I came across one of the best articles I’ve seen regarding Medicare funds or rather, the dissension thereof. For anyone over the age of 40, the issues at hand matter – a lot.
The biggest takeaway I got from the article? It is seemingly apparent relying on Medicare to provide like coverage in perpetuity is not very plausible. While it is difficult/annoying/painful for most of us to think 20 and 30 years beyond today, the potential for future health and financial challenges in our lives dictates otherwise.
One of the hardest hitting highlights of the article was an example about disbursements made using an average salary of $43,500 per year. A recently retired couple with that salary would have paid in almost $120,000 in Medicare taxes during their working lives. But according to the Urban Institute the medical benefits this couple would receive will average $357,000. Needless to say, this is not a sustainable model.
Another cited concern provided that 1 in 5 doctors restrict the number of Medicare patients they will take on at any given time. This number jumps to 31% for primary care physicians. The AMA reasons this is due to low reimbursement rates and that Medicare is deemed to be an unreliable payer by the medical profession.
Compounding these exasperating facts and figures is fictitious recipients. In 2010, it is reported that Medicare Part D paid $3.6 million to deceased beneficiaries. Similarly, 142,000 procedures on 5,000 dead people were paid for between 2004 and 2008 to the tune of $33 million.
According to the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, “The United States spends over $2.5 trillion on health care every year. Of that amount, NHCAA estimates that tens of billions of dollars are lost to health care fraud.” Mismanagement to say the least is costly and cannot be tolerated in any organization let alone one facing financial crisis.
Much is also written about “the gap in coverage” regarding prescription drugs. Yet the biggest gap occurs in long term care costs for home care, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. Ironically, while our current system reimburses the deceased, it does not provide for the most financially devastating expenses the (still) living can incur.
This article is a major eye-opener to the current state of a program many of us are depending upon for health care services in retirement. Reading it should at the very least provoke further consideration for yourself and your family. Check out the entire article at Smart Money.
Kurt Rusch CLU, ChFC
