“The Coming Crisis For The Medicare Trust Fund,” by David Muhlestein, Health Affairs

 

Quote:

“The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now projects that the trust fund will be exhausted in 2024, a little more than three years from now, which is the nearest the fund has come to exhaustion in the 55 years of its existence. … If the trust fund is exhausted, no law dictates what will happen, but the Social Security Act (which governs Medicare) does not authorize the government to use general revenues to fund the deficit, so Medicare will only be able to make payments based on money it collects in taxes. How Medicare would make payments for care rendered, then, is unknown, but two scenarios are possible. In the first scenario, CMS would pay claims as money comes into the account, but as tax revenues will come in slower than providers request payments, the time between billing and payment will constantly increase. The effect will be providers getting paid the full amount they are due but waiting significant periods for their payments. The second scenario is to pay a decreased rate for all care. The CBO projects that following 2024 exhaustion, Medicare will only have sufficient tax receipts to be able to pay 83 cents for each dollar billed. For example, if a physician were owed $100, Medicare would only pay $83, but the payments would be made in a timely manner. With either choice, legal challenges would ensue, and it is likely that some hospitals and physicians would stop serving Medicare patients, leading to a potential crisis in access to care.”

LTC Comment:

This happy news comes from the Health Affairs journal that has never published an idea more thoughtful than, at base, “let the government do it.” Still think “Medicare for All” is a good idea?