Well here I am going to talk from my job experience in the
pharmacy. After Obama Care (Affordable Healthcare Act) got passed it
caused part B of Medicare to be more restrictive. As some of you know,
part B is designed for outpatient care, which handles things you need once you
get out of the Hospital. Prior to Obama Care, part B would just about
cover anything. But now with Obama Care, seniors need some form of health
coverage for drugs. That is where part D comes in to help. But,
that requires a monthly premium which many seniors were not expecting to be
forced to get and pay for. So here is my idea, combine the two.
The Idea: Part B covers outpatient care and
the medicines associated with it. It is budgeted based on how much the
Congress gives it yearly to perform this task. Part D (the only part of Medicare
below budget and stable) is also budgeted and subsidizes senior’s premiums
toward private healthcare insurers thus making individual healthcare more
affordable. So by combining part B which is over budget and a drain on
the system with part D which already performs a similar task you simplify the
system and bring an expensive part of Medicare down to a manageable level by
teaming up with a private company. You are saying "wait a
minute" as now seniors will be forced to pay a monthly premium in exchange
for having to deal with a more successful and expanded portion of Medicare
(part D). That is true, but whether thankfully or unfortunately, many
seniors are already forced into part D already due to Obama Care causing a loss
of drug coverage from part B becoming more restrictive. Also, those who
are still somehow covered by part B can be immune from this situation by
ensuring that subsidies to them are catered to their income. I’ll
explain.
How this works: For those already enrolled in part
D, the only change is that they now have everything covered that would have
been also covered under part B. In addition, new enrollees into the Medicare
program would automatically be enrolled in part D rather than part B as B would
be phased out. For those who still have part B (those over 65) and cannot
afford the premiums, it will be indexed toward their income so that the poorest
will not have to worry about premiums, and make it so that it can be subsidized
further by State run Medicaid. Thus no senior goes broke due to health
care as it is defined based on how much money they make after retiring.
Conclusion: This idea of mine is designed to
ensure the health care of our seniors with respect to drug coverage and outpatient
treatment is the most affordable possible while reducing costs on the system
and individuals. We cannot go backwards with Obama Care as its tentacles
have already destroyed the status quo of the old system. So we must move
forward with ideas to simplify and reduce spending while protecting our senior
citizens health. Thus by eliminating part B and giving all that B did to
part D so that no coverage or benefits are lost, we save money at the federal
level and the taxpayers save money as now richer seniors will pay more into
their health, while poorer seniors will have to essentially pay less for equal
or greater healthcare coverage they would have received under parts B or D
alone.
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