Similar to yesterday’s article there can be savings by fusing
Parts A and C of Medicare. Part A deals with hospital visits and other
aspects of doctor visits. Medicare part C does similar but resembles part
D in how it teams up with private companies to aid in providing health
insurance coverage (albeit not in the same way). But there is merit to
reform and Ill discuss that here.
The Idea: Part C (while cost efficient) of
Medicare can be altered to work in the exact same manner as part D with little
effort for better savings potential. This will provide cost savings
across the board. Part A can then be fused into Part C so as to save
money without burdening the system, but with a difference. Part A health
coverage is the only part of Medicare that is paid for using our contributions
from the taxes we pay toward Medicare. Parts B, C and D do not have any
contributions from the payroll tax (our contributions) that we pay throughout our
life to fund Medicare Part A and Social Security. So the major advantage
of combining these in the system is that our own money which we contributed can
actually be used to provide coverage for ourselves using part C modified to
work more efficiently like part D.
Impact: With money from part A benefits (our contributions)
the government will not be over budget with respect to trying to provide health
coverage as the money we contributed will already be there to pay for it with
the government only stepping in when the amount of contributions goes down too
much that it cannot meet demand. However, by using the part C model to
replace the original part A that possibility becomes a lot less likely.
As such, Medicare will be saved from self-destruction and we will not
have to pay premiums (with certain exceptions to the rich) to get coverage for doctors’
visits or emergency room treatment.
Conclusion: This idea is cheaper and more
effective than yesterday’s idea as it uses the contributions we already pay
into the system rather than it being budgeted like the current parts B, C, and
D of Medicare. The government will hence save money and we will get
cheaper health in the long run.
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