Medicare reimbursement rates are already low so about 12% of doctors no longer accept Medicare patients. And it is worth remembering that 90% of Medicare recipients have supplementary insurance to cover the costs Medicare doesn't. 40% of doctors no longer accept Medicaid patients. Imposing government rates on procedures distorts the market. And patients don't care about costs since they really don't see or pay them in the case of Medicare or Medicaid.
The premium support plan offered by Ryan puts the responsibility more on the patient. If you are interested in reading something about how to fix Medicare, here is an article (written in 2007 but still relevant) by Tom Saving, someone who was a long time public member of the SS Board of Trustees and who I had the pleasure of meeting and discussing the Medicare issue with during a seminar.
We are going to have to ration health care. The only question is who will do it--the government, the insurance companies, or the patient. I favor the patient. We can reduce some health costs if the patient is the one selecting the health services and controlling the allocation of funds. It will force the market to be more competitive.
“We are going to have to ration health care. The only question is who will do it—the government, the insurance companies, or the patient. I favor the patient. We can reduce some health costs if the patient is the one selecting the health services and controlling the allocation of funds. It will force the market to be more competitive. “
Spot on. However, the political reality of getting folks to accept paying for things they think should remain “free” to them is the most daunting problem. Educating folks that it must be this way, is the second most daunting problem.
Many conservatives are as far off the deep end as the most committed communist on the subject of Medicare.
No political party is attempting to educate the electorate.
So we’ll go broke before we find a political solution to this problem, I’m afraid.