Why Now Is Not the Time for Premium Support

Friday, January 27, 2012 Source: The New England Journal of Medicine (by Henry J. Aaron, PhD and Austin B. Frakt, PhD)

While premium support proposals would offer Medicare beneficiaries vouchers toward the purchase of private insurance or traditional Medicare, now is not the time for this type of reform.
The authors do not believe that these recent proposals—such as those proposed by Bipartisan Policy Center, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI)—are the right solution for controlling Medicare costs and long-term federal spending. They say these reforms lack safeguards for beneficiaries, that they threaten to shift costs to the elderly and disabled and that the proposal would force beneficiaries to shop for coverage in a confusing insurance market.
The authors do think it is possible to make other changes to improve the Medicare program, such as adding more administrative staff to reduce improper payments and better enforce Medicare's own coverage policy.

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