determination in two consecutive years, a “funding warning” is issued. In response, the president must submit cost-saving legislation to Congress, which must consider this legislation on an expedited basis. In 2009, for the fourth consecutive year, the Medicare trustees determined that general fund revenue would exceed the threshold. However, in January 2009, the House passed a resolution to suspend congressional consideration of any legislation related to a Medicare funding warning.
Medicare’s unfunded obligation is the total amount of money that would have to be set aside today such that the principal and interest would cover the gap between projected Part A revenues and spending over a given timeframe. As of 2009, Medicare’s unfunded obligation over an infinite timeframe was $36 trillion. Due to the passage of health reform, Medicare’s unfunded obligation over the next 75 years declined from $13.4[80] trillion to $3 trillion.[81]
Popular opinion surveys show that the public views Medicare’s problems as serious, but not as urgent as other concerns. In January 2006, the Pew Research Center found 62 percent of the public said addressing Medicare’s financial problems should be a high priority for the government, but that still put it behind other priorities.[82] Surveys suggest that there’s no public consensus behind any specific strategy to keep the program solvent.[83]
Main article:
Medicare fraudThe Government Accountability Office lists Medicare as a "high-risk" government program in need of reform, in part because of its vulnerability to fraud and partly because of its long-term financial problems.[84][85][86] Fewer than 5% of Medicare claims are audited.[87]
In 2004, Urban Institute economists C. Eugene Steuerle and Adam Carasso created a Web-based Medicare benefits calculator.[88] Using this calculator it is possible to estimate net Medicare benefits (i.e., estimated lifetime Medicare benefits received minus estimated lifetime Medicare taxes paid, expressed in today's dollars) for different types of recipients. In the book, Democrats and Republicans - Rhetoric and Reality, Joseph Fried used the calculator to create graphical depictions of the estimated net benefits of men and women who were at different wage levels, single and married (with stay-at-home spouses), and retiring in different years. Three of these graphs are shown below, and they clearly show why Medicare (as currently formulated) is on the path to fiscal insolvency: No matter what the wage level, marital status, or retirement date, a man or woman can expect to receive benefits that will cost the system far more than the taxes he or she paid into the system.
In the first graph (Figure 169) we see that estimated net benefits range from $108,000 to $240,000 for single men and from $142,000 to $277,000 for single women. Generally, the benefits are progressive. Note that women usually get higher benefits due to their greater longevity.[89]
In the next graph (Figure 170) we see a comparison of net Medicare benefits for a single woman versus a married woman (or man) with a stay-at-home spouse. The single woman can expect substantial net benefits, ranging from $142,000 to $277,000, However, these benefits are dwarfed by the estimated net benefits of her married counterpart. Due to a "spousal benefit" built into the Medicare formula, the married person will get net benefits ranging from $393,000 to $525,000. The impact of the spousal benefit can disrupt the intended progressiveness of Medicare benefits. For example, we see in Figure 170 that the married worker earning $95,000 is estimated to get net benefits of $393,000, while the single worker earning $5,000 is estimated to get $277,000. In either case, the benefits paid to the worker greatly exceed the taxes paid by the worker (and pose a financial burden on the system); however, the high-earning married worker gets a better "return," so to speak, on each tax dollar paid into the system.[89]
The last graph shown (Figure 171) compares the net benefits of a single man retiring in 2005 with the net benefits of a man retiring in 2045. It is clear that the future retiree is likely to get a far greater net benefit than the current retiree (and is likely to be a greater burden to the system).[89] Interestingly, in the Social Security system we see the opposite pattern. In that case, the future retiree can expect a much smaller net retirement benefit than the current retiree can expect.
About 27.4 percent of Medicare expenditures for the elderly are spent in the last year of a person's life.[90]
Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute has argued that the birth of Medicare represented a shift away from personal responsibility and towards a view that health care is an unearned "entitlement" to be provided at others' expense.[91] However, others argue that Medicare "entitlements" are not unearned.
