Of the six chapters in the report, half involve beneficiaries: reforming Medicare’s benefit design, care coordination in fee-for-service Medicare and care coordination for dual eligibles. The other three focused on risk adjustment in Medicare Advantage plans, better serving rural Medicare beneficiaries and home infusion therapy coverage and payment under Medicare.
Within those three chapters, MedPAC members suggested the Medicare benefit package change to include a cap on beneficiary out-of-pocket spending, a deductible for Medicare Parts A and B, an additional charge on supplemental insurance and a schedule of co-payments that may vary by type of service and provider. Restructuring the way care is provided to Medicare beneficiaries and Medicare/Medicaid dual eligibles is also necessary to improve outcomes, but “such restructuring is difficult in a FFS environment,” according to the report.
“Aligning the beneficiary, the provider and [Medicare] has the potential to improve health, to improve the experience of healthcare provided through Medicare and to control costs for the beneficiary and the taxpayer alike,” said MedPAC Chair Glenn Hackbarth, JD.
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