Question

Based on what you have learned and your own research what do you think would be feasible solutions to Medicare raising costs?

Answer 1

In order to prevent Medicare from raising costs, costs must be controlled.Cost control needs to occur at the provider side as well as on the patient side.The components of Medicare are Part A, Hospital Costs and Long Term Care; Part B, Physicianor outpatient expenses; and Part C, Prescription Drug Coverage. Medicare mainly covers the elderly above 65 or disabled individuals. In general, when attempting to control insurance costs, one must begin with risk management. The following challenges make cost savings politically difficult, if not utopic

Pooling of Elderly Insured

As Medicare covers largely the elderly population, there is a given cost level associated with the fact that a pool of insured elderly and disabled, even a huge national pool, will invariablybe at the higher end of incurring adverse events and resulting in higher medical costs. Although the pool is sufficiently large to prevent true prediction of risk, given the age of the insured, costs would be expected to be higher.

As the government is the insurer of the elderly and the disabled, it has put itself in the impossible situation of providing endless healthcare to an aging population. I do not know where I stand on this subject as I would want all the care available regardless of my age at the time when I am ill.

Therefore, I am not for cutting of benefits, increasing coinsurance payments, out of pocket expenses, or copayments. I believe these are unimaginative, stale adjustments that are counter intuitive to the so-called paternalistic motive for intervention by which the government seeks to ensure consumption smoothing for individuals who are not otherwise, safe from adverse events and medical conditions. I believe that innovation allows us to realize significant cost cutting now. I believe in the exploration of the information that will become available as part of this cost cutting measure, we will gain new insights that will then enable us to further diagnose the cost challenge in new ways.

1.Use data to drive down cost

2.Analyze the data for new insights

3.Determine the 2ndphase of improving health care (medicare)

Health Incentives for the ElderlyBefore I get into the data part, I want to elaborate on a low cost approach that surely will yield medical benefits and lower health care costs for Medicare. I have been privileged to have met my neighbors about 11 years ago, when I moved into myhome. They are now 85 and 80 years old. Over the years, close bouts with near death have been overcome and I played an active role in standing guard overnight in emergency rooms,and assisting in communications, etc.