Robert M. Ball, a former commissioner of Social Security under President Kennedy in 1961 (and later under Johnson, and Nixon) defined the major obstacle to financing health insurance for the elderly: the high cost of care for the aged combined with the generally low incomes of retired people. Because retired older people use much more medical care than younger employed people, an insurance premium related to the risk for older people needed to be high, but if the high premium had to be paid after retirement, when incomes are low, it was an almost impossible burden for the average person. The only feasible approach, he said, was to finance health insurance in the same way as cash benefits for retirement, by contributions paid while at work, when the payments are least burdensome, with the protection furnished in retirement without further payment.[92] In the early 1960s relatively few of the elderly had health insurance, and what they had was usually inadequate. Insurers such as Blue Cross, which had originally applied the principle of community rating, faced competition from other commercial insurers that did not community rate, and so were forced to raise their rates for the elderly.[93]
Also, Medicare is not generally an unearned entitlement. Entitlement is most commonly based on a record of contributions to the Medicare fund. As such it is a form of social insurance making it feasible for people to pay for insurance for sickness in old age when they are young and able to work and be assured of getting back benefits when they are older and no longer working. Some people will pay in more than they receive back and others will get back more than they paid in, but this is the practice with any form of insurance, public or private.[citation needed]
Some conservatives opposed the enactment of Medicare, warning that a government-run program would lead to socialism in America:
- Ronald Reagan, as part of Operation Coffee Cup in 1961, stated that: “[I]f you don’t [stop Medicare] and I don’t do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.”[94]
- George H. W. Bush, while a candidate for the US Senate in 1964, described Medicare as “socialized medicine.”[95]
- Barry Goldwater in 1964: “Having given our pensioners their medical care in kind, why not food baskets, why not public housing accommodations, why not vacation resorts, why not a ration of cigarettes for those who smoke and of beer for those who drink?”[96]
- In 1995 Bob Dole stated that he was one of 12 House members who voted against creating Medicare in 1965. “I was there, fighting the fight, voting against Medicare ... because we knew it wouldn’t work in 1965.”[97]
A 2001 study by the Government Accountability Office evaluated the quality of responses given by Medicare contractor customer service representatives to provider (physician) questions. The evaluators assembled a list of questions, which they asked during a random sampling of calls to Medicare contractors. The rate of complete, accurate information provided by Medicare customer service representatives was 15%.[98] Since then, steps have been taken to improve the quality of customer service given by Medicare contractors, specifically the 1-800-MEDICARE contractor. As a result, 1-800-MEDICARE customer service representatives (CSR) have seen an increase in training, quality assurance monitoring has significantly increased, and a customer satisfaction survey is offered to random callers.
An attempt by TÜV Healthcare Specialists to provide a hospital accreditation option was denied in 2006.[99] Shortly thereafter, DNV International purchased TUV and renamed the company DNV Health Care. CMS deemed DNV Healthcare in 2008 to accredit hospitals. Beyond hospitals and hospital accreditation, there are now a number of alternative American organizations possessing healthcare-related deeming power for Medicare. These include the Community Health Accreditation Program, the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, the Compliance Team and the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation.
Accreditation is voluntary and an organization may choose to be evaluated by their State Survey Agency or by CMS directly.[100]
Medicare funds the vast majority of residency training in the US. This tax-based financing covers resident salaries and benefits through payments called Direct Medical Education payments. Medicare also uses taxes for Indirect Medical Education, a subsidy paid to teaching hospitals in exchange for training resident physicians.[101] For the 2008 fiscal year these payments were $2.7 and $5.7 billion respectively.[102] This in turn has funded the provision of physician level health care that would have otherwise cost the systems orders of magnitude more to finance. Overall funding levels have remained at the same level over the last ten years, so that the same number or fewer residents have been trained under this program.[103] Meanwhile, the US population continues to grow older, which has led to greater demand for physicians. At the same time the cost of medical services continue rising rapidly and many geographic areas face physician shortages, both trends suggesting the supply of physicians remains too low.[104]
Medicare finds itself in the odd position of having assumed control of graduate medical education, currently facing major budget constraints, and as a result, freezing funding for graduate medical education, as well as for physician reimbursement rates.[103] This halt in funding in turn exacerbates the exact problem Medicare sought to solve in the first place: improving the availability of medical care. In response, teaching hospitals have resorted to alternative approaches to funding resident training, leading to the modest 4% total growth in residency slots from 1998–2004, despite Medicare funding having been frozen since 1996.[103]
![[icon]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130511084342im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) |
This section requires expansion with:
with separate more detailed descriptions of legislation and reforms. |
In 1977, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) was established as a federal agency responsible for the administration of Medicare and Medicaid. This would be renamed to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2001.
By 1983, the diagnosis-related group (DRG) replaced pay for service reimbursements to hospitals for Medicare patients.
President Bill Clinton attempted an overhaul of Medicare through his health care reform plan in 1993-1994 but was unable to get the legislation passed by Congress.
In 2003 Congress passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, which President George W. Bush signed into law on December 8, 2003. Part of this legislation included filling gaps in prescription-drug coverage left by the Medicare Secondary Payer Act that was enacted in 1980. The 2003 bill strengthened the Workers' Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Program (WCMSA) that is monitored and administered by CMS.
