Creating Medicare Advantage Premium Support for All, Part 2: Benefit Design

Conclusion And Next Steps I would suggest that the key takeaway here is that the Medicare benefit is pretty darn robust, an excellent place to start for a universal coverage regime. With some minor exceptions, it covers everything we would need, has built-in assistance for low-income people, and provides pathways for employers or higher-income households to buy additional benefits. With Medicare Advantage, it would provide additional choices for families to pick a plan that’s best for them, while fostering competition among private carriers on premium, quality, and other factors consumers care about. As noted, there are some clear flaws that would need to be confronted, especially the lack of a catastrophic cap in the traditional program and exclusion of LTSS or EPSDT coverage. With this in mind, in a subsequent post, I will try to sort out what the existing spending in our system (federal, state, employer, and household) could afford if repurposed toward an advanceable tax credit for the purchase of a Medicare plan. Additional must-do’s on the list include considering the impact on providers, transitional issues for families, employers, and states as we consolidate our multisiloed regime, and (perhaps most importantly) political viability. What am I missing? Please keep your feedback and new ideas coming and stick with me. This is going to take a while, but, let’s be honest, we’ve got plenty of time.
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Costs and Spending Health Policy Lab Insurance and Coverage Medicare Payment Policy benefit design MAPSA Medicare Advantage Medicare for All single payer Source Type: blogs