Government
AMA to study a separate Medicare for the disabled
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 5, 2004
The American Medical Association will study the idea of dividing Medicare into two programs -- one for the elderly and one for the disabled -- and report its finding back to its House of Delegates next June.
Some doctors at the AMA's Annual Meeting in Chicago last month said dividing Medicare would lead to better budget and policy analyses and improved strategic planning for the program, which most people believe covers only the nation's elderly. Other doctors are concerned that splitting the program would be similar to creating a "carve out" for the disabled.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/07/05/gvbf0705.htm.