On August 1, 2007, the U.S. House United States Congress voted to reduce payments to Medicare Advantage providers in order to pay for expanded coverage of children's health under the SCHIP program. As of 2008, Medicare Advantage plans cost, on average, 13 percent more per person insured than direct payment plans.[106] Many health economists have concluded that payments to Medicare Advantage providers have been excessive. The Senate, after heavy lobbying from the insurance industry, declined to agree to the cuts in Medicare Advantage proposed by the House. President Bush subsequently vetoed the SCHIP extension.[107]
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA") of 2010 made a number of changes to the Medicare program. Several provisions of the law were designed to reduce the cost of Medicare. Congress reduced payments to privately managed Medicare Advantage plans were reduced to align more closely with rates paid for comparable care under traditional Medicare. Congress also slightly reduced annual increases in payments to physicians and to hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients were also reduced slightly. Along with other minor adjustments, these changes reduced Medicare’s projected cost over the next decade by $455 billion.[108]
Additionally, the ACA created the Independent Payment Advisory Board (“IPAB”), which will be empowered to submit legislative proposals to reduce the cost of Medicare if the program’s per-capita spending grows faster than per-capita GDP plus one percent.[109] While the IPAB would be barred from rationing care, raising revenue, changing benefits or eligibility, increasing cost sharing, or cutting payments to hospitals, its creation has been one of the more controversial aspects of health reform.[110]
The ACA also made some changes to Medicare enrollee’s’ benefits. By 2020, it will close the so-called “donut hole” between Part D plans’ coverage limits and the catastrophic cap on out-of-pocket spending, reducing a Part D enrollee’s’ exposure to the cost of prescription drugs by an average of $2,000 a year.[111] Limits were also placed on out-of-pocket costs for in-network care for Medicare Advantage enrollees.[112] Meanwhile, Medicare Part B and D premiums were restructured in ways that reduced costs for most people while raising contributions from the wealthiest people with Medicare.[113] The law also expanded coverage of preventive services.[114]
The ACA instituted a number of measures to control Medicare fraud and abuse, such as longer oversight periods, provider screenings, stronger standards for certain providers, the creation of databases to share data between federal and state agencies, and stiffer penalties for violators. The law also created mechanisms, such as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to fund experiments to identify new payment and delivery models that could conceivably be expanded to reduce the cost of health care while improving quality.[115]
As legislators continue to seek new ways to control the cost of Medicare, a number of new proposals to reform Medicare have been introduced in recent years.
Premium support:
Since the 1990s, there have been a number of proposals to transform traditional Medicare from a publicly run social insurance program with a defined benefit, for which there is no limit to the government’s expenses into a program that offers “premium support” for enrollees, effectively a subsidy or voucher to offset the cost of the premium of a health insurance plan, limiting the government’s financial exposure. The original logic for premium support was twofold: competing plans were expected manage care in ways that would reduce costs, and the subsidy was supposed to be scaled back over time in order to expose enrollees to more of the cost of their care, encouraging them to seek less costly care.[116]
There have been a number of criticisms of the premium support model. Some have raised concern about risk selection, where insurers find ways to avoid covering people expected to have high health care costs.[117] Even if required to offer coverage to everyone, they might market their plans to healthy people, impose high co-pays on people who need care for a serious condition, exclude from their networks the doctors and hospitals that people in poor health might want to see, or otherwise make themselves less attractive to the most vulnerable. Risk adjustment, a technique that the government can use to reallocate payments to health plans based on the health status of their enrollees, can help mitigate this problem. But research suggests that Medicare Advantage plans, which receive risk-adjusted payment, have been quite successful at identifying the people with the greatest health care need within each risk category and pushing them out in order to minimize their costs.[118]
Additionally, some are concerned that the Medicare population, which has particularly high rates of cognitive impairment and dementia, would have a hard time choosing between competing health plans.[119] Henry Aaron, one of the original proponents of premium supports has recently argued that the idea should not be implemented, given that Medicare Advantage plans have not successfully contained costs more effectively than traditional Medicare and because the political climate is hostile to the kinds of regulations that would be needed to make the idea workable.[120]
Two distinct premium support systems have recently been proposed to Congress in order to control the cost of Medicare. The House Republicans’ 2012 budget would have abolished traditional Medicare and required the eligible population to purchase private insurance with a newly created premium support program. This plan would have cut the cost of Medicare by capping the value of the voucher and tying its growth to inflation, which is expected to be lower than rising health costs, saving roughly 155 billion over ten years.[121] Rep. Paul Ryan, the plan’s author claimed that competition would drive down costs,[122] but the CBO found that the plan would dramatically raise the cost of health care, with all of the additional costs falling on enrollees. The CBO found that under the plan, typical 65-year olds would go from paying 35 percent of their health care costs to paying 68 percent by 2030.[123]
In December 2011, Ryan and Sen. Ron Wyden jointly proposed a new premium support system. Unlike Ryan’s original plan, this new system would maintain traditional Medicare as an option, and the premium support would not be tied to inflation.[124] The spending targets in the Ryan-Wyden plan are the same as the targets included in the Affordable Care Act; it is unclear whether the plan would reduce Medicare expenditure relative to current law.[125] It is also unclear whether the plan would guarantee people with Medicare the same benefits they have today or whether health plans could offer limited coverage at low cost, which would reduce costs for enrollees who were healthy, but shift more costs to people in poor health. The plan has yet to be scored for savings.
