Medicare Reforms
Medicare is headed the way of Medicaid, with lower and lower payments to doctors and hospitals threatening to restrict access to care. A reduction of such payments of over 20% is scheduled for next year, which will greatly worsen the problem. Doctors are already dropping out of Medicare, and government bureaucrats are already restricting what drugs doctors can prescribe for their patients under the program. Average face time with a doctor for a Medicare appointment is now down to a mere 13 minutes.
Medicare includes an option for retirees to choose private coverage, called Medicare Advantage. Almost 11 million retirees have chosen such private coverage, close to 25% of all Medicare enrollees.