Health Care Spending Expected To Increase

A lot of the spending growth comes from millions of people gaining insurance through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act-the insured share of the population is projected to climb from 86 percent in 2013 to 92.4 percent by 2024. And third, it led to the opening of state-level health insurance marketplaces, which also allowed people with pre-existing conditions to enroll.

That’s because many employer-sponsored and Obamacare plans have high deductibles, which is curbing enrollees’ use of their coverage.

John Armelagos president of the Michigan Nurses Association says over the past half-century, Medicare has proved itself to be not just an effective program, but an efficient one.

The national social insurance program revolutionized health care by providing disabled Americans and those aged 65 and older with health insurance regardless of income or medical
history. Over the years, Medicare has added coverage for people with disabilities (1972), hospice care (1982), outpatient prescription drugs (2006) and free preventive services (2011). In Congress, I intend to continue my work to improve and protect Medicare and Medicaid.

What can’t be ignored is that Medicare faces a number of challenges, including the rising cost of health care and a growing aging population that is living longer than they did in 1965.

In fact, the researchers opined that it was not clear if the law directly improved health and healthcare access.

“Before Medicare was in place, many elderly people didn’t get medical attention for ailments that come with age”, she said.

Medicare and Medicaid are also driving innovation.

Congressional Democrats and the administration have urged holdout states to embrace expansion, as the government picks up the whole cost of expansion through 2016, a share that scales down to 90 percent in 2020 and beyond. Overall, the new report does not break out the specific effect of the Affordable Care Act. Growth in the nation’s health care tab slowed dramatically during the 2007-2009 economic recession. Also, the report considered only the demand side of health care, not the supply side.

There’s no hard-and-fast rule about how much a society should spend on health care. “As we preserve and advance Medicare for future generations, we are focused on helping build a better system with smarter spending that keeps people healthier”.

“Insure Tennessee, Governor Haslam’s health care plan to offer health insurance to 280,000 Tennesseans, has the potential to become a part of Tennessee’s history, bringing benefit to Tennessee citizens, hospitals and economy”, said volunteer Sara Burklin.

John T. Hammarlund is Region 10 administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.