Raising the age of eligibility:
A number of different plans have been introduced that would raise the age of Medicare eligibility.[126][127][128][129] Some have argued that as the population ages and the ratio of workers to retirees increases, programs for the elderly need to be restricted. Since the age at which Americans can retire with full Social Security benefits is rising to 67, some argue that people should not receive Medicare until they are 67. Though, people can begin receiving reduced Social Security benefits at 62.
The CBO projected that raising the age of Medicare eligibility would save $113 billion over 10 years after accounting for the necessary expansion of Medicaid and state health insurance exchange subsidies under health care reform, which are needed to help those who could not afford insurance purchase it.[130] The Kaiser Family Foundation found that raising the age of eligibility would save the federal government $5.7 billion a year, while raising costs for other payers. According to Kaiser, raising the age would cost $3.7 billion to 65- and 66-year olds, $2.8 billion to other consumers whose premiums would rise insurance pools absorbed more risk, $4.5 billion to employers offering insurance, and $0.7 billion to states expanding their Medicaid rolls. Ultimately Kaiser found that the plan would raise total social costs by more than twice the savings to the federal government.[131]
Negotiating the prices of prescription drugs:
Currently, people with Medicare can get prescription drug coverage through a Medicare Advantage plan or through the standalone private prescription drug plans (PDPs) established under Medicare Part D. Each plan established its own coverage policies and independently negotiates the prices it pays to drug manufacturers. But because each plan has a much smaller coverage pool than the entire Medicare program, many argue that this system of paying for prescription drugs undermines the government’s bargaining power and artificially raises the cost of drug coverage.
Many look to the Veterans Health Administration as a model of lower cost prescription drug coverage. Since the VHA provides healthcare directly, it maintains its owns formulary and negotiates prices with manufacturers. Studies show that the VHA pays dramatically less for drugs than the PDP plans Medicare Part D subsidizes.[132][133] One analysis found that adopting a formulary similar to the VHA’s would save Medicare $14 billion a year.[134]
There are other proposals for savings on prescription drugs that do not require such fundamental changes to Medicare Part D’s payment and coverage policies. Manufacturers who supply drugs to Medicaid are required to offer a 15 percent rebate on the average manufacturer’s price. Low-income elderly individuals who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid receive drug coverage through Medicare Part D, and no reimbursement is paid for the drugs the government purchases for them. Reinstating that rebate would yield savings of $112 billion, according a recent CBO estimate.[135]
Some have questioned the ability of the federal government to achieve greater savings than the largest PDPs, since some of the larger plans have coverage pools comparable to Medicare’s, although the evidence from the VHA is promising. Some also worry that controlling the prices of prescription drugs would reduce incentives for manufacturers to invest in R&D, although the same could be said of anything that would reduce costs.[136]
Reforming care for the “dual-eligibles”
Roughly 9 million Americans – mostly older adults with low incomes – are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. These men and women tend to have particularly poor health – more than half are being treated for five or more chronic conditions[137] – and high costs. Average annual per-capita spending for “dual-eligibles” is $20,000[138], compared to $10,900 for the Medicare population as a wholeall enrollees.[139]
The dual-eligible population comprises roughly 20 percent of Medicare’s enrollees but accounts for 36 percent of its costs[140]. There is substantial evidence that these individuals receive highly inefficient care because responsibility for their care is split between the Medicare and Medicaid programs[141] – most see a number of different providers without any kind of mechanism to coordinate their care, and they face high rates of potentially preventable hospitalizations.[142] Because Medicaid and Medicare cover different aspects of health care, both have a financial incentive to shunt patients into care the other program will pay for.
Many experts have suggested that establishing mechanisms to coordinate care for the dual-eligibles could yield substantial savings in the Medicare program, mostly by reducing hospitalizations. Such programs would connect patients with primary care, create an individualized health plan, assist enrollees in receiving social and human services as well as medical care, reconcile medications prescribed by different doctors to ensure they do not undermine one another, and oversee behavior to improve health.[143] The general ethos of these proposals is to “treat the patient, not the condition,”[144] and maintain health while avoiding costly treatments.
