Health Care Talking Points – Medicare Beneficiaries
February 13, 2014
One of the reasons for forming a
national health insurance opportunity was to curb cost while providing needed
health care for millions of Americans that did not have insurance regardless to
a reason given; i.e., lack of income to
purchase and maintain insurance coverage, pre-disposition, adult students on
parent (s) insurance.
On October 1, 2013 the initial coverage started. On January 1, 2014, the full implementation
of the Affordable Health Care law went into effect. Today, Americans are more and more finding
their way to insurance coverage.
What does that mean?
It means we have opened the door to
opportunities and more responsibilities to working with the ups and downs that
a NEW national insurance brings to the table.
It means all/ALL must do their share to help ensure that our country
have HEALTHY PEOPLE. It says, some will
find fault and challenges while others will be gleeful and willing to take
ownership in making their health and health care a reality. If we continue the course of due diligence to
correct issues that are target-rich, over time things will increasingly get
better. Patience. Use of open-wide communication that is
correct and when it is incorrect, correct quickly and move on.
The trend lines will vary depending
on age, income, workers (full vs part-time), individual vs family and group
policies on the market. The population
at-large will go through preparedness.
This too will vary depending on access to knowledge, internet access, customer
care and assistance availability, communication of paperwork, accuracy of the
information and then correction of information, timeframe of flow of
information and of course, the Medicare budget and CMS/Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Centers care coordination and management that is theirs alone. This ranges from access to Healthcare.org to
once there is access, can the information be found easily and sign-up is as
seamless as possible. It means that the
federally-assisted networks providing connectivity for states that chose not to
provide the umbilical cord for life with Affordable Health Care law benefits
and policies.
Beneficiaries
Here are some today thoughts for
looking at some consideration for those who receive Medicare
Discrimination
Income is a
determinate and it is factored in health care payments. This is drastically unfair for those who have
been discriminated against and denied equal access to the benefits of
employment, education attainment and improvements that are received from
employment; i.e., benefits taken from wagers and wages while working in the
marketplace. Given the history of
discrimination and stolen benefits from African American and other People of
Color; the asset investment fund is null and void.
Turning a blind eye, engaging in
segregation, exploitation and non-reporting is a
chicken-coming-home-to-roost. It turns
out that millions are left-in-the-cold with very dismal amounts to garner
health care – especially when African Americans have a long history in working
in America and for long, long hours per day for Caucasians who by design took
funds, failed to pay correct wages as they did for their like-kind. Today, for there to be the necessary changes,
this knowledge must be exclaimed to highest rooftop and mountains of Congress.
The Code of Conduct that has
supported greed and wrongful fact that disallowed education attainment for
better/best employment, the funds were stolen from African American and other
People of Color wages (low and unequal wage to support family) and the wages
that was not placed in the labor bank for Social Security must be vocalized as
part of the solutions. Casting blame and demonizing is out-of-order.
Truthful and strategic solution
building is the prudent way to go.
This is very critical in the dialogue
of today - It cannot be swept under the rug.
Lack of INCLUSION and WIDESPREAD “un-
and under-employment” in the labor force coupled with low-no wages is still a growing
concern to African and other People of Color.
It must also be a solution concern for/of those in governing, budgeting
and policy making.
The widespread discrimination is yet
a factor for improved employment and introduction to higher paying jobs. Therefore, the coming generations of African
American and other People of Color will have similar if not worse seeking to
gain the status of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. For the coming generations, they will likely
continue and the cost will no doubt be higher.
Not only must the policies be realistic but it must also seek ongoing
opportunities that will curb and delete the disparity gap.
To set-up policies that disown the
discriminatory and predatory policies in America that now put drastic and disproportionate
rates between what Caucasian have in income (8x that of African American and
asset that include retirement and equity in homes again is night and day
difference.
Social
Security, home equity, and present income is ludicrous and inappropriate as an
asset tool that is used in determining cost sharing and other budgeting issues. Likewise, to try to demonize and penalize
folk who have worked in environments of hostility, low wages, exploitation,
lack of education attainment and sometimes brutality is insane and should be
pointed out as loudly as possible.
Since the formula for cost-sharing going
forward looks at income, equity and investment nest eggs
(mutual fund benefits, 401k, etc.), federally-assisted exchanges and all
exchanges should be out-front with communication, face-to-face dialog, encouragement
and incentives to academic health networks to ensure that the training is
across the board for adding geriatrics to rotations in academic training and
higher salaries for geriatric care as part of career selections. Given the population care that will be needed
in the decades to come, aging is one of the top ambulatory services.
Budget
and financing
• Medicare is 16% of the federal
budget and rising as a share of the budget and the economy
• Medicare faces long-term financing
challenges, with fewer workers to support retirees, and growing number of
Medicare beneficiaries
Beneficiaries
• Beneficiaries incur relatively high
out-of-pocket expenses as a share of income and household budgets (no limit on
spending, dental, or long-term care)
• Medicare’s benefit structure is
complex (traditional Medicare); unclear how well beneficiaries navigate private
marketplace, but have many choices
Other
challenges
• Improving care management and
targeting interventions to beneficiaries with the greatest needs and highest
costs
• Setting fair payments to plans and
providers (e.g. the SGR/Sustainable Growth Rate)
Most people on Medicare are of modest
means, and half lived on less than $23,500 in 2013
– A small share has high incomes
• Most people on Medicare have some
savings and home equity, but the range of assets among beneficiaries is wide
– Half of all Medicare beneficiaries
have less than $61,400 savings or less than $66,700 in home equity
• Income and assets are projected to
be somewhat greater among the next generation
– Much of the growth is projected to
be realized among the upper income and asset levels
Budget and financing excerpts:
Gretchen Jacobson and Tricia Neuman –
Kaiser Family Foundation, January 13, 2014
