¶ … American Healthcare System has been at the center of debate for many years. One of the most pressing issues confronting the healthcare system is Medicare and its beneficiaries. The purpose of this discussion is to focus on the ramifications of moving Medicare beneficiaries into managed care organizations (MCOs). Our investigation will illustrate that moving the Medicare beneficiaries into MCOs are a bad idea because there will not to be any real cost savings and many individuals are likely to be denied needed care.
Cost Savings
An article found in American Economic Review explains that Medicare is the second largest government entitlement program in the United States. The cost associated with running this program is astronomical. The article asserts that in 1999 the government spent $230 billion or 13% of its budget on Medicare and its beneficiaries. (Antos and Bilheimer)
The major issue with Medicare is that it is expected to grow exponentially in the next few years due to the aging population. It is estimated that 47 million people will be enrolled in the Medicare program. (Antos and Bilheimer)
In addition, the article explains, "Medicare spending will grow from 2.6% of GDP in 1995 to 6.3% of GDP in 2030." (Antos and Bilheimer) While the enrolment increases the ratio of workers are going to decrease. This creates a shortage of funds and may lead to an even larger health crisis than the one that currently exist.
Some experts believe that moving Medicare beneficiaries to managed care organizations will alleviate the problem. While Medicare has been growing substantially, managed care organizations have also been expanding. (Fischer) An article entitled "The unraveling of managed care: recent trends and implications" asserts that there is almost no cost savings associated with moving Medicare beneficiaries to Managed Care Organizations. (Gorin) The article explains that there is a great deal of administrative and procedural cost associated with transferring Medicare beneficiaries to a managed care system. (Gorin)
The article also asserts that there have already been attempts to combine Medicare with managed care;...
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