Posting date: October 4, 2005

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Health Affairs, 10.1377/hlthaff.w5.442
Copyright © 2005 by Project HOPE

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Medicare Extra: A Comprehensive Benefit Option For Medicare Beneficiaries

¹ Karen Davis is president of the Commonwealth Fund in New York City.
² Marilyn Moon is vice president and program director at the American Institutes for Research in Silver Spring, Maryland.
³ Barbara Cooper is a consultant in McLean, Virginia.
⁴ Cathy Schoen is vice president, Health Policy, Research, and Evaluation, at the Commonwealth Fund.

^*Corresponding author.

Abstract

The proposed Part E, Medicare Extra, outlined in this paper adds a comprehensive benefit option to Medicare, eliminating the need for beneficiaries to purchase a private drug plan and Medigap supplemental coverage. Financed by a budget-neutral beneficiary premium, it has the advantages of greater simplicity, efficiency, and value without adding to federal costs. Beneficiaries now enrolled in Medigap plans would save money, as could employers by choosing a lower-cost alternative to current retiree health plans. Eliminating some of the excess payments to Medicare Advantage plans would yield savings that could be used to help finance premium subsidies for low-income beneficiaries.

Key Words: Access To Care, Business Of Health, Consumer Issues, Health Reform, Managed Care - Medicare, Medicare

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