There is some controversy over who exactly should take responsibility for coordinating the care of the dual eligibles. There have been some proposals to transfer dual elgibles into existing Medicaid managed care plans, which are controlled by individual states.[145] But many states facing severe budget shortfalls might have some incentive to stint on necessary care or otherwise shift costs to enrollees and their families in order to capture some Medicaid savings. Medicare has more experience managing the care of older adults and will already be expanding coordinated care programs under the ACA,[146] although there are some questions about private Medicare plans’ capacity to manage care and achieve meaningful cost savings.[147]
Estimated savings from more effective coordinated care for the dual eligibles range from $125 billion[148] to over $200 billion,[149] mostly by eliminating unnecessary, expensive hospital admissions.
Income-relating Medicare premiums
Both House Republicans and President Obama proposed increasing the additional premiums paid by the wealthiest people with Medicare, compounding several reforms in the ACA that would increase the number of wealthier individuals paying higher, income-related Part B and Part D premiums. Such proposals are projected to save $20 billion over the course of a decade,[150] and would ultimately result in more than a quarter of Medicare enrollees paying between 35 and 90 percent of their Part B costs by 2035, rather than the typical 25 percent. If the brackets mandated for 2035 were implemented today, it would mean that anyone earning more than$47,000 (as an individual) or $94,00 (as a couple) would be affected. Under the Republican proposals, affected individuals would pay 40 percent of the total Part B and Part D premiums, which would be equivalent of $2,500 today.[151]
More limited income-relation of premiums only raises limited revenue. Currently, only 5 percent of Medicare enrollees pay an income related premium, and most only pay 35 percent of their total premium, compared to the 25 percent most people pay. Onlya negligible number of enrollees fall into the higher income brackets required to bear a more substantial share of their costs – roughly half a percent of individuals and less than three percent of married couples currently pay more than 35 percent of their total Part B costs.[152]
There is some concern that tying premiums to income would weaken Medicare politically over the long-run, since people tend to be more supportive of universal social programs than of means-rested ones.[153]
Medigap restrictions
Some Medicare supplemental insurance (or “Medigap”) plans cover all of an enrollee's cost-sharing, insulating them from any out-of-pocket costs and guaranteeing financial security to individuals with significant health care needs. Many policymakers believe that such plans raise the cost of Medicare by creating a perverse incentive that leads patients to seek unnecessary, costly treatments. Many argue that unnecessary treatments are a major cause of rising costs and propose that people with Medicare should feel more of the cost of their care to create incentives to seek the most efficient alternatives. Various restrictions and surcharges on Medigap coverage have appeared in recent deficit reduction proposals.[154][155][156] One of the furthest-reaching reforms proposed, which would prevent Medigap from covering any of the first $500 of coinsurance charges and limit it to covering 50 percent of all costs beyond that could save $50 billion over ten years.[157] But it would also increase health care costs substantially for people with costly health care needs.
There is some evidence that claims of Medigap’s tendency to cause overtreatment may be exaggerated and that potential savings from restricting it might be smaller than expected.[158] Meanwhile, there are some concerns about the potential effects on enrollees. Individuals who face high charges with every episode of care have been shown to delay or foregone needed care, jeopardizing their health and possibly increasing their health care costs down the line.[159] Given their lack of medical training, most patients tend to have difficulty distinguishing between necessary and unnecessary treatments. The problem could be exaggerated among the Medicare population, which has low levels of health literacy.[7]
The following congressional committees provide oversight for Medicare programs:[160]
- Senate
- House
- Joint
- ^ [Diane Archer and Ted Marmor, "Medicare and Commercial Insurance: The Fundamental Difference." Health Affairs Blog, February 15 2012. http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2012/02/15/medicare-and-commercial-health-insurance-the-fundamental-difference/]
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare Chartbook. Fourth Edition, 2010 "Figure 1.3"
- ^ Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010 Medicare Chartbook, "Section 1: Medicare Beneficiaries"
- ^ U.S. Census Bureau, ""Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006."" August, 2007.
- ^ Harriet Komisar, Juliette Cubanski, Lindsey Dawson, and Tricia Neuman, ""Key Issues in Understanding the Economic and Health Security of Current and Future Generations of Seniors."" Kaiser Family Foundation Issue Brief, March 2012.
- ^ Dale Yamamoto, Tricia Neuman, and Michelle Kitchman Solo, ""How Does the Benefit Value of Medicare Compare to the Benefit Value of Typical Large Employer Plans?"" Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2008.
- ^ Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare Chartbook. Fourth Edition, 2010 "Figure 7.1"
- ^ Lynn Nonnemaker and Shelly-Ann Sinclair, ""Medicare Beneficiaries’ Out-of-Pocket Spending for Health Care."" AARP Public Policy Institute, January 2011.
- ^ Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010 Medicare Chartbook, "Section 1: Medicare Beneficiaries"
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ National Center for Education Statistics, ""The Health Literacy of America’s Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy."" September 2006
- ^ "What Is the Role of the Federal Medicare Actuary?," American Academy of Actuaries, January 2002
- ^ "Social Insurance," Actuarial Standard of Practice No. 32, Actuarial Standards Board, January 1998
- ^ The role of private intermediaries in Medicare administration is discussed in Sylvia A. Law, Blue Cross: What Went Wrong? 31-46 (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1974).
- ^ Title 26, Subtitle C, Chapter 21 of the United States Code
- ^ Social Security Administration: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/taxRates.html
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ "Medicare.gov website". Questions.medicare.gov. 2001-06-26. http://questions.medicare.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/10. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ a b 2009 Medicare Trustees Report. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 12 May 2009. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ReportsTrustFunds/downloads/tr2009.pdf.
- ^ "Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance)". http://www.medicare.gov/navigation/medicare-basics/medicare-benefits/part-b.aspx. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
- ^ Medicare: Part A & B, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 2005.
- ^ a b National Center for Policy Analysis. Daily Policy Digest.. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
- ^ Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Annual Reports to Congress, 2006, 2007, 2008[specify]
- ^ Mark Merlis, "The Value of Extra Benefits Offered by Medicare Advantage Plans in 2006," The Kaiser Family Foundation, January 2008
- ^ America’s Health Insurance Plans. Trends and Innovations in Chronic Disease Prevention and Treatment, April 2008. Retrieved on 30 September 2008.
- ^ Marsha Gold, "Medicare Advantage in 2008," The Kaiser Family Foundation, June 2008
- ^ "Problems encountered by Medicare beneficiaries in managed Care plans," Booske B, Frees D, etc., AcademyHealth, Abstr Academy Health Meet. 2005, 22: abstract no. 3625.
- ^ "Voluntary disenrollment from Medicare managed care: market factors," Mobley L, et al., Health Care Financing Review, 2005 Spring; 26(3): 45-62.
- ^ Hellinger FJ, "The effect of managed care on quality: a review of recent evidence," Archives Internal Medicine, 1998 Apr 27; 158(8): 833-41..
- ^ Teresa Chovan, Christelle Chen, Kelly Buck and Jamie John, Reductions in Hospital Days, Re-Admissions, and Potentially Avoidable Admissions Among Medicare Advantage Enrollees in California and Nevada, 2006, America’s Health Insurance Plans, September 2009
- ^ Teresa Chovan and Christelle Chen, Working Paper: Comparisons of Utilization in Two Large Multi-State Medicare Advantage HMOs and Medicare Fee-for-Service in the Same Service Areas, America's Health Insurance Plans, December 2009
- ^ Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, Tricia Neuman, and Jennifer Huang, What’s in the Stars? Quality Ratings of Medicare Advantage Plans, 2010, Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief, December 2009
- ^ Christelle Chen, "LOW-INCOME & MINORITY BENEFICIARIES IN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS, 2006," America’s Health Insurance Plans, September 2008
- ^ "Insurers Fight to Defend Lucrative Medicare Business," Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2007
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- ^ Medicare's Physician Payment Rates and the Sustainable Growth Rate.(PDF) CBO TESTIMONY Statement of Donald B. Marron, Acting Director. July 25, 2006.
- ^ American Medical Association, "Medicare Payment Options for Physicians."
- ^ Kaiser Family Foundation 2010 Chartbook, "Figure 2.15"
- ^ Ibid, Figure 2.16
- ^ "Why do manufacturers have to report average sales prices to CMS?", CMS FAQs, HHS.gov
- ^ How does CMS calculate the Average Sales Price (ASP)-based payment limit?, CMS FAQs, HHS.gov
- ^ "Law Impedes Flow of Immunity in a Vial", New York Times, July 19, 2005, by Andrew Pollack
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- ^ GAO, ""Health Care Price Transparency: Meaningful price information is difficult for consumers to obtain prior to obtaining care."" September, 2011
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- ^ Medicare Fraud and Abuse: DOJ Continues to Promote Compliance with False Claims Act Guidance, GAO Report to Congressional Committees, April 2002
- ^ Carrie Johnson, "Medical Fraud a Growing Problem: Medicare Pays Most Claims Without Review," The Washington Post, June 13, 2008
- ^ Steuerle, C. Eugene; Carasso, Adam (1 October 2004). The USA Today Lifetime Social Security and Medicare Benefits Calculator: Assumptions and Methods. Urban Institute. http://www.urban.org/publications/900746.html.
- ^ a b c Fried, Joseph, Democrats and Republicans - Rhetoric and Reality (New York: Algora Publishing, 2008), p. 215-217.
