“Today’s Medicare Trustees’ report might not portend an immediate crisis, but it’s sure not good news either.
The Trustees project that Medicare will grow from 3.6% of GDP today to 5.6% of GDP by 2040. The program’s financial challenges are magnified for beneficiaries once you consider the affordability gaps in Medicare’s existing benefits—including a lack of a cap on catastrophic out-of-pocket costs.”
See full press release here: www.nchc.org/no-crisis-yet-but-trustees-report-predicts-challenges-ahead-for-medicare/
FILED UNDER: PRESS RELEASES
No Crisis Yet, but Trustees’ Report Predicts Challenges Ahead for Medicare
JUNE 23, 2016 BY NISHA BHAT
June 22, 2016
Contact: Nisha Bhat
National Coalition on Health Care
[email protected]
202-638-7151, ext. 106
No Crisis Yet, but Trustees’ Report Predicts Challenges Ahead for Medicare
Statement by NCHC President and CEO John Rother on Medicare Trustees’ Report
“Today’s Medicare Trustees’ report might not portend an immediate crisis, but it’s sure not good news either.
The Trustees project that Medicare will grow from 3.6% of GDP today to 5.6% of GDP by 2040. The program’s financial challenges are magnified for beneficiaries once you consider the affordability gaps in Medicare’s existing benefits—including a lack of a cap on catastrophic out-of-pocket costs.
To be clear, there are some positive indications. This year’s growth in Medicare spending per person remains slower than historical patterns and cost growth in the private sector. But even at current per capita growth rates, shouldering the cost of caring for an aging population is going to require sustained bipartisan attention from policymakers.
Legislation, now under development by the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care Working Group, could help address the challenge of caring for chronically ill patients, who account for most Medicare spending. And it remains essential that Congress and the administration continue to press forward with the transition to alternative payment models, as called for in last year’s SGR reform bill MACRA. The future of Medicare could depend on it.”
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