Government
Actuaries analyze options for Medicare pay reform
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 9, 2007
The American Academy of Actuaries discusses positive and negative aspects of several potential Medicare financial reforms in a new report.
The options cover all parts of Medicare and generally fall into two categories. Some would increase the amount of income that Medicare receives, and others would decrease the amount that the program spends.
On the Part B side, for instance, the actuaries look into tying payments to performance on clinical measures, reducing Medicare managed care payments and requiring more cost-sharing by beneficiaries. The academy does not take a position on any option.
"There is no simple solution ... to Medicare's challenges," the report states. "Viable options will likely require shared burden among taxpayers, Medicare beneficiaries and health care providers." The report, in pdf, can be found online www. actuary.org/pdf/medicare/options_june07.pdf.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/07/09/gvbf0709.htm.