- ^ Hogan, Christopher; Lunney, June; Gabel, Jon; Lynn, Joanne (July/August 2001). "Medicare Beneficiaries’ Costs Of Care In The Last Year Of Life". Health Affairs 20 (4): 188–195. DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.20.4.188. PMID 11463076. http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/20/4/188. Retrieved 2009-12-17. "After minor adjustments for comparability with earlier estimates, spending in the last year of life accounted for 27.4 percent of all Medicare outlays for the elderly, similar to the 26.9–30.6 percent range in earlier decades."
- ^ Brook, Yaron (29 July 2009). "Why Are We Moving Toward Socialized Medicine?". Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=23957&news_iv_ctrl=2402. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- ^ http://www.ssa.gov/history/churches.html The role of Social Insurance in preventing economic dependency Robert Ball speech 1961
- ^ Ball, Robert M. (Winter 1995). "Perspectives On Medicare: What Medicare’s Architects Had In Mind". Health Affairs 14 (4): 62–72. DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.14.4.62. http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/14/4/62.pdf.
- ^ Rapaport, Richard (June 21, 2009). "How AMA 'Coffeecup' gave Reagan a boost". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/18/INME187IB0.DTL.
See also: Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine.
- ^ Debenport, Ellen (17 August 1992). "Bush resists action, distrusts change Series: ANALYSIS". St. Petersburg Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/54265013.html?FMT=FT&dids=54265013:54265013&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+17,+1992&author=ELLEN+DEBENPORT&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&desc=Bush+resists+action,+distrusts+change+Series:+ANALYSIS. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
- ^ House Democrats Expose Campaign of Misinformation on Health Insurance Reform. United States House Committee on Education and Labor. 31 July 2009. http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2009/07/house-democrats-expose-campaig.shtml
- ^ The Year Everyone You Liked Quit, Newsweek, December 25, 1995.
- ^ Improvements Needed in Provider Communications and Contracting Procedures, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Health, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, 25 September 2001.
- ^ "Denial of the TÜV Healthcare Specialists Request for Deeming Authority for Hospitals (CMS–2228–FN)". Federal Register 71 (121): 36100–36101. 23 June 2006. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/quarterlyproviderupdates/downloads/cms2228fn.pdf.
- ^ The Accreditation Option for Deemed Medicare Status, Office of Licensure and Certification, Virginia Department of Health
- ^ Gottlieb, Scott (November 1997). "Medicare funding for medical education: a waste of money?". USA Today (magazine) (Society for the Advancement of Education). . Reprint by BNET.
- ^ Fuchs, Elissa (February 2009). "Overview: Medicare Direct Graduate and Indirect Medical Education Payments". AAMC Reporter (Association of American Medical Colleges). ISSN 1544-0540. http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/reporter/feb09/payments.htm.
- ^ a b c Croasdale, Myrle (30 January 2006). "Innovative funding opens new residency slots". American Medical News (American Medical Association). http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/01/30/prl20130.htm.
- ^ Rosenblatt, Roger A.; Andrilla, C. Holly A.; Curtin, Thomas; Hart, L. Gary (1 March 2006). "Shortages of Medical Personnel at Community Health Centers". Journal of the American Medical Association (American Medical Association) 295 (9): 1042–1049. DOI:10.1001/jama.295.9.1042. PMID 16507805. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/295/9/1042.
- ^ Robert Dallek "Medicare's Complicated Birth," American Heritage, Summer 2010, 28.
- ^ Marcus, Aliza (9 July 2008). "Senate Vote on Doctor Fees Carries Risks for McCain". Bloomberg News. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a8.4kZl7x03E&refer=home.
- ^ Pear, Robert (2 August 2007). "House Passes Children’s Health Plan 225-204". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/02/health/policy/02health.html.
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- ^ Vaida, Bara (9 May 2011). "Controversial health board braces for continued battles over Medicare". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health/controversial-health-board-braces-for-continued-battles-over-medicare/2011/05/03/AFR2ZwTG_story.html.
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- ^ [Henry Aaron and Robert Reischauer, “The Medicare reform debate: what is the next step?” Health Affairs 1995;14:8-30]
- ^ . http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/premium-support-proposal-and-critique-objection-1-risk-selection/.
- ^ [Jason Brown, Mark Duggan, Ilyana Kuziemko, and William Woolston, “How does Risk Selection Respond to Risk Adjustment? Evidence from the Medicare Advantage Program.” NBER Working Paper No. 16977]
- ^ . http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/premium-support-proposal-and-critique-objection-4-complexity/.
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- ^ . http://blogs-images.forbes.com/aroy/files/2012/02/Seniors-Choice-Act-Summary.pdf.
