10: Medicare

Transform Medicare from a defined-benefit entitlement to focus subsidies on those who need them most.

Other Information:

Medicare must be reformed to solve this huge financing problem, to improve access to quality care, and to ensure that health care will be available for younger Americans when they retire. The Heritage plan accomplishes this by transforming Medicare from an open-ended and unsustainable defined-benefit entitlement into a properly budgeted program that focuses Medicare subsidies on those who need them most. The new Medicare program would look much more like the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the health care system for Members of Congress and federal employees. Over a five-year period, the plan transforms Medicare into a defined-contribution system, with stronger health security for the poor and less healthy, and guarantees new protections against catastrophic costs for all enrollees. Today's traditional fee-for-service Medicare program provides no such protections. Because of this gap, nine out of 10 seniors feel compelled to buy supplemental private health insurance, including Medigap, to cover themselves against the financial devastation of catastrophic illness. This means that seniors pay an extra set of premiums and often incur high out-of-pocket costs for both premium and non-premium medical expenses. Finally, the plan establishes a true long-term budget for Medicare.

Objective(s):

10.1: Defined Contributions

10.2: Medicare Budget & Financing System

10.3: Dual-Eligibles

10.4: Catastrophic Costs

10.5: Transitional Changes

10.5.1: Subsidies

10.5.2: Part A Preimium

10.5.3: Part A Deductible

10.5.4: Part B & Part D Premiums

10.6: Other Changes & Rules

10.6.1: Doctor-Patient Contracting

10.6.2: Medicare Savings

10.6.3: Doc Fix

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