As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to mislead people about their health plan options and steer them into Medicare Advantage plans, the Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump has new plans for Medicare. It’s hard to believe President Trump’s executive order on Medicare will benefit enrollees; President Trump favors cutting close to $1 trillion from Medicare and is strongly against improving and expanding it to everyone in the US.
Trump proposed $845 billion in cuts to Medicare in his 2020 budget. These cuts would increase costs to people in the program. Moreover, he is misleading people about Medicare for All. Contrary to Trump’s claims, Medicare for All, like Medicare, is social insurance. It is public insurance, available to everyone, which would continue to allow them to use the private doctors and hospitals they want to use. It is different from private insurance because it is cost-effective, with less than two percent in administrative costs. It also reins in provider rates and guarantees people access to care.
Senator Bernie Sanders’ and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s Medicare for All proposals would improve benefits for people with Medicare today, including eyeglasses, hearing aids and dental services as well as long-term services and supports, including home care and nursing home care. And, it eliminates all cost-sharing from Medicare. There would be no more premiums, deductibles or coinsurance.
In sharp contrast, Trump is working to give Medicare Advantage plans–the private plans that contract with the federal government to offer Medicare benefits–more bells and whistles that will help them enroll more members. The data show that they are costing taxpayers at least $10 billion a year more than we should be paying them. Trump is not calling for them to pay back that money.
Trump is also working to bring more transparency to the health care system. He wants hospitals to disclose the rates they charge insurers. More health care transparency is always good, but it’s not clear how it would help people with Medicare or anyone else directly.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Medicare Advantage plans unaccountable for billions in overcharges
- Congress should level the playing field between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage
- Ten ways Medicare Advantage plans differ from traditional Medicare
- 2019 Medicare Handbook is misleading
- New study finds Medicare Advantage plan enrollees end up in lower quality nursing homes than people in traditional Medicare
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