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- ^ [Families USA, No Bargain: Medicare Drug Plans Deliver High Prices (Washington, DC: Jan. 2007)]
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- ^ [Austin B. Frakt, Steven D. Pizer, and Roger Feldman. “Should Medicare Adopt the Veterans Health Administration Formulary?” Health Economics (Apr. 19, 2011)]
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- ^ [Kenneth E. Thorpe, "Estimated Federal Savings Associated with Care Coordination Models for Medicare-Medicaid Dual Eligibles." America's Health Insurance Plans, September 2011. http://www.ahipcoverage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Dual-Eligible-Study-September-2011.pdf]
- ^ [Dual Eligible: Medicaid’s Role for Low-Income Beneficiaries”, Kaiser Family Foundation, Fact Sheet #4091-07, December 2010, http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/4091-07.pdf.]
- ^ [CMS, National Health Expenditure Web Tables, Table 16. https://www.cms.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/tables.pdf]
- ^ [Medicare Chartbook, Kaiser Family Foundation, November 2010, 55]
- ^ [John Holahan, Linda J. Blumberg, Stacey McMorrow,Stephen Zuckerman, Timothy Waidmann, and Karen Stockley, "Containing the Growth of Spending in the U.S. Health System," The Urban Institute, October 2011. http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/412419-Containing-the-Growth-of-Spending-in-the-US-Health-System.pdf]
- ^ [Jiang HJ, Wier LM, Potter DEB, Burgess J. Hospitalizations for Potentially Preventable Conditions among Medicare-Medicaid Dual Eligibles, 2008. Statistical Brief #96. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, September 2010.]
- ^ [Medicare PPayment Advisory Commission, MedPAC 2011 Databook, Chapter 5. http://www.medpac.gov/chapters/Jun11_Ch05.pdf]
- ^ [Kenneth E. Thorpe, "Estimated Federal Savings Associated with Care Coordination Models for Medicare-Medicaid Dual Eligibles." America's Health Insurance Plans, September 2011. http://www.ahipcoverage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Dual-Eligible-Study-September-2011.pdf]
- ^ [The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, "The Moment of Truth." December 2010. pdf.]
- ^ [Judy Feder, Lisa Clemans-Cope, Teresa Coughlin, John Holahan, Timothy Waidmann, "Refocusing Responsibility For Dual Eligibles: Why Medicare Should Take The Lead." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, October 2011. http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/72868qs68dualeligiblesfull20110930.pdf]
- ^ [Families USA, "A Guide for Advocates: State Demonstrations to Integrate Medicare and Medicaid." April 2011. http://familiesusa2.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/State-Integration-of-Medicare-and-Medicaid.pdf]
- ^ [Kenneth E. Thorpe, "Estimated Federal Savings Associated with Care Coordination Models for Medicare-Medicaid Dual Eligibles." America's Health Insurance Plans, September 2011. http://www.ahipcoverage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Dual-Eligible-Study-September-2011.pdf]
- ^ [Robert A. Berenson and John Holahan, Preserving Medicare: A Practical Approach to Controlling Spending (Washington, DC: Urban Institute, Sept. 2011)]
- ^ [The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, "The Moment of Truth." December 2010. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/jointcommitteereport.pdf]
- ^ [Kaiser Family Foundation, "Income-Relating Medicare Part B and Part D Premiums Under Current Law and Recent Proposals: What are the Implications for Beneficiaries?" February 2012. http://www.kff.org/medicare/upload/8276.pdf]
- ^ [Social Security Administration, Income of the Population, 55 and Older]
- ^ [Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williams. The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism. Oxford Universit Press, 2012.]
- ^ [National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, “The Moment of Truth,” December 2010.]
- ^ [Office of Management and Buddget, “Living Within Our Means and Investing in the Future: The President’s Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction.” September 2011.]
- ^ [Sen. Tom Coburn and Sen. Richard Burr, “The Seniors’ Choice Act,” February 2012.]
- ^ [CBO, “Reducing the Deficit: Revenue and Spending Options,” May 2012. Option 21]
- ^ [Jeff Lemieux, Teresa Chovan, and Karen Heath, "Medigap Coverage And Medicare Spending: A Second Look," Health Affairs, Volume 27, Number 2, March/April 2008]
- ^ [Beeuwkes Buntin M, Haviland AM, McDevitt R, and Sood N, "Healthcare Spending and Preventive Care in High-Deductible and Consumer-Directed Health Plans," American Journal of Managed Care, Vol. 17, No. 3, March 2011, pp. 222–230.]
- ^ "Congressional Committees of Interest"]. Center for Medicare Services. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070203202622/http://www.cms.hhs.gov/OfficeofLegislation/COI/list.asp. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
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