Right from the time of his campaigns, Barrack Obama has been suggesting various changes in the Medicare program of the US Government. Medicare is a type of an insurance program that provides insurance to individuals above 65 years of age or others with special conditions.
Medicare Advantage plans are the various plans offered to individuals eligible for Medicare.
Medicare Advantage News
If an individual chooses one from among these plans, he will get the health care covered by Medicare in accordance to that particular plan. These plans also usually cover the cost of drugs that may be prescribed. There are 4 types of medical advantage plans. These include:
• Medicare Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO)
• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)
• Private Fee-for Service Plans
• Medicare Special Needs Plans
An individual can avail the benefits of Medicare Advantage Plans, only if you have Medicare Plan A and Medicare Plan B. After joining this plan, he gets health insurance card, that can be used for paying his medical bills. The benefits of these plans include lower co-payment and require you to pay the premiums for Medicare Plan B as well as an added premium for the advantage plans. You will also have to visit specific doctors for your treatment.
Obama Medicare Advantage Plans
Obama has always viewed Medicare as a threat to the economic health of the USA. Similar views are held by the Budget Director Peter Orzag. Even though there are companies that offer health insurance at premiums lower than those offered by Medicare, the Federal Government ends up spending a huge chunk of its money towards Medicare. The amount spent on individuals having Medicare Advantage Plans is even greater.
It is estimated that the government spends $1.3 for individuals with Medicare Advantage plans as compared to the $1 it spends on individuals having Medicare. Thus, if the plans made by Obama and Orzag are put into action, the Medicare Advantage Plans may be scrapped.
Medicare advantage health plans comparison
Insurers like Aetna Inc., WellPoint Inc. etc. have offered to come up with alternatives to the present Medicare plans, however the government is likely to scrap the present plans completely. Instead, President Obama intends to use the $200 billion budget spent on Medicare for other purposes. According to the current estimates, if the Medicare plans stay in action, the Medicare trust fund will be depleted by the year 2019. Thus, it is indeed necessary to come up with alternatives to the same.
The present plans proposed by the President require the Medicare companies to bid for a particular region. After this bidding, the amount the government spends on Medicare will be calculated on the basis of the average bid by the companies for that particular region. The President predicts, that the government will save $177 billion over the period of 10 years by implementing this process.
This restructuring is likely to increase the costs of premiums of Medicare by some amount as the amount being contributed by the government will be reduced. However, the additional benefits promised by the President will ensure that individuals are provided with better medical